9325&creativeASIN=B002N1C1CO">I Love You, Beth Cooper"), "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is always pleasant and, in one sequence, very good.

Logan Lerman ("Gamer") is Percy Jackson, a high schooler who learns that his absent father is really the Greek god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd, "Made of Honor").

It seems there's war brewing on Olympus because someone stole Zeus' (Sean Bean, "The Hitcher") lightning bolt, and the king of the gods wants it back. Percy joins with another demigod, Athena's daughter Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario, TV's "White Collar"), and a satyr named Grover (Brandon T. Jackson, "The Day the Earth Stood Still") to retrieve the bolt within a week to prevent massive destruction, and to rescue Percy's human mom (Catherine Keener, "Where the Wild Things Are") from Hades (Steve Coogan, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian").

While they travel across America in search of items they need if they intend to return from the underworld, they encounter a variety of CGI monsters, including Medusa, a wonderfully evil Uma Thurman ("My Super Ex-Girlfriend"). It's the best sequence in the film, mostly because Thurman seems to be having a great time. Pierce Brosnan ("Mamma Mia!") is also fun as a centaur. The only member of the cast who is out of step with the mood is Rosario Dawson ("Seven Pounds") as Persephone, Hades' abducted wife, who is a little too hot even for Hell.

This is the kind of movie that makes me wish I were 12 again so I could really enjoy it on its own level "” and not many things make me wish I were 12 again. "”Doug Bentin