So, I took M and C to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief this past Monday.
I went in excited, yet apprehensive: Chris Columbus pretty much hacked the first two Harry Potter books to death and I really wanted the Percy Jackson movie to hold together as a movie, not just be nice scenes from the book. At the same time, I wanted it to be faithful to the book, avoiding the terrible massacre that Ella Enchanted was.
And you know what? I think it succeeded in doing that. M sat next to me and critiqued everything that was different (her biggest complaint: the way the cabins were at Camp Half Blood) than the book. It was fairly significant: they cut and added characters (Persephone was not in the book), combined characters (most notably, they made Annabeth into more of a warrior than she was in the book. Battle strategy, yes. Kicking butt, however, is best left to the children of Ares.), changed scenes and mixed and matched. The adults were there mostly for show, as well: Pierce Brosnon and Chiron mostly just strutted around, and I didn’t get much from Sean Bean or Kevin McKidd as Zeus and Posidon, respectively.
That said, however, they did much right. I liked the look of the movie (Camp Half Blood aside), and the feel. I think the movie got the adventuresome, questing feel of the book down. (Though, I have to admit, it’s been forever since I’ve read it.) Grover was brilliant: Brandon T. Jackson caught the protective, yet hesitant vibe that Grover always gave off. He had the best lines of the movie, stealing the show pretty much every scene he was in. (Even though Logan Lerman is a cutie.) Visually, there was much done right: I loved the vision of the Underworld (a shout out to Steve Coogan as Hades: he rocked.), as well as the Lotus Casino. There were some nice musical cues, as well.
Verdict: it’s not like the book, but it’s not a horrid massacre of it, either. What it is, in the end, is lots of fun.
The Book Nut 
I meant to read the novel in preparation for seeing the movie, but that isn't going to happen now! Glad the film didn't totally disappoint you, even if there were significant changes. Always seems to the case! I'm looking forward to both the movie and book 🙂
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YES! I was also disappointed in Camp Half-Blood, I wanted it to feel more…Athens like. Sheely was REALLY bummed that they took out the scene with Clarissa in the toilets, where Percy gets everyone soaked 🙂 I agree with everything else you said, I wish we could've seen it together 🙂
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Hello! I saw your post and just wanted to add that I agree with your assessment of Harry Potter movies 1 and 2. Chris Columbus dropped the ball big time and I feared for the rest…needless to say I think they are getting progressively better and better. That being said, I have yet to see the Lightening Thief, but everyone I know likes it. I have read the whole series and they were cute. I think I will see it after reading your review. My biggest fears were Chris Columbus directing and Logan Lerman playing Perseus. Thanks for your review!
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I actually didn't like the creation of the underworld. I thought it was too much like the Catholic idea of Hell and not enough like the greek idea of the afterworld. But overall I liked the movie.
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I agree with Amanda about the way they portrayed the Underworld — too much like the Christian concept of Hell and unlike the Hades of Greek Mythology. To cap it off, they had Hades turning into a devil-like thing. Ick!
Overall, though, I agree with your assessment of the movie. There were many good aspects, and overall, it was a fun flick. 🙂
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Amanda and Stephanie — not being Catholic (and not being that into Greek myths, either), I completely missed that.
I did like the way they personified Hades (I agree: the devil was over the top), though. What I liked most of all was the river of human waste as they paddled across the Styx (yes?) to see Hades.
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I won't pretend for even a second that I am a qualified movie critic, but as someone that has read all of the books in the percy jackson series and has just seen the movie I am disappointed.
If taken as just a regular movie dreamed up by a screenwriter (or whatever you call them) then the movie was good. There were several major inaccuracies that anyone with a knowledge of mythology would notice but other than that it was a good movie.
My problem is with the way the movie held to the novels. It was pieces were taken from all of the novels and thrown together to make one movie. For example, percy was supposed to fight Medusa, three furies, the chimera, ares, and maybe some others i forgot (its been a while since i read the novel). I am almost positive that the hydra wasnt supposed to show up until the second book in the series.
Aside from the inconsitencies in the monster encounters, there was no mention of prophecy. The whole series develops around the ancient greek idea of the prevelance of fate. Prophecy is the driving force for all the events in the books and the main storyline develops around one prophecy in particular. Alas it is never mentioned in the movie.
If only one movie was meant to be made why not call it Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Or 'The lightning thief'? Using the title of the first book in the series makes it seem like the books will each have a film. I just dont see how that is possible when the books have been mingled into the first movie and the main element of the plot has been left out.
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