The Lightning Thief

[Mr. DS]

I just got back from seeing The Lightning Thief.   Small background, I've read all the Percy Jackson books and found them to be wonderfully entertaining.  I've been also telling people if this film was done right it could be the next Harry Potter-type franchise for adults and children but much more entertaining.  

So of course I was anticipating a great film.  Sigh...once again, Hollywood opts to make a decent movie based around a great book.  IOW, I was happy with it but as a fan of the book I feel immensely slighted.  Keep in mind too I'm not one of those fanboys when it comes to pointing out slight differences in the books.  However they screwed up so much of the plot that it was unbearable.  

SPOILERS
I'll start with the good.  I liked Grover's character in the movie better than the book. Satyrs are supposed to be smooth and he kind of gave it that vibe much better than his book's counterpart.  I dug the Vegas sequence which proved to be a great break in the film.  The action's pace and the battle scenes were cool.  Special effects wise, it was superb.

I couldn't stand the fact they left out so many key characters from the book.  That and the movie really didn't seem to take itself seriously in making any future endeavors.  IOW, they could close this movie series out and never make another again which is saddening.  Casting wise was ho-hum and I think they could have one more with the Gods themselves.  And as mentioned above, they took central ideas of the book and smashed them up into oblivion.  The end battle between Luke and Percy kind of blowed.  Also, there was no mention of Kronos who is the central bad guy in the plot.  

END SPOILERS

So the film left a bittersweet taste in my mouth.  I liked it as a popcorn film but I knew it could have been much more than that.  

[Newt]

SPOILERS
I'll start with the good.  I liked Grover's character in the movie better than the book. Satyrs are supposed to be smooth and he kind of gave it that vibe much better than his book's counterpart.
.........
there was no mention of Kronos who is the central bad guy in the plot.  
END SPOILERS
.........
So the film left a bittersweet taste in my mouth.  I liked it as a popcorn film but I knew it could have been much more than that.  

Sorry to hear it falls short.

My entire family is set to go see this one.  The 12 y.o. and the 15 y.o. are huge fans of the book series.  They are telling me (right  now, loudly, from across the room  ) that the book-Grover is supposed to be inept in that department. Grover is young and less-than-smooth in the book, which made him unique and is the reason the other satyrs dislike him, making him an oddball/outcast.     Kronos does appear in the first book, but his only act is to try to suck Grover into a pit in the underworld.  However it makes all kinds of sense to bring him into the (first) movie, if the series is to go on.

This is going to be fun: going to a movie with a pair of (overly) dedicated fans of the books.  I have not read them...yet. 

[Mr. DS]

Newt, let me know how they like or dislike it.  From the reviews I'm seeing from viewers, book fans hate it and non-readers seem to enjoy it.  Theres tons more discrepencies that I listed to a friend today.  However, I won't go into it much until I hear back from you and your kids.

[Newt]

They liked the movie well enough, but felt it was not true to the book.  (They are both big book readers btw) Trying not to get too specific so as to avoid spoilers (there were lots of discrepancies - major changes were made to characters that required adjustments in the plot, and changes to the plot changed the way characters developed)...

From my 15 y.o. daughter:
As a movie, a good one. But it had very little to do with the book. It's like they borrowed the characters (well, their names) and some interesting bits from a good book, and threw in a buch of new stuff, put the book name on it, and BAM! A movie. Take a good book, and make a movie almost independent from it. It overlaps, but it didn't really seem like the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief" Movie. Different story, with modified if not different characters (many left out) which made changes in the plot. The only basic similarities were the names, locations, and bits of the original plot.

From my 12 y.o. son:
I liked the movie but the book was better.  They took out some main characters who were a big parts of the next book, so I don't see how they could do the second book as a movie after this one.  Percy is much older in the movie than he is in the first book. Grover is different. They changed the personality of another character as well.

[Mr. DS]

Well your kids kind of capture what I keep saying.  The took an epic book and made a good movie.  Just good, nothing more than that.  It could have been so much more. 

[Newt]

The took an epic book and made a good movie.  Just good, nothing more than that.  It could have been so much more. 

It's too bad, really. This happens all the time, but what bugs me about it is that now the book has 'been done' it will be a while before anyone touches it again (hopefully to do it justice) - if ever.  How likely is a remake of a 'just good' movie?  Unless the books keep gaining popularity and become considered 'classics' for young readers.

[Mr. DS]

I actually did a mini review on Yahoo movies on Saturday.   So far its voted as one of the "most helpful".   

Ok where to begin. First off, if you haven’t read the books it actually comes across as a good film. Just “good” though. You see it once and you’re ok, you probably wouldn’t get the DVD but you’d watch a portion of it on TV again if it were on. However, being that I am a fan of the book, it just literally comes across as crap on screen. The scriptwriters literally had their way with the book and tossed it on the side of the road to die. Where to begin…SPOILERS AHEAD...

Ares, Clarisse and Dionysus all 86’d out of the story. Nowhere to be found unless there was an elbow shot of them somewhere I missed. I think they actually had the gall to combine Clarisse’s character with Annabeth. I can’t prove that but Annabeth seems just mean spirited in this film. Kronos…although briefly mentioned in passing also MIA. Oh and so is Pan which of course was the life mission for Grover to find him.

Camp Halfblood LITERALLY looks like a bunch of shacks built in the forest. The “houses” I’d argue could fit probably about 10 people at most. Percy’s house in the movie was built for him by his father. That’s right, EVERYONE knows who his father is, no mystery…just “go with it”. The “Big 3 Child” prophecy is NEVER MENTIONED!!! Or at least I don’t recall it being mentioned. It’s the basis for the whole DAMN BOOK SERIES!!! Oh which reminds me, the Oracle is nowhere to be found either.

There is no quest set up for the heroes. Rather Percy, Annabeth and Grover all leave for camp one day for the hell of it. Oh and get this, they do try to get to the Underworld but on the way they must collect three pearls so they can escape. WHAAAAAAT???!!! The three pearls were a minor plot point in the book but now it’s the major focus and only three exist. They do not stop at the Arch in St. Louis. Nope, they go to a Parthenon replica in KY where they battle the Hydra. Guess they plucked that out of Jason And The Argonauts and pasted it in the story. OMFG kill me already!

Ok, so they end up at the entrance of the underworld. Do they go to they music company? Nope, they go to the Hollywood sign where they find a hole that leads there. Sigh…I…I…just…I don’t know anymore. Speaking of which I think they combined Hades character with Ares. I really do. The final battle is just stupid. Luke arrives and the two battle through NY for what seems like a decade. Just a bunch of silly special effects really. I don’t recall that in the book but then again, I don’t really believe this film was ever based on it.

More of a side point…there are little to no explanations of “the mist” so I imagine the audience who didn’t read the book were scratching their heads. Along with that, no explanation was given on why Mt. Olympus is in the Empire State building either.

So…I give the film at most a C+. Standard Hollywood BS galore with a lot of pretty visuals. I mean it seems they literally skimmed the book while writing the script. It wasn’t without highlights though. The Vegas sequence was enjoyable. Oddly, although he greatly changed from the book, Grover was much more likeable than his book counterpart. I never really liked his vibe in the book because he seemed like a klutz. Satyrs were always more smooth in mythology and he kind of fit the bill. Honestly though, its like they made this movie not expecting it to work and it comes across on screen. I mean seriously, with what I mentioned above how the hell are they going to make sequels?

[indianasmith]

Having never read the books, I really enjoyed the movie. My wife and I watched it last night. Sean Bean was quite competent as Zeus, and the casting was strong overall.  The story was engaging and fun.  The visuals were quite lovely, and the teen actors mostly did a pretty good job.  I loved the combat sequence with the minotaur!

  Sounds like the books are much, much better, though.  Which is good, because my kids are being required to read the first one this summer as an English assignment.