Monday, February 15, 2010

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief

percyjackson

 

If you have not read The Lightning Thief or seen the movie and do not wish to read spoilers, do not read any further!!

If you’re not familiar with Rick Riordian’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, I highly recommend you check it out. I’ve only read books 1 and 2, but I’m hooked and can’t wait to see Percy’s tale unfold.

Quick Synopsis: Percy Jackson is an ordinary, everyday kid. But he soon finds out he is anything but ordinary. He’s the son of Poseidon, greek god of the sea. After a series of very strange events, Percy finds himself at a summer camp of sorts for other demigods-half human, half god like himself. Oh, and he’s also been accused of stealing the Lightning bolt of Zeus, brother of Poseidon and god of the sky and thunder. Percy decides that he must clear his name so he journeys to find the missing Lightning Bolt, along with friends Annabeth, daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war and Grover, a satyr (half man, half goat) and Percy’s protector.

My thoughts regarding the movie: I enjoyed the movie. I thought the special effects were great, especially Hades. I thought the acting was ok, not fantastic, but not horrible either. The action scenes were decent. Overall, I thought the movie was fun, amusing and entertaining. If you’re going to go, see a matinee.

My thoughts about the movie compared to the book: Like most books-turned-into-movies, there’s usually a lot of discrepancies. The Lightning Thief is no exception. There are parts of the book left out and things added to the movie that weren’t in the book. I was very disappointed to see that the Oracle didn’t make the movie. I think the Oracle plays an important role in the series. I also didn’t like that “they” changed the conflict between Percy and Luke at the end of the movie.  I did like the fact that “they” gave Persephone a larger part. If my memory is correct, I think she is mentioned in passing in the book.

Final Thoughts: Like I said above, if you want to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, see a matinee. If you’ve read the book, don’t compare the movie to it. You will be disappointed.

2 comments:

  1. Excellent review. Keisha's devouring these books right now, too. Come to think of it, we did watch the movie as a matinee. Great advice. This is indeed a matinee movie.

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  2. I really loved this movie but I never read the books so I didn't have that need to compare the two. When you compare I believe you are always left wanting and or disappointed. Great review.

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