have an interesting reaction to movie/TV adaptations of books. I like the fact that I am partially blind to bad CGI. It must be exceedingly bad for me to notice. This culminates in me enjoying any adaptation until I think hard about it.

“Modern and mythical worlds collide in this thunderous fantasy-adventure starring Pierce Brosnan, Kevin McKidd and Uma Thurman as you never seen them before! Percy Jackson… he’s just learned he’s the son of Poseidon and is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt-the most powerful weapon ever created! With storm cloud’s brewing, Percy embarks on an incredible cross-country journey to prove his innocence, recover the bolt and prevent a war amongst the gods that could destroy the world!”

Okay, when reviewing movies and TV shows going forward, we are going to do something a little different. Instead of an unspoiled and spoiled review, I’m going to talk about stuff like everybody has watched the movie or just doesn’t care.

I will still do two reviews but instead, it will be a review as if I have never read the book and as someone who has read the book.

If you have never read the book, Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief is an ok movie. The dialogue is fairly stiff but I liked the CGI (which take with a pinch of salt, see above.) The fight scenes are ok but not truly memorable.

Before I get on to the movie there is one thing that I would like to talk about in the Last Olympian. This is something I forgot to write in the last post but this cannot be missed. If you haven’t read the books, here is what I am talking about. After Percy has saved all of Olympus, Zeus says he will give Percy what he wants assuming that Percy is going to ask to be turned into a god. But Percy turns this down in exchange for the gods swearing on the River Stix, promising to claim all their kids before they turn 13 and for cabins for every god’s children.

This is fascinating because it shows that Percy doesn’t just brush off all his enemies’ reasons for fighting as wrong; he learns from them. Percy gave up a supreme reward in exchange for the gods being slightly better parents. Well, that and a chance to be with Annabeth.

Now for a review of adaptations, I am going to focus on the differences from the book.

Firstly, I think it would be best to start on a positive. I like the opening with Poseidon coming out of the water at what I can only guess is full size. It is so interesting to remember that the gods are only our size for convenience. It sets the tone of a larger-than-life story. Whether the movie picks this up is another matter.

Secondly, the way we see Gabe turning into stone raises two main questions. For those who haven’t seen the movie, Sally kicks him out, and he comes back and goes to the fridge where Percy has written “do not open”. In there Is Medusa’s head. The questions I have are how did Percy get that in there without being turned into stone? How is Percy going to easily get it back out? It feels more stupid the more you think about it.

Thirdly I have two problems with the camp layout. Why are people firing arrows across a path outside the infirmary? There are two points where Percy leaves the infirmary, and he almost gets shot. Secondly, why do we see only two cabins and both of them only have one camper in them?

Fourthly, Percy Jackson: on the positive side it makes sense that an older Percy would be angrier about his dad not being there. I hate that this Percy is no longer being sarcastic. But why is Poseidon talking to him in his head? Why can’t Percy figure out anything on his own?

Finally, Hades and Persephone. This is an insult to the books and the myths. I’ll start with the myths. In them Persephone hates Hades but, in the myths, theirs is the most functional marriage. In the myths Hades specifically shares ruling the underworld with Persephone. Let’s forget the fact that Persephone is only in the underworld during the colder season. Also, I hate every time that they call the underworld “Hell”. Now on to Hades: in the book we see he is a red herring but in the movie, he is the villain along with Luke and it’s all a mess.

Thank you for putting up with my rant. Unfortunately, you will be getting another one next week. Until then,

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.