Percy Jackson... WHY?????

Percy Jackson… WHY?????

Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief by Rick Riordan was a great book but a dismal movie. Some of the main characters that were essential for the other books weren’t introduced at all. Namely Clarisse, who plays a major role in the next book, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. There were some major casting errors in the movie. Percy’s first Demigod friend Annabeth was supposed to be a blonde in the movie and she had brown hair. The guy who was playing Luke was missing a scar on his cheek from a dragon fight. There were some prop mistakes too, the compact shield that Percy has was supposed to be given to Percy by Tyson in the next book, not by Luke in the Lighting Thief.

Persephone was supposed to be in Hell, because it was summer, not because she was held captive. The war God Ares, held a major part in the book, but in the movie he was only shown up on Olympus. Percy couldn’t have any electronics because they attracted monsters. In the movie Percy is shown with an IPod Touch, when fighting Medusa. 

Dionysus the wine God, who is a camp counselor in the book, is never shown in the first movie. During the first capture the flag game Percy and Annabeth were to be on the same team, rather than different ones shown in the movie. The Gods, in the book are shown with human clothing, however; in the movie, their shown in togas and armor. Hades needed to wear black silky robes rather than the rock star style attire he does wear. Hades is also shown in a humorous light, when he was supposed to be rather harsh with Percy and his friends. While on Olympus the Gods were 60 feet tall, almost a 45 foot difference from book to movie. Grover in the book is shy and clumsy while in the movie he is outgoing and sporty. Percy’s dad was unknown in the book, while everyone in the movie knew who’s son he was. The monsters dissolved in the books when they died, but in the movies they stayed where they were killed. Percy had a nickname, seaweed brain, which was never used in the movie. Percy can breathe underwater, but in the movie it’s shown that he can hold his breath for long periods of time, seven minutes. Chiron, the centaur, is the only centaur on Camp Half Blood; however, he was shown with a group of centaurs on the grounds of the camp.

I would have added some scenes from the book into the movie, if I were the director. One of these scenes would have been Percy fighting with Ares and interacting more with him. Likewise, during the book, Ares asks Percy and Annabeth to go get an item for him. I would have added that quest. I would have cast the characters differently, based on their descriptions. I would have added in major characters into the movie, such as Dionysus and Clarisse and Ares. Over all when I first saw the movie, having not yet read the book, it was very good with great character dynamics and scenic affects. But once I read the book, most of my respect for the movie went way down. I didn’t think that the producers and directors read the book and used spark notes or something instead. Read the book and ditch the movie, ‘cause in this case the book was way better than the movie.