Ugh, so not happy with this movie adaption of The Lightning Thief. By no means was the book exactly fine literature, but it was enjoyable and entertaining and, like The Hunger Games, so easy to adapt to film. And yet both movies failed, IMO, to capture the books. Now let me preface by saying I know that a movie can't translate everything that is in a book, that's the beauty of books, they hold something special, their words and our imaginations. I don't want everything from the book in the movie, b/c the books ARE special and feel like a part of you that no one else will get.
Now having said that, why the flaming fig newton do they have to take out absolute key plot points and cool scenes?! Again I get why things are omitted but not so glaring key plot points. Hollywood has a way of dumbing down our literature b/c they feel the audience isn't patient or smart enough to "get" it. So we sit here and get Cliff's Notes versions of our favourite books and, to me, it's quite offensive. These movies not only fail to capture the heart & soul of the books, but they also fail to capture the heart & soul of the avid reader.
Now I know these movies appeal to a great many people, obviously money talks and from ticket sales it appears that the audience are exactly what Hollywood thinks they are. We compromise our intelligence and right to be entertained by saying, "Oh it wasn't that bad", "Yeah they left a lot out, but it was OK". Even though deep down inside the little bookie in us just died a little from saying it. We make excuses and we shell out our money like well trained parapets. I used to blame Hollywood, but really it's the viewer that is the cause of this atrocity.
As a huge Stephen King fan, I'm used to movies destroying books I love, but it never ceases to amaze how bad some of these movies really are in comparison to the books they are based. It's like they are testing how far they can go. "Let's leave one of the most important plot points from the book, out, and ooo we don't need this character. What? The whole plot ends depends on key scenes involving that character? Who cares, these zombies won't know the difference and if they do they'll lap it up like brains on a buffet". (had to get a zombie shout out in there)
If you've read the Percy Jackson books, you won't like this movie, if you haven't read them, you will. One more thing... After seeing THG, The Lightning Thief, one of the Twinkie movies, I've come to this realization. Today's crop of youth actors, suck. They have the acting range of a peanut. No wait, I take that back, that's mean. A peanut can act better. I mean it fools everyone into thinking it's either a pea or nut, when in fact it is a legume. I would rather pay to see a canister of Planters peanuts act out a Shakespeare play, than pay to see another one of these YA movies. To be or not to be... a nut. Classic.
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