Percy Jackson y los Dioses del Olimpo: Ladrón del rayo

I have to admit it, I haven't read the book, but regardless of whether it was faithful or not, this rarely ruins a movie or TV adaptation for me. That said, I can understand the disappointment of those who loved the book. However, I really enjoyed this film, it is hardly the best movie I have ever seen, but I personally consider it one of the better movies of 2010 that I've seen so far, and that is saying a lot considering how disappointing some of the movies have been.

Where the film is lacking is in the storytelling. There are those who say that it gets bogged down by too many mythological references, and I have to say I kind of agree. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief had a brilliant concept to work from and a fairly original one at that, and while the references were very interesting and cleverly incorporated, the writers could have simplified a little how much they included. Back to the storytelling, it does have a lot of exciting moments, such as the scene at the museum with the fury, in Medusa's lair, the fight with the hydra, in the underworld and the climax, but some parts in the middle half drag and feel clunky, and I personally could have done with less of the scene in the casino.

Complaints aside, the film looks incredible, the special effects are excellent and the cinematography and scenery are clever and skillful. The music only adds to the excitement and the dialogue has some very nice moments with some humour from Grover and with Gabe when he is seen on television talking about Percy's disappearance and both Medusa and Persephone are deliciously seductive in looks and in dialogue. The film also moves briskly in general, and the direction is decent. Personally I liked the acting, Logan Lerman is surprisingly appealing as Percy, and Brandon T.Jackson is lots of fun as Grover. People have said Alexandra Daddario was too old as Annabeth, I wouldn't know, but she looks lovely and is very spirited in the role. Pierce Brosnan was surprisingly good as Mr Brunner/Chiron, though it was a bit of a shock seeing him with a horse's lower body, Rosario Dawson is fabulously sexy as Persephone and Sean Bean is okay as Zeus though he doesn't have much to do. The real joys however are with Uma Thurman, who gives a delicious turn as Medusa, and Steve Coogan who was a big surprise as Hades.

Overall, I actually liked this film, it was fun to watch, while nothing absolutely outstanding or mind-blowing. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

If you don't think too much about how it's not true to the books, the movie is actually quite entertaining. Logan Lerman is a great actor and a great Percy, but he was definitely too old for the character.

Which is one of the first major icks. In the books the characters are kids, Percy is 12, but played by a full on adult. There's a lot of other things the movies have changed but regardless of those, I still enjoyed the movies and it's too bad they were cut short.

Here's the deal. I read the first book, I'm currently reading the second... I loved the books, the imagination, the way it ties the mythology with the 21st century, all great. Now, the movie... the only thing I really have to say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me back the 2 hours you just unmercifully wasted in my life. I saw this flick with my fiancé on Valentine's Day, my pick. It was so bad even I nearly fell asleep. They changed major plot lines in the book, took out some of the characters that I really wanted to see, added a few that didn't exist in the book, and it was overall just kind of boring. Big effects don't do enough to keep me awake when I was really looking forward to knowing what would happen next in the movie and how it would be made. Instead I just sit there mindless, wondering if it wasn't too late to sneak into Avatar instead. If there is a movie made from the other books in the series... I'll probably download it online, but I won't spend money to see it. Huge, huge disappointment.

I recently read the book series (out of boredom), so I saw this film today with my friend. Firstly, it is quite different from the book. A major part of the storyline was completely left out (or even discarded), some parts were removed, and random parts added that did nothing for the storyline whatsoever. The beginning of the movie felt rather rushed, and hearing the 'whhaat?' from my friend confirmed the fact that they don't really explain things much in the first place. Anyone who might've recently studied Greek mythology or like to read about it as a general interest..it might make more sense to. Otherwise, it would seem a little random.

I'm never impressed when movies make changes from the books that don't greatly benefit the storyline. Unfortunately this was the case, with several things being completely different. But, if you've not read the books, you won't know any better. Still, I think keeping with the original storyline would've been fine, and definitely wouldn't have made the movie longer if done properly.

I honestly thought the acting was excellent from all of them, and there are quite a few laughs along the way.

I'm giving this a 6. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It should've been better. I doubt they'll continue to make the other books into movies, much like they've completely botched the movie versions of my favourite books (His Dark Materials), but considering a major part of the plot was removed, it doesn't really matter much.

The Percy Jackson books were some of my favorite books growing up, and when a movie came out, I couldn't wait to see it. However, the film stays as far away from the source material as possible, which makes me wonder why the heck this movie was made.



There were certain things the movie just couldn't get right that I didn't think need changing. For example, in the book, Annabeth is blonde, Percy is 12, and when the car crash happens in the beginning, Grover was supposed to be unconscious. While it was true that Luke is evil, Percy doesn't fight him at the end. He fights Ares, the god of war.



The acting is decent, and Logan Lerman is a decent Percy Jackson. The special effects are cool, and the fights are really entertaining. The comedic elements are there, and the chemistry between the three actors are likeable.

In the end, it's just a popcorn flick for the family. It may not be the best movie ever made, but it's decent enough to enjoy. I just wish the movie stuck closer to the source material.