Tuesday, February 16, 2010

4. February 14, 2010 - Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

A lot of people might mistakenly think that this is nothing but a rip-off of Harry Potter, but they're very wrong. There are definite similarities and Rick Riordan may have been influenced by the wizard novels when he wrote the Olympians series (but really, at this point, who isn't?), but this world has its own clear mythology (ha, see what I did there?) and epic battle to fight. The movie version is different than the first book, but for the most part, the changes did not bother me. I understand making the characters older than 12 (especially if they plan to adapt all five books - less trouble with aging actors) and though I missed the scenes at the St. Louis Arch and the mattress shop with Procrustes, the Hydra scene is fun. I didn't like that they cut the pact made by Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades not to have any more children - that is a major plot point of the series. Sean Bean and Kevin McKidd were perfect as Zeus and Poseidon, as was Steve Coogan as an 80s metal version of Hades. Poor LA, though, sentenced to serve doubly as the entrance to and the fiery pit of the Underworld.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

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