Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Teen Ink

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

August 19, 2013
By Cyber-Skull PLATINUM, Norfolk, Virginia
Cyber-Skull PLATINUM, Norfolk, Virginia
40 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Why so serious?&quot; -Heath Ledger as The Joker<br /> <br /> &quot;BOOST!&quot; -Welsh Dragon Armor; High School DxD


I know I haven't been on here in a while, and I figured since Sea of Monsters is out, I might as well do lightning thief first. So, here you go.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Boy, that's a mouthful. So the Lightning thief is the first of five books written by Rick Riordan. I enjoy his works, and I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series. When I saw the movie on opening day, I loved it. But now that I'm older, looking back at it made me realize that there are several problems with it. But before I get to bitching and moaning, what's the story of these books?
Well, the main story centers around Percy Jackson (who else?). He is a demigod. And after learning about that, his whole world goes upside down. His mission is to help protect the world from threats like Furies, Hades, and the big bad: Kronos, just like in the books. The first movie, didn't hold up to the book's glory. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the movie itself.
It opens with Poseidon and Zeus (played by Boromir from Lord of the Rings) threatening war on each other because Zeus accused Poseidon's son (Percy) of stealing his ultimate weapon: the Lightning Bolt. Hench the title of the first book, The Lightning thief. Percy is played by Logan Lermen, and he brings all he can to the table on this role. I thought he was pretty good in his role. In fact, he was one of the possible candidates as Spiderman in the Amazing Spiderman, before we got that awesome performance by Andrew Garfield. Percy's best friend, Grover, is a Satyr like in the book. Percy is now a wanted man because every magical creature you can imagine thinks he has the bolt and they want it. Grover escorts Percy to Camp Half-Blood, where they meet the third member of the well known trio, Annebeth. After Hades abducts Percy's mom, he contacts Percy and offers an exchange, the Bolt for his mother. But Percy doesn't have the bolt. Nevertheless, he, Grover and Annebeth head off to the underworld to rescue Percy's mom. Another demigod named Luke helps them by giving them gear, weapons, and a map to pearls that provide a quick escape from the underworld. It's a race against time for Percy and company to reach the underworld and prove his innocence before the Gods wage war on each other. The story resembles that of the book very well, and the action was pretty good for its time. But there's a lot missing from the movie that was in the book. For example, Clarisse isn't in the movie when she was in the book, and the final battle between Luke and Percy doesn't take place at Camp Half-Blood like it did in the book. The rest of the actors are pretty good, but the dialogue feels forced and some points. But for what we got, it wasn't the worst thing Hollywood put on the big screen. I bought it on DVD because I remember it being better the first time I saw it. But for what it is, I'd say it's a 3 out of 5: a good time, and you can stay sober while watching it.
So what did you think of the Lightning Thief movie? What'd you think of the book? Did you see Sea of Monsters? Comment below, let me know. And I'll be sure to get a Sea of Monsters review up as soon as I see it. Bye-bye.


The author's comments:
SHAZAM!!! Do you get it? No? Oh, well.

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This article has 5 comments.


on Feb. 19 2014 at 1:23 pm
Cyber-Skull PLATINUM, Norfolk, Virginia
40 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Why so serious?&quot; -Heath Ledger as The Joker<br /> <br /> &quot;BOOST!&quot; -Welsh Dragon Armor; High School DxD

I also prefer the books and i hope that they don't screw up the lore anymore.

AAPhoenix GOLD said...
on Dec. 10 2013 at 10:18 pm
AAPhoenix GOLD, Las Vegas, Nevada
12 articles 5 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Nothing is real&quot;- John Lennon<br /> &quot;A journey to wisdom is not very far&quot;- Chris D&#039;Lacey

The movie was great, but I love the book a lot more so it kind of keeps me from enjoying it as much as I would like to.

on Sep. 7 2013 at 11:02 pm
StarSophia GOLD, Wauwatosa, WI, Wisconsin
18 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;But it&#039;s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it&#039;ll shine the clearer.&quot; ~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers<br /> <br /> &quot;For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.&quot; ~ Jeremiah 29:11<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.&rdquo; ~ Corrie Ten Boom

I read the entire Percy Jackson books series and loved it and was very excited to see The Lightning Thief movie.  Whenever I am about to watch a movie based on a book, I begin by not expecting it to be good and not expecting it to follow the book.  I mean, how can a 1.5-2 hour movie display everything perfectly that was in a 350+ page book?  Then if it does, I am pleasantly surprised!  But if it doesn't (which is unfortunately the majority of the time), I can appreciate the movie for what it is without comparing it too harshly to the books.  That said, I really did enjoy the movie as well as the books and am looking forward to watching the Sea of Monsters someday soon!

on Sep. 4 2013 at 2:11 pm
Cyber-Skull PLATINUM, Norfolk, Virginia
40 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Why so serious?&quot; -Heath Ledger as The Joker<br /> <br /> &quot;BOOST!&quot; -Welsh Dragon Armor; High School DxD

I read the books and watched the movie and it was disappointing

on Sep. 3 2013 at 8:57 pm
thegalacticunicorn BRONZE, San Francisco, California
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream&quot;<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> -Edgar Allan Poe

Personally, I loathed the movie. that said,  I was a huge Percy Jackson fan when the film came out, so all the little details they changed really annoyed me. if you didn't read the book, you'll probably like the movie a lot more.