| Author |
Message |
| chuckysin |
Post subject: Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightning Thief
 Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 7:32 am |
|
| Lunatic |
 |
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:45 am
Posts: 159
|
Attachment:
movie poster
percy_jackson_and_the_olympians_the_lightning_thief_ver2.jpg [ 104.64 KiB ]
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, I know what the hell am I doing going to see a kids movie? Well I have a kid, so being a father I often times will subject myself to the easy going mindless pleasure that is the world of childrens books and movies. We have all seen an absolute influx in the conversion of books to movies lately, some turn out to be pretty well done (Harry Potter series) Others are absolutely horrid adaptations (Spiderwicks). My daughter was very interested in seeing the film as we read the book together not too long ago. So, on Saturday morning we decided to go see the movie and how well it translated to be the big screen.
Now to avoid turning this into a comparison, I will simply say, if you read the books, please disregard the plot line, the time lines and the themes of the books, or you will not enjoy the movie. This movie was a very loose adaptation of the book, sharing a few connections of events, removing what I saw as key events in the books and adding new events. But overall the movie was enjoyable for what it was, a kids movie.
Story: Percy Jackson is a modern day deviant, he is enrolled in a private school for troubled students, he suffers from dyslexia, ADHD and has the modern day attitude of just not giving a rats ass about much around him. Until the day he is attacked by his teacher that turns into a bat like creature (she is in fact supposed to be one of the mythological Furies). With that he discovers that he is in fact not a normal teen filled with angst, but rather the son of the Greek god Poseidon. At this he is rushed to a camp for other demi-gods (referred to as half-bloods in the film and book), where he will meet two more protagonists and find out that he is being accused of stealing Zeus' master bolt. The movies story is then laid that if the bolt is not returned in 12 days, a war between the gods will break out, because Zeus is accusing Poseidon for the theft. Hades is then thrown into the mix demanding that Percy give him the bolt, and in exchange he will return Percy's recently killed (by the minotaur) mother back. Percy knows he doesn't have the bolt, but decides to run away from the camp to get his mother back from the underworld. Now the quest begins and the movie can get rolling.
Attachment:
the three main characters
2555519.jpg [ 33.5 KiB ]
The Characters: You have three essential characters to this film, first and foremost is Percy Jackson, son of the god Poseidon. Second is the romantic interest, Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, and Grover the protector who just happens to be half donkey, oh excuse me goat, he is a satyr. Now my problem isn’t with the acting I honestly think the kids that did the acting did a fair job, my issue was with the character development, or lack of character development. They rushed so much to get to the special effects and the fights that they left out the key points of why are the characters the way they are, why should you relate to them or cheer them on. You simply just watch the film, watch the actors do their bit and really have no shred of caring for the character. Percy in the books is actually a very in depth kid, and you can relate to him even as an adult because you most likely felt many of the things that he feels, therefore, you establish a soft of pseudo bond with him. The movie just rushes past that. Leaving you feeling a little confused and empty.
Attachment:
Gods in their Glory
percy-jackson-2.jpg [ 83.06 KiB ]
At this point you have the minor characters, the Gods themselves, who’s role is very minimal in the film, but they are there and that is about it. At the end they tried to establish the abandoned father and I had to between Percy and Poseidon but it kinda feel short. I really think they could have played the resentment factor and the inner battle that Percy had about coming to terms with his father, but they decided it would be too complex so let’s cut the heads off of shit instead. You have Pierce Brosnan playing Chiron, the trainer of hero’s past here to train the new young heroes, but you really don’t see much training or relationships, he’s almost a cameo role if anything, a big name to put in lights to make the soccer mom’s swoon at his hairy backside as he runs around in his CGI glory. Then the best role goes to Medusa played by Uma Thurman, while the role didn’t require any acting ability, I still found that to be one of the more interesting parts, simply because of the rendering of her hair and how they played the modern day Gorgon.
Attachment:
alg_medusa.jpg [ 72.79 KiB ]
Overall impressions: I’ll say that the movie wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. It felt very rushed, very unexplained, if you don’t know Greek mythology, you’ll be lost, if you read the books, you’ll be kind of upset with the story arc not matching at all. I’ll save that for a review of the books if I ever decide to stop being a lazy ass. As I was saying, its rushed, they don’t explain much, like why is Chiron still alive, he is not immortal? How is it Medusa is out and about walking around in the modern day world? Why in the hell is Olympus hovering over the empire state building? If the writers expected that the audience would be readers of the book they should have stuck to the books story line, but in changing it so much they should have made an explanation as to things like that. The fact that the Gods move with western civilization, first it was Greece, then Rome, then England and now the Center of the universe New York. They could have given 10 – 15 more minutes of film time and given a lot of explanation and character development in the process. Then again, most people are pretty much mindless when it comes to movies, and are more concerned with the CGI and action scenes then an actual plot line and story being developed. The CGI was well done, not over abused but the film was dependent upon it. Then again, what film that is an action film these days isn’t. So if you have kids, you may enjoy this film, I’m not going to say I didn’t, I was impressed, I laughed at a few of the things and I enjoyed the scenes. I went in open minded knowing from the previews it would not follow the book so that made it a lot easier to swallow. I just wish Hollywood would stop insulting movie goers and give us some character development again
Last edited by chuckysin on Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
|
|
| Top |
|
 |
| LaughingMan |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:13 am |
|
| Fanatic |
 |
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:25 pm
Posts: 4669
Location: Between Genius and Insaniy
|
chuckysin wrote: Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, i know what the hell am I doing going to see a kids movie? Well I have a kid, so being a father I often times will subject myself to the easy going mindless pleasure that is the world of children’s books and movies. We have all seen an absolute influx in the conversion of books to movies lately, some turn out to be pretty well done (Harry Potter series) Others are absolutely horrid adaptations (Spiderwicks). My daughter was very interested in seeing the film as we read the book together not t0o long ago. So, on Saturday morning we decided to go see the movie and how well it translated to be the big screen.
Now to avoid turning this into a comparison, I will simply say, if you read the books, please disregard the plot line, the timelines and the themes of the books, or you will not enjoy the movie. This movie was a very loose adaptation of the book, sharing few connections of events, removing what I saw as key events in the books and adding new events. But overall the movie was enjoyable for what it was, a kids movie.
So here we go with my thoughts on the film:
The story line is pretty much straight forward and simple, a kid discovers he is the half blood son of the god of the sea Poseidon, for that reason he has inherited many traits of the common trouble maker, but in reality they are the hardwiring of his brain to that of the ancient Greeks. Percy Jackson (the hero) is accused of stealing Zeus’ ultimate weapon, his master bolt, and if he does not return it by the solstice a war will break out between Zeus and Poseidon.
The movie lacks any form of real character development, if Percy were to die at the end of the movie, you would not have felt much of anything, no reason to sympathize or to really care for him or any of the main characters. No real development of the relationships between the friends or the complexity of those relationships.
The special effects, are, to say the least, a very good part of the movie, they did a great job in the creation of the modern Medusa, (played by Uma Therman), the Hydra, and Hades. It was good eye candy and something to keep you watching.
The flow of the movie is very erratic, very ADD in that it moves quickly in short and fast bursts from one thing to the other with no real slow down, Which I can appreciate as something from the book, since the Demi-gods are supposed to all have ADHD, but it also borders annoying since you don’t have much time to absorb what just happened, or left in suspense in what is to come. Straightforward is good, but too straightforward is pretty boring.
So overall, I say if you have a kid, it is an enjoyable flick, if you are looking for something that is a good adaptation of a great little kids book, avoid it. If you can throw away the preconceptions you have from reading the books then you may very well be able to enjoy it. And just to be cliché if I were to rate this movie, I’d give it 3 out of 5 stars. Honestly when I saw the trailer for this on TV I thought it actually was a new Harry Potter movie. Same style and even the same title screen look. I just thought that they finally changed the cast or something.
_________________
"Humor is reason gone mad" - Groucho Marx
 
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| chuckysin |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:49 am |
|
| Lunatic |
|
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:45 am
Posts: 159
|
|
alot of similiarties in the books of Potter and Percy Jackson, 12 yr old boy, thrust into a new world, adversity and what not. but different styles in writing and character development between them.
As for the Potter movies, two are left, the two Deathly Hallows, since they decided that they would not be able to take the deathly hallows book and condense it into one movie. Cast is all the same though.
What I'm waiting for is the HBO series "A Game of Thrones" based on the book by George R R Martin.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| neuromancer99 |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:30 pm |
|
| Lunatic |
 |
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:44 am
Posts: 133
|
|
Whasup newbie.
Like I have any room to talk being a noob myself to this forum.
I do have a quick question though: is this a review or just a heads up post? If it is a review for the site I would recommend making it longer, adding pictures, and more information like the others do. If it is just a quick shoutout then forget I said anything except the HELLO.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| chuckysin |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:03 pm |
|
| Lunatic |
|
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:45 am
Posts: 159
|
|
yeah i'll go back in and add more here probly tomorrow.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| X_SWORDFISH_X |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:19 am |
|
| Fanatic |
 |
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:28 am
Posts: 641
Location: on the moon bitch!
|
|
I need to write a childrens book. Something original. I'll call it
STEVIE SMITH AND FRIENDS, AND THE SHADOW BANDIT OF THE NORKNORK SHIRE FIRE MIRROR OF DOOM IN THE LAIR OF THE SPIDER-MONKEYS (LITERALLY HALF-SPIDER HALF-MONKEYS)!!
It will be about a boy who has magical powers and he is being taught how to use those powers and he has to battle a bad guy and three-fourths of the movie will be all computer animation!
WHO SAYS ALL ORIGINAL IDEAS ARE TAKEN?
_________________
ANTI-ANTI IN THE U.S.A.!
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| Alex_J |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians "The Lightening Thief"
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 2:11 pm |
|
| Fanatic |
 |
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:31 pm
Posts: 440
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| AlphawolfX |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightening Thief (editd)
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:38 pm |
|
| Fanatic |
 |
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:43 pm
Posts: 625
|
|
Hi there Chuck
If you want to keep a topic afloat so LaughingMan and crew see it you might want to add a comment at the end after you make any edits. Now on the home page it looks like there was some activity and people will check it out.
It's nice to see some new content from newbies.
Peace!
_________________
I Am Jack's Complete Lack of Surprise
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| chuckysin |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightening Thief (editd)
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:16 pm |
|
| Lunatic |
|
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:45 am
Posts: 159
|
|
Thanks for the tip alphawolf, ill make sure to keep that in mind and do so
|
|
| Top |
|
|
| Alex_J |
Post subject: Re: Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Lightening Thief (editd)
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:58 pm |
|
| Fanatic |
|
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:31 pm
Posts: 440
|
|
The new green review is a lot more polished than your first post and I like it a lot more.
I think that if you ran the review through an MS Word grammar/spelling checker and gave this some kind of rating (stars or whatever) like in some of the Horror Corner review this review should be greenlit as a feature for the site.
_________________
|
|
| Top |
|
|
SitemapIndex
RSS Feed