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By Celeste Hollister
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
I read the book “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan upon my daughter’s recommendation
four years ago, when she was seven and it was her “favorite book of all time, forever.”
Immediately, I saw why: the main characters are three flawed and fumbling kids who must
navigate a tricky pantheon of uber-powerful mythological gods, ominous prophecies, and
deception to discover who they really are on the inside. Y’know - Classic Hero myth updated to
a modern world, where a satyr can hide out in a private school dressed in a Rasta cap and on
crutches, a centaur can be disguised by a magical wheelchair, and an Algebra teacher can be
vaporized with a magical ball-point pen.
Upon reading the book, I knew I had to share it with my seventh grade classes. Many of them
continued the five-book series and credit “The Lightning Thief” as the book that “got them
into reading.”
Therefore, this book is no mere trifle in the eyes and hearts of Rick Riordan’s readers. The
book series is beloved to them. They know the characters and plot by heart, which is why,
after seeing Chris Columbus’s screen rendition of the book, I can say that I have never been
more disappointed in a movie.
Here’s my thought: Why would Craig Titley, who wrote the screenplay, alter the storyline so
much as to make it virtually unrecognizable to its devoted fan-base? It seems that Columbus and
Titley stripped out the humor that makes the main characters so endearing and traded it for
added fight scenes and over-the-top special effects.
Part of the appeal of Percy Jackson is his unlikelihood as a hero. He’s an accident-prone C-
minus student with ADHD and dyslexia, but has heart enough to worry that he’s a
disappointment to his mother. Meanwhile, he protects his geeky crippled friend Grover from
school bullies, even though the bullies (and the math teacher from Hell – literally) greatly
outnumber them. It’s Percy’s heart – not his fighting prowess – that make him a hero.
However, in the movie, Logan Lerman’s Percy is a swaggering cutie who picks up martial arts
moves and sword-fighting skills with the ease of a video gamer, and without the character-
building humiliation at the hands of skilled-opponent-and-rival, Luke.
And don’t get me started on Luke. What? Was there a clause in Jake Abel’s contract that
prohibited facial scarring? Or was it “budgetary constraints” that eliminated the possibility of
make-up for Luke’s trademark disfigurement?
Then there’s the matter of Clarisse, whom Titley chose to merge with the character of
Annabeth, daughter of Athena. The combination yields a brunette (Were there no blonde
actresses available in Hollywood?) with less depth than the Annabeth of the book, and roughly
one-quarter of the charm of a daughter of Ares. For Annabeth fans, this is beyond offensive.
Annabeth’s part has been cannibalized, with her most important lines going instead to Grover
and Chiron.
I think what bothers me the most about this movie, though, is its disregard for the people who
love the book, who wanted to see a Minotaur in tighty-whities and a Harley-riding Ares with
twin nuclear explosions reflected in his mirror shades. Instead, we received a plot that has
been bastardized to the point of insult. We have been waiting for years to see our favorite
demigods and satyrs on the big screen. Instead, we get an over-simplified parody of the
characters. Take Grover for example. He should be hapless and inept; instead, he’s a savvy
nymph-crazy party animal who wields his crutches like quarter staves.
Also axed from the storyline is the mystery surrounding Percy’s arrival at Camp Half-Blood and
the discovery of his true father. Rick Riordan mentioned in an interview on NPR this morning
that the filmmakers simply did not have the budget to make the movie exactly like the book.
But from a writer’s perspective, the alterations to storyline don’t make any sense. Cut the
Balrog rip-off CGI of Hades, then, but leave the plot alone.
With regard to movies adapted from books, J. K. Rowling can be lauded again as an example of
how it should be done. Harry Potter fans will attest that while some of the scenes must be
streamlined for the sake of screen time, the spirit of the story remains true.
Keep the story. Keep the characters. Most important, though, don’t mess it up for the kids.
They’re the devoted readers who line up at the box office weeks in advance for tickets, who
turn up on opening night with satyr horns stuck to their heads with duct tape. They’re the
ones filmmakers should keep in mind when making the movie. And if it’s done right, they’re the
ones who will buy in for every sequel.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
I read the book “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan upon my daughter’s recommendation
four years ago, when she was seven and it was her “favorite book of all time, forever.”
Immediately, I saw why: the main characters are three flawed and fumbling kids who must
navigate a tricky pantheon of uber-powerful mythological gods, ominous prophecies, and
deception to discover who they really are on the inside. Y’know - Classic Hero myth updated to
a modern world, where a satyr can hide out in a private school dressed in a Rasta cap and on
crutches, a centaur can be disguised by a magical wheelchair, and an Algebra teacher can be
vaporized with a magical ball-point pen.
Upon reading the book, I knew I had to share it with my seventh grade classes. Many of them
continued the five-book series and credit “The Lightning Thief” as the book that “got them
into reading.”
Therefore, this book is no mere trifle in the eyes and hearts of Rick Riordan’s readers. The
book series is beloved to them. They know the characters and plot by heart, which is why,
after seeing Chris Columbus’s screen rendition of the book, I can say that I have never been
more disappointed in a movie.
Here’s my thought: Why would Craig Titley, who wrote the screenplay, alter the storyline so
much as to make it virtually unrecognizable to its devoted fan-base? It seems that Columbus and
Titley stripped out the humor that makes the main characters so endearing and traded it for
added fight scenes and over-the-top special effects.
Part of the appeal of Percy Jackson is his unlikelihood as a hero. He’s an accident-prone C-
minus student with ADHD and dyslexia, but has heart enough to worry that he’s a
disappointment to his mother. Meanwhile, he protects his geeky crippled friend Grover from
school bullies, even though the bullies (and the math teacher from Hell – literally) greatly
outnumber them. It’s Percy’s heart – not his fighting prowess – that make him a hero.
However, in the movie, Logan Lerman’s Percy is a swaggering cutie who picks up martial arts
moves and sword-fighting skills with the ease of a video gamer, and without the character-
building humiliation at the hands of skilled-opponent-and-rival, Luke.
And don’t get me started on Luke. What? Was there a clause in Jake Abel’s contract that
prohibited facial scarring? Or was it “budgetary constraints” that eliminated the possibility of
make-up for Luke’s trademark disfigurement?
Then there’s the matter of Clarisse, whom Titley chose to merge with the character of
Annabeth, daughter of Athena. The combination yields a brunette (Were there no blonde
actresses available in Hollywood?) with less depth than the Annabeth of the book, and roughly
one-quarter of the charm of a daughter of Ares. For Annabeth fans, this is beyond offensive.
Annabeth’s part has been cannibalized, with her most important lines going instead to Grover
and Chiron.
I think what bothers me the most about this movie, though, is its disregard for the people who
love the book, who wanted to see a Minotaur in tighty-whities and a Harley-riding Ares with
twin nuclear explosions reflected in his mirror shades. Instead, we received a plot that has
been bastardized to the point of insult. We have been waiting for years to see our favorite
demigods and satyrs on the big screen. Instead, we get an over-simplified parody of the
characters. Take Grover for example. He should be hapless and inept; instead, he’s a savvy
nymph-crazy party animal who wields his crutches like quarter staves.
Also axed from the storyline is the mystery surrounding Percy’s arrival at Camp Half-Blood and
the discovery of his true father. Rick Riordan mentioned in an interview on NPR this morning
that the filmmakers simply did not have the budget to make the movie exactly like the book.
But from a writer’s perspective, the alterations to storyline don’t make any sense. Cut the
Balrog rip-off CGI of Hades, then, but leave the plot alone.
With regard to movies adapted from books, J. K. Rowling can be lauded again as an example of
how it should be done. Harry Potter fans will attest that while some of the scenes must be
streamlined for the sake of screen time, the spirit of the story remains true.
Keep the story. Keep the characters. Most important, though, don’t mess it up for the kids.
They’re the devoted readers who line up at the box office weeks in advance for tickets, who
turn up on opening night with satyr horns stuck to their heads with duct tape. They’re the
ones filmmakers should keep in mind when making the movie. And if it’s done right, they’re the
ones who will buy in for every sequel.
