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Movie takes a different path |
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Wednesday, 10 March 2010 |
James Leigh — MDR Staff
It's plain and simple — if you are a stickler for details in a movie based off a book, don't watch the movie.
That is something that I have heard for years, and Chris Columbus' newest film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, is no different.
Now, don't get me wrong — as a stand-alone movie, the film is excellent, using top-notch CGI and amazing directing, but if you expect it to follow the story-line that Rick Riordan laid down in the book, don't get your hopes up.
The major arch of the story doesn’t change that much – you still have a teenage boy struggling with the fact that his father is one of the Greek gods, and he goes on a quest to save his mother and the world. Outside of that, however, the story is pretty different.
In the film, Percy (Logan Lerman) is shown to have learning disabilities, and it doesn’t take long for him to find himself struggling with the problems that come from a broken home.
During a trip to the museum, Percy is told by a substitute teacher that she needed to talk with him. Assuming he had done something to get into trouble, he follows her into a room where a new exhibit is being installed.
After she reveals herself to be a Fury, a fight ensues, and Percy is saved by Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson).
Brunner then tells Percy and Grover that they have to warn Percy’s mom, and they need to get to the camp.
After a brief encounter with Percy’s step-father (played by Joe Pantoliano), the trio rush out of town.
Percy is forced to fight with a minotaur at the gates of the camp, and his mother is grabbed by the beast, disappearing into a shimmer of light.
Percy later wakes up in the camp, and everyone knows that he is the son of Poseidon, a major shift from the novel.
After some training with Grover and his newfound friend Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), Percy decides to go on a quest to save his mother who was captured by Hades.
The film continues in this manner, and the trio travel across the US to find pearls hidden by Persephone which will allow them to escape from Hades after they rescue Percy’s mother.
Overall, the film is wonderful, with excellent acting and directing, and Columbus has again created another fantasy film (Harry Potter and the Soceror’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) that should be seen by both children and parents alike.
Despite the disparity between the book and the film, the film is one that cannot be missed.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is rated PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material and mild language. Four and a half stars out of five.
(This film was reviewed at the Ritz Theater in downtown Malvern.)
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 March 2010 )
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