Book vs. Movie: Percy Jackson& the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Whoop Whoop – today it is time for another Book vs. Movie post!
In January I read the first part of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and was very fond of it. Finally I found the time to also check out the adaptation which hit the cinemas in 2010.
Was it worth my time?

 

The Plot:
Percy is a teenager with a bunch of problems. He has ADHD, dyslexia and most annoying and disgusting step-father, a real father he doesn’t know and on top of that he has but one friend. However, Percy finds out that he is a demigod – that means his real father is Poseidon (that dude from the Greek Gods you might have heard about…). Well, before he even knows what’s going on, Percy is on a quest to find Zeus’ master lightning bolt that was stolen…

 

Book vs. Movie:

Let’s start with the novel. I am very fond of Greek mythology so this book was simply perfect for me. Along with the plot we get bits of interesting info on the Greek Gods. Although I already read quite a bunch of books on that matter, even I learned some new things!
The story is built cleverly around those bits of actual mythology and they are incorporated very well.
Percy’s quest is thrilling and so funny! There are so many clever plot-twist, you just can’t put it down!

Now to the movie. As you can tell, I was pretty excited to finally watch the film. unfortunately I ended up disappointed.
For some reason basically the entire quest was changed. The outline, the stolen bolt and Percy retrieving it, stayed the same but all the adventure, riddles and encounters along the way were either changed our completely left out. Thus the story ended up with no depth, confusing and rushed. Not only did they leave out events, also many characters I would have loved to see didn’t make it to the screen. So many funny bits you don’t get to see!
Furthermore, I was a bit annoyed with the casting. I am aware that you always imagine characters different from what they look like on the screen. But a girl who is described with blond curly hair, having straight brown hair in the film is just a bad joke.

All in all I have to say that the adaptation was a big disappointment. It was an okay-ish film but can’t be compared to the book. Just go ahead and read it instead of bothering with the film. Can’t wait to read the next part!

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!