The Percy Jackson Movies

[Olivia Harris]

So I'm not sure if this has already been discussed (or ranted about) but I was so disappointed in the Percy Jackson movies. The books were so astounding and brilliant that I couldn't have been more disappointed in the films! I was excited to see how they would portray them but that was such a let down. I loved Logan Lerman in The Perks of Being A Wallflower, he was AMAZING, but in an interview with the cast, they claimed they had never heard of Blue Food.

I mean... wow.

Please somebody rant with me on this!!

[Genaaa]

I definitely think the books were better with the movies. The problem with converting books into movies is the time limit that it has to fit into. When an author writes a book they have so many pages that they can write intricate emotions and details into. When it comes to movies, they usually have to be near or under the two hour mark. I don't think that it's Logan Lerman's fault because he's a brilliant actor in all the movies he's in, I just think it has to do with the fact that they can never fit all the amazing details into the movies.

[Michelle92]

I will totally agree with you in this. It was a huge disappointment for me as well because I was so mesmerized with the books, the series, the characters and all that I had a little faith in what they could do in the movie. But I really think that it was a total let down for whoever had the luck of reading at least just one book first.

[august_angel15]

I completely agree. I was excited to find out that the books were being put on the big screen, but when it was time to watch the film it was a huge disappointment. It gets frustrating when you get so lost in the books, and you get pumped up for the movie to come out and it ends up being a flop. Usually if the first movie in the series is not that good, they step it up with the second movie, but this definitely was not the case for Percy Jackson. The second movie was a bigger disappointment than the first one.

I'm finding more often that I'm disappointed with book to film adaptations. I know they are limited, but can't they at least stick to the main story and not make up scenes and/or characters?

[ebeth]

I have never heard of them and have never read or watched them.

[meg_may]

Agreed. The books were so entertaining and fun to read - the movies were just a let down. I used to teach fourth grade and I had so many kids read The Lightning Thief before it was released on video; they were disappointed as well. The books were entertaining enough as is, why make so many Hollywood style "improvements?"

[Sharon_Dsouza]

I don't know if anyone ever feels this way but every time I hear that they are going to make one of my favourite books into a movie or TV series I just know its going to be terrible and everyone who didn't read the books are going to judge them based on the movies!
Like with Percy Jackson, the books are wonderful! They appeal to all ages and have been written in such a way that the characters feel real and so do their troubles. Movies just make you feel like a third person totally disconnect from the character. I think the worst thing that happens when they turn books into movies is a that they don't incorporate the characters weird quirks, like Percy's blue food! Don't you guys agree?

[alimsj827]

Oh my goodness don't get me started on this! First of all, I completely agree with you, it was disappointing. And Annabeth Chase's hair? I know that seems like a silly thing to be upset about but golden curly hair was mentioned throughout the entire series! The books were so descriptive and magical and the movies just seemed to have a darkness to them.

This series was my life, I love it more than Harry Potter, I just am so sad that it never got the attention and praise it deserved. And the movies weren't even successful? I feel that if the movies were as good as the books with the color and detail and wondrous as the books, they would have done better.

[Aohanlon86]

Agreed the books are way better then the movie. I have only seen the 1st one tho. The second one has be curious because it has nathan fillion in it. I like some of his other work

-- 19 Nov 2016, 19:55 --

Oh my goodness don't get me started on this! First of all, I completely agree with you, it was disappointing. And Annabeth Chase's hair? I know that seems like a silly thing to be upset about but golden curly hair was mentioned throughout the entire series! The books were so descriptive and magical and the movies just seemed to have a darkness to them.

This series was my life, I love it more than Harry Potter, I just am so sad that it never got the attention and praise it deserved. And the movies weren't even successful? I feel that if the movies were as good as the books with the color and detail and wondrous as the books, they would have done better.

I agree the Harry Potter movies are just as good as the books. but it is a bummer they didn't put peeves in the movies

[aimlessreader]

Oh man, this is the right post for me. When the movie first came out I was in fourth grade and I hadn't read the books, but I LOVED the movie. I loved it so much that I begged my mom to drive me to the bookstore and buy me a copy of the book as soon as the credits started rolling. That copy of the book is now taped togeather from being read so much.
Anyways, as soon as finished the first chapter of the book a burning hatred for the movie started growing in me, I was already ranting about everything the movie got wrong by the time we got home.

I mean they changed everything from the characters's ages to Annabeth's hair color to the PLOT. I was angry about the movie for years. I wrote tons of list of everything wrong with the movie and how much I hated it and how disappointed I was in it.

[The Ellipsis Writer]

The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is my favorite book series of all time, so needless to say, I was beyond disappointed by the film adaptation of The Lightning Thief. I never even saw the second film adaption.

As so many people have said, the issue is that it is hard for filmmakers to recreate a book into a movie due to time challenges. However, I find that to be a sad and tired excuse too many people use to justify a poor film adaption of a wonderful book, video game, comic book, etc. The fact of the matter is that much longer and much more expansive books have been made into films in the past, and those film adaptions still uphold as some of the greatest in cinematic history. The obvious example are the Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series. Those books were far longer and had a lot more chunk to their stories than the Percy Jackson book series (which in of itself is rather expansive, just not as huge as the others), and yet the film adaptions of those books brought forth some of the worlds best movies ever made.

It just boils down to who is adapting the books. As it turns out, the people who adapted PJATO into films were not as well prepared to do so. Oddly enough, Chris Columbus was the director of the first two Harry Potter movies, as well as the first Percy Jackson movie. How he could direct two amazing film adaptions so well, and then adapt a really poor film just goes to show that there are more people involved in a bad film than just the director. There were many people responsible for the film and how it turned out, and it is sad to say, but the way the movie came off, those people simply did not care enough. When a well known and beloved book has the chance to be adapted into a film, people will either take it seriously to make a good film, or abuse the devotion of the fans to make a big profit from a minimal effort of a film. From what we saw in the PJATO films, I can only guess what the motivation was behind that one.

It really is a shame in the end. I adore this book series more than any other, and to see it's cinematic debut do so bad is saddening. There were many efforts that could have been taken to make it a great film, including better casting (I find it repulsive that they cast a 26 year old woman to play a 12 year old girl), better acting (when the actors are poorly assigned to characters that do not fit with who is playing them, the acting will indeed suffer for it), the effects (it is one thing to have too much CG, but when there is too much bad CG, that makes things ten times worse), and the list goes on. Not to mention the film strayed from the plot in a lot of ways that it should not have. As a general rule of thumb, I feel that the filmmakers who are adapting an original work into a movie should not stray at all from the source material unless it makes sense for the timing of the movie, assuming a second film will be made. The film adaption of the Lightning Thief strayed in ways that did not make sense and I think it was a little presumptuous of the filmmakers to assume that a second film could be made... even though it was.

In all, I agree that the film adaptions of the Percy Jackson book series are disappointing cases. Hopefully, so long as the people who made the first two movies keep their hands off of the books, in the future, better movie will be made, with actual children playing the roles and who can act worth a dime, as well as effects that make the movie a real visual experience and a plot that all readers of the books know to be true...

[kodabear]

I love. Their the best type of movies but from reading the books its such a let down. It could of been so much better.

-- 10 Dec 2016, 11:47 --

That's just what I think though.

[Micheal mathew]

I totally agree the books were really really good but the movie sucks .When I read the book I could totally picture the whole plot in my mind and even thought that when the movie releases it will be a huge hit but it turned out quite the opposite.I think I fell asleep halfway through the movie

[bandsqueen85]

i thought the movies couldve been wayyy better. although i am sad they havent made any more movies, i would've loved to see how the ended the movies, since they switched everything up.

[Sidenote]

I've only watched the first adaptation of The Lightning Thief.
I was entertained by the movie until I've read the book. Sometimes you don't even know a book of that kind exists before a movie trailer comes out. Anyways, details such as Annabeth's hair bothers me when I see the trailer. It may have been the actor's choice not to dye her hair or put on a wig, but it was such a let-down to readers of the book. So, yes, it was pretty disappointing to watch the movie again after reading the book, but it introduced me to the series.