The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (movie review)

A few days ago I went and saw The Lightning Thief, starring Logan Lerman (Percy), Brandon Jackson (Grover), and Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth). Although I read the book a long time ago and had forgotten quite a bit, I was surprised by how different the movie was from the book. They made a lot of changes and it definitely made me want to reread the book. I enjoyed the movie though, I thought it was really well done and would recommend seeing it. The casting was okay, Percy was a lot older than I pictured him. I thought he did a good job though, he played the part well. Grover was also cast well, he added a bit of humor here and there and he was fun to watch. Annabeth was just okay for me. I guess I just pictured her totally different and I didn’t really see a whole lot of chemistry between her and Percy. She was also a little tougher than I remember from the book, it seemed like in the book she was more academic and would beat her opponents using her wits, not her muscles. So, even though I really enjoyed the movie (and look forward to seeing the rest of the series), I think I preferred the book a little more. In the book we were able to see the Gods more, camp half-blood was better developed, and the overall story was more detailed and the movie took away some of the charm.

Book Synopsis:
Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

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