So, I did not grow up with this book. My introduction was the movie and when I found it that it actually was a book first, and the book was much better according to some, I decided to read the books. So, I got the audiobook and listened to it and, yeah, I get why people who first had read the book was angry at the movie.
To understand why, lets go through the movie and the book. My format will be that I would count up the larger things I noticed and put them in a pros and cons. I will base the pro and cons based on the movie, comparing them to the book, and explain how the differences are just that. At the end I will give my honest opinion on which was better.
What was good?
The Aged-up Characters
In the books they were twelve years old and put in mortal danger. In the movie they were at least sixteen which meant that the danger made more sense. It made more sense to send someone close to an adult on a quest which involved killing monsters and go to a place where no one returned, than a boy who hasn’t even hit puberty yet. Especially when they fight with swords, and I kept wondering how a twelve-year-old boy could lift and swing a sword like a master. I know they are half gods but still.
Of course, the movie added some things that came with the older age such as a romantic plot. God help us if the main character didn’t fall in love with the only girl present. I mean what else would boys and girls think of when they are hunted by monsters in search of a mythological artifact that needs to be found to prevent a war. Not to mention that Grover became… Even worse than he was in the book. His interest shifted from food to girls. So much better.
The Battles
I have never liked reading battles, especially physical ones between two people in close combat. Even as young, I prefer the calmer and more emotional scenes in books and Percy Jackson was filled with battle scenes. I felt, they were more interesting in the movie, they were simply more interesting for me in a visual medium than in literature. Of course, this comes from one who isn’t much for battles so someone with interest might beg the different.
What was Bad?
Missing scenes
The movie had taken out a lot of vital scenes in the beginning and later on. One that bother me the most was the beginning. They do something similar as the first Harry Potter film that took away a large portion of the beginning where we follow the Dursley before we even find out about Harry and he comes to them as a baby. These scenes were not necessary since we do get a grasp on Dursley’s character later on but the start of the book introduces Percy and his character. He is the main character. It is important that we know who he is so that we care.
The book achieves this by having Percy tell us that he protected Grover from a bully, he adores his mother and his problems in school. The movie doesn’t even care to do this and just throws Percy into the world making him really lacking in any personality.
Another scene they pretty much have removed is the one where Poseidon’s symbol comes up, claiming Percy has his son. In the movie everyone just knows already which takes away an important moment. Percy goes through the quest for his father, because he wants to make the father who claimed him proud. He gets hurt when Poseidon pretty much ignores him at the end which make sense considering that Percy actually believes his father wanted him. Removing that also removes the start of their relationship and possible future interactions.
Added Scenes
The movie adds scenes and lore not really necessary. Such as the plot point of gods not being allowed to see their children. That doesn’t exist in the books. It probably was added to achieve extra drama but it felt weird. It could be argued that it adds motivation for Luke to hate his father and the gods but overall, I think is unnecessary and makes the motivations of the kids in the camp a bit off. Many of them wants to have a quest to make their parents proud… A parent they will never meet. How does that make sense?
They also pretty much changes, or add if you think of it that way, the scene at the end making it seem that Poseidon was a warm and gentle father who adored his son. In the book he was awkward at best and doesn’t know how to treat him as a son. More realistic with other words. Now, this is a matter of taste since I presume that some might prefer that Poseidon was a loving father rather than a powerful, but awkward god who just happened to have fathered a son.
Changed, taken out or added Characters
And there is a lot of them, and there are characters that are just not there. Some of them I can understand, but they leave a vacuum for future films. Such as Clarisse, the daughter of Ares who is nowhere to be seen in the movie, but she is introduced in the book. Which might not be a big deal if you just watch the first movie, but introducing her is setting up the second book and movie. Not to mention, Ares, one of the main villains, who just isn’t there. What did they even think there?
I don’t even want to think what the movie did with poor Hades, who Percy in the book says is the first God he actually understood why he was a god. In the movies he is just… That. And they added the sexy Persephone, why? I don’t know. What children apparently needed was a nice set of tits to gawk at.
Even Worse Pace
If you have read my review on the first book, then you might remember that I wasn’t a big fan of the pace in the latter part of the book. Too much action, and hardly any time to breath. The movie apparently agreed and put in a even higher pace, only interrupted by added scenes in the romantic plot. Frankly it was even worse, the movie felt rushed and I thought that even before I read the books. I couldn’t understand why they ran from one place to another without letting the watchers grasp what was going on and I’m not sure that those who made the movie did either.
Conclusion
If it wasn’t apparent, I preferred the books. The movie was a mess. I still enjoyed the movie, mind you, but the book was better according to me. It had more characters, making the story seem more full, better pace, though I still thought it was too much action, and better lore. The movie added things not necessary such as the romantic scenes and removed vital ones such as who Percy is as a person.
Overall, I would recommend the book over the movie and suggest that people don’t shy away from the book if they did not like the movie.
With Kind Regards
Senefer.
Read with Senefer 