In today’s day and age, one thing film makers struggle with is making actually decent book to film adaptations. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two book series that film makers adapted to make something spectacular, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Both adaptations have their flaws, which could be easily overlooked because of how great the movies were to watch.
Unfortunately, The Lightning Thief film adaptation does not meet viewers expectations when compared to the book. If you were to watch the movie before reading the book, one could enjoy the story and the cinematography. After reading the book however, the film does the book no justice. The main issues I found involved the characters and the entire plot of the movie. The story changes many things Riordan set up in his book, making the character arcs change significantly. Let’s look at some of the most important changes they made to the film.
The Characters
One of the most important distinctions is the age of the characters in the movie. The Lightning Thief book makes the protagonists all around age 12. Percy is meant to face his big prophecy on his 16th birthday. However, in the movie the children are not actually children. They are teenagers who know how to drive, so I am assuming around 16 years old. A prophecy on Percy’s 20th birthday to me does not have the same effect. The background characters all look to be teenagers as well. The movie does not show anyone under that age at Camp Half-Blood.
I found the characters well casted. They are talented actors and fit the view I had about the characters. Two of the biggest issues I found with the characters are Annabeth’s hair color and the love interest between her and Percy. The love interest takes multiple books for it to grow, leading to a climax in the fourth book. However, their attraction to one another is present almost at the start of the movie. Maybe it looks better to Hollywood to have the love interest at the very start of a series. Who am I to say what producers think work and doesn’t work.
In the second movie the actress dyes her hair blond to fit the description in the book. I believe its caused by the possible backlash received for the change. I think Alexandra Daddario’s eyes are stunning and fit what my imagined view of Annabeth’s eyes would look like, but if they were going to change her hair in the second movie, they should’ve changed it in the first. Consistency is important.
The Quest
Let’s move on to the differences with the plot. Percy’s quest is different between the movie and the book. In the book, Percy gets sent on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt from the underworld, because they think Hades will benefit the most from a war between the gods. In the movie however, Percy goes to the underworld to explain to Hades he doesn’t have the bolt in exchange for his mother. To get back from the underworld the trio must find pearls to escape. In the book, the pearls were a gift from Posiedon. The book focuses on the trio getting to the underworld, while the movie focuses on the trio acquiring the pearls.
The antagonists in the two versions are different. In the movie the main antagonist is Hades, but in the book the main antagonist is Ares. In the book, Hades’s helm of darkness gets stolen along with the lightning bolt. While in the movie, Hades does want the bolt to start a war. Ares, as a god of war, makes more sense as the antagonist than Hades. Riordan explains in the book, Hades does not want more death because his realm is already pretty full. Ares does not even make an appearance in the movie even though that’s how Percy, Grover, and Annabeth get to Las Vegas in the book.
Missing Characters and Children Claiming
Along with Ares missing, a few other notable characters are missing from the movie, most notably, Dionysus, Clarisse, and Kronos. Dionysus being left out of the movie makes a little sense. He does not have much to do with the main plot, but he is the camp director. Clarisse on the other hand, furthers the plot and Percy’s character development. In the book, Clarisse bullies Percy by trying to dunk his head in the toilets at camp. Percy uses his power to soak Clarisse with toilet water. This is significant to the book because, unlike the movie, we do not yet know who Percy’s father is. His power hints towards who it could be.
The gods claiming their children is a big plot point in the books. Oftentimes, the gods are bad at claiming them and have no contact with their children. In the book, Poseidon claims Percy after he heals himself with water while fighting Clarisse. In the movie he is a celebrity because everyone already knows who his father is. He spends no time in the Hermes cabin getting to know Luke, and moves instantly to Poseidon’s cabin.
Luke’s Involvement
Not knowing Luke well makes the twist at the end less significant. In the book Luke taught Percy how to sword fight and get along at camp. Luke gave Percy a new home and helped him out. In the movie, all Luke does is give Percy gifts and then betrays him. The shoes Luke gives Percy in the book are cursed. They drag the wearer deep into the underworld, where Kronus lives. In the movie, they do not set up the sequels at all. Kronos is not in the movie at all, and the shoes given to Percy are not cursed. The shoes being cursed gives the reader clues to Luke being evil. In the movie it is an unexpected twist that means less. You never see Percy and Luke develop a relationship the same way they do in the book.
The climax fight between Percy and Luke at the end of the movie never happens in the book either. While it looks cool on screen, Luke is shown as more cunning in the book, which makes sense since his father, Hermes, is the god of thieves. In the book, Luke reveals to Percy he stole the lightning bolt and poisons him with a scorpion and leaves. In the movie, they fight and Percy wins.
Conclusion
While I understand some things have to be cut to make the movie shorter, some of the cuts seem way too important. The movie loosely follows the plot of the book and leaves no room for the set up of sequels. If movies followed the book more strictly, I believe they would not upset the fans as much and be better movies in general. The Lightning Thief movie is entertaining and stands well separately from the books, but after reading the books it doesn’t even compare.
I am excited for the announced Disney+ show. Rick Riordan is involved, which gives me high hopes it’ll more closely resemble his wonderful books. You can count on me comparing the new show to the books. Also, stay tuned for The Sea of Monsters movie and book comparison. I haven’t seen the movie since it came out, but I remember enjoying it way less than the first movie. Do you think I left any major differences out? Want me to compare a different book and movie? Leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
As always, happy reading!