[Movies] Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief.
I will preface this by saying I haven't read any of these books, but I've been tempted. I figured if I were going to, I'd have to see the movie first to keep me from being pissed at how much the movie butchered.
It didn't work. At least, I hope that's what's wrong with the movie.
Why are the demigods all around the same ages? Especially Aphrodite's daughters. What did she do, have a litter?
Why did it take all these millennia for a god to have a child they cared so much about that it disrupted their godly lives and forced Zeus to lay down the law against seeing their half-mortal offspring?
It is obviously not winter, and doesn't look like it's anywhere near winter, even outside Camp Half Blood. Why is Persephone in Hades?
Camp Half Blood? Really? I mean, it's not only unimaginative, it's frankly insulting. "Half blood" generally isn't ever a positive term in anything I've ever read or viewed. If you were going for unimaginative, why not Camp Demigod? It would at least be less insulting.
Where did the kids get the money to go on a road trip across the country?
How could Medusa be involved if Perseus killed her thousands of years ago? Is this a new Medusa to replace the old one? Did the old one sprout a new head like the hydra? Did the writer consider this question at all? Especially since Perseus is mentioned earlier in the film.
Flying shoes are great and all, but how did the rest of their bodies stay aloft when they were flying horizontally? I could let that go with Luke, considering he's Hermes' son and all and that could be explained as one of his gifts. Percy? Is not Hermes' son.
Percy's mom is mortal, and her affair was with the god of the sea. And she can't actually enter Olympus. So what's the justification for her knowing how to work the Magic Elevator to Olympus?
Also, why does the Underworld greatly resemble the Christian concept of Hell, when the Greek underworld actually had several sections, some of which were actually pleasant?
I'm sure I could think of more, but the biggest one for me that is both so ridiculous it had me in convulsions in the theatre, and so offensive for its lack of sense, it's the biggest one for me.
Percy's mom married that abusive asshole because his smell kept the bad guys away???? WHAT??? WHAT THE FUCK??? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? THIS CANNOT BE SERIOUS.
First of all, it's ridiculous. Just... plain stupid.
Then there's the idea that Percy's mom married this asshole to protect her son from a danger that did not exist yet and that she had no way of knowing would ever exist. From what I could see, Percy was not in any danger from either Zeus or Hades until Zeus' master lightening bolt was stolen. Fourteen days before the climax of the movie. So not only was there no danger when she married this guy, the danger came up extremely quickly and lasted a very, very short time, after which Percy's mother immediately left her husband! How does this make any sense???
To me, it's offensive that any woman should have to put up with the abuse and control (and subject her child to it!) that asshole put her and her son through because his smell would mask them from bad guys who may or may not be after her son. Because the only way I can see her thinking Percy might be in danger before he actually was is because the gods were going to find something to fight about eventually. But it wouldn't necessarily involve the demigods, and definitely wouldn't necessarily involve Percy because he had no idea who he was! So I can see absolutely no justification for this action on her part. Besides, couldn't she find a smelly nice guy who would be kind to her and her son? I mean, the abusiveness of Percy's step-father played no role whatsoever in the plot other than as a reason for Percy to be unhappy in his home life, which... really played no role at all in his motivations or actions. So... point? Other than all step-parents are horrible? That all bad people are smelly? That all smelly people are bad? What was the point of this???
I plan to give the first book of this series a try eventually and hope that the movie was just a particularly bad example of butchering the source material. If the book has these same plotholes, though, I won't read past the first one.
It didn't work. At least, I hope that's what's wrong with the movie.
Why are the demigods all around the same ages? Especially Aphrodite's daughters. What did she do, have a litter?
Why did it take all these millennia for a god to have a child they cared so much about that it disrupted their godly lives and forced Zeus to lay down the law against seeing their half-mortal offspring?
It is obviously not winter, and doesn't look like it's anywhere near winter, even outside Camp Half Blood. Why is Persephone in Hades?
Camp Half Blood? Really? I mean, it's not only unimaginative, it's frankly insulting. "Half blood" generally isn't ever a positive term in anything I've ever read or viewed. If you were going for unimaginative, why not Camp Demigod? It would at least be less insulting.
Where did the kids get the money to go on a road trip across the country?
How could Medusa be involved if Perseus killed her thousands of years ago? Is this a new Medusa to replace the old one? Did the old one sprout a new head like the hydra? Did the writer consider this question at all? Especially since Perseus is mentioned earlier in the film.
Flying shoes are great and all, but how did the rest of their bodies stay aloft when they were flying horizontally? I could let that go with Luke, considering he's Hermes' son and all and that could be explained as one of his gifts. Percy? Is not Hermes' son.
Percy's mom is mortal, and her affair was with the god of the sea. And she can't actually enter Olympus. So what's the justification for her knowing how to work the Magic Elevator to Olympus?
Also, why does the Underworld greatly resemble the Christian concept of Hell, when the Greek underworld actually had several sections, some of which were actually pleasant?
I'm sure I could think of more, but the biggest one for me that is both so ridiculous it had me in convulsions in the theatre, and so offensive for its lack of sense, it's the biggest one for me.
Percy's mom married that abusive asshole because his smell kept the bad guys away???? WHAT??? WHAT THE FUCK??? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? THIS CANNOT BE SERIOUS.
First of all, it's ridiculous. Just... plain stupid.
Then there's the idea that Percy's mom married this asshole to protect her son from a danger that did not exist yet and that she had no way of knowing would ever exist. From what I could see, Percy was not in any danger from either Zeus or Hades until Zeus' master lightening bolt was stolen. Fourteen days before the climax of the movie. So not only was there no danger when she married this guy, the danger came up extremely quickly and lasted a very, very short time, after which Percy's mother immediately left her husband! How does this make any sense???
To me, it's offensive that any woman should have to put up with the abuse and control (and subject her child to it!) that asshole put her and her son through because his smell would mask them from bad guys who may or may not be after her son. Because the only way I can see her thinking Percy might be in danger before he actually was is because the gods were going to find something to fight about eventually. But it wouldn't necessarily involve the demigods, and definitely wouldn't necessarily involve Percy because he had no idea who he was! So I can see absolutely no justification for this action on her part. Besides, couldn't she find a smelly nice guy who would be kind to her and her son? I mean, the abusiveness of Percy's step-father played no role whatsoever in the plot other than as a reason for Percy to be unhappy in his home life, which... really played no role at all in his motivations or actions. So... point? Other than all step-parents are horrible? That all bad people are smelly? That all smelly people are bad? What was the point of this???
I plan to give the first book of this series a try eventually and hope that the movie was just a particularly bad example of butchering the source material. If the book has these same plotholes, though, I won't read past the first one.