Monday, February 15, 2010

Percy Jackson #1 Movie: Thoughts?

So I meant to post this last Friday, but didn't find the time to do so.

Percy Jackson #1 debuted on the big screen last weekend. I loved the first book, and have been eagerly anticipating the movie's arrival in theaters. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it just yet (hopefully, this weekend!).

Now, reviews have been mixed and Rotten Tomatoes is at 49% at the time of this post), but I don't put much stock into critics' movie reviews. Well, other than for entertainment value. Some of those reviews are very cleverly composed.

From what I've gathered, the book has definitely gone through some "adaptations" to fit the big screen. Percy is 17, not 11, a choice consciously made to appeal to an older audience. I hear that Ares and Clarisse are also conspicuously missing from the cast of characters. Seems a bit of a shame, as they were some of the more memorable additions to the book.

This will likely be my first time watching a movie for which I've already read the book beforehand. (Don't laugh!) I'm not sure how I will react, knowing what the "real" story is. However, I'd like to think I am not so high maintenance that I would nitpick every single discrepancy between the book and film. They are, after all, different media and meant for different audiences. A strict, direct conversion would likely be less successful than an adaptation with the proper considerations and liberties. Of course, "proper" is subjective in this case, right?

Have you seen the new PJ movie? What did you think? Or do you have no intention of seeing it?

Oh, and please refrain from spoilers. I still haven't seen it yet!

8 comments:

  1. This will be no surprise to you but I saw it on Friday night. It was quite different from the book and they did take several liberties with the story. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. :) Having said that, it's not amazing by any means and I'm pretty sure a lot of people will find it lame or disappointing so don't think since I love it that you or anyone else will. You above all people know that I generally like all movies I watch. And, because I have such a love for Percy and L-squared, I didn't nitpick as other people will. :)

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  2. I was supposed to go today...but my friend got sick. I really am not happy about the changes regarding age and Annabeth. Ugh.

    I believe you will end up pissed. Let me know.

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  3. @Trina: Yeah, not surprised. :) And way to use our new nickname. :)

    @Jon: So I'm a lot like my sister (i.e., easily satisfied when it comes to movies). We'll have to see. I'll definitely post my thoughts, once I've seen the movie. You'll have to let me know your final verdict as well.

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  4. Oh, I will. Just know, I am very protective of the text's version of a characters or occurrence...that's why I'm so uptight about movies. It also tends to be true that the scenes from the books that are my absolute favorite are missing from the movies.

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  5. Jonathon, you are going to hate the movie. Just so you know.

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  6. Thanks for the heads up...so maybe I'll save my ten bucks and see Avatar after all.

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  7. I have seen it. If you go into it for entertainment purposes, you'll love it. Otherwise...yeah. Not so much.

    My favorite part? His skinny jeans. I mean, srsly. He can wield a pen/sword while wearing jeans he can't even walk in. Bwa ha ha ha!

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  8. @Jon: Um what? You haven't seen Avatar yet? GO NOW!

    @Elana: Maybe his jeans are like 2% spandex. :)

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