I had a dream about blogging the other night. A dream in which I compared and contrasted Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Book 1) (Percy Jackson And The Olympians) versus Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

I noted that there are some book series where the series author and the movie’s director work hand-in-hand. Listing examples such as:

• Harry Potter
• The Hunger Games

And then went on to describe how bad the Percy Jackson movie is versus the book.

The movie is basically the story of a wannabe Zac Efron, who turns out to be the son of a god, who goes on a quest to save the world. Beyond the Zac Efron part (in the Lightning Thief, Percy is 12 years old), this lines up with the book so far. But then the movie strips out everything that made the first book special. Down the toilet. Flush. It takes names (literally), skimps on essential story and characters, and rushes to the films conclusion. The film borrows key elements from the book without ever owning them. Don’t even get me started on Pierce Brosnan’s character. Ugh.

If you want to watch a movie that misconstrues characters, plot, and has a bunch of CG, then this is the movie for you.

As for me, sign me up for author Rick Riordan’s Disney+ series. Should be good.