I think all (if not most) of us can agree that Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief wasn't a very good movie. Even those who haven't read the books left unsatisfied and those who did read the books (including me) were even a tad angry.
However, I don't think it's a TERRIBLE movie (6/10 IMO) and fixing some minor flaws in the sequel would satisfy both the GA and book fans. So, I leave you with the 5 things missing from TLT and how to fix them in Sea of Monsters. Possibly spoilers.
5. It Wasn't 3 Hours Long
The problem: This one isn't hard to explain and is a common complaint for these kinds of movies. The mythology is so large, so complex that you can't simply fit all, or even enough, of it into 90 minutes. The shortened time left the GA wondering what had happened. They never got to explore Greek mythology or how the children of the gods act because there just wasn't enough time.
The Solution? Make it longer with more exploration of the mythology and of camp itself.
4. No Clarisse
The Problem: Clarisse is/was a major staple in the first book and anyone who read the books noticed her absence. She's a very arrogant and, well, mean child's of Ares for those who don't know. In the books she is Percy's main antagonist at camp for a majority of the books. But instead they change Annabeth, who in the books only jokingly jabs at Percy and eventually falls in love with him, and make her a parody of Clarisse. And to make things worse Percy is going to have to fall in love with this parody that almost killed him. Needless to say again, the absence of Clarisse doesn't help this movie at all.
The Solution? Again it's quite an easy fix. If they stay true to the book then it should start out with Percy bringing his cyclops friend to camp. When they get there Clarisse is fighting some bulls. It's easy enough to have her and Percy talk. It doesn't even need to be their first encounter. It can start out with some insults and we'll all assume they met between movies. It is absolutely ESSENTIAL Clarisse is in the next movie because the plot won't be the same without her.
3.Wheres the Oracle/Great Prophecy
The Problem: Another major and vital piece to the Percy Jackson puzzle is the Oracle and the Great Prophecy. The Oracle is a mummy who spews out prophecies. One of these prophecies is the Great Prophecy. This prophecy is about how Percy will save or destroy the gods. Pretty important, huh? When leaving this out they had to make Percy run away from camp instead of being sent by the Oracle. Now since the sequel should do the same thing the GA will get bored with the thought of him running away.
The Solution? Most of these solutions are going to start out with Percy bringing his friend to camp. We could see Tyson, Percy's cyclops friend, getting the "run down" of how things work at camp. The Great Prophecy could be introduced with Annabeth slipping up and Percy questioning her, or Percy overhearing Annabeth and Chiron talking about it.
2.Who ARE the Gods, Anyway
The Problem: As mentioned above there is almost NO exploration of the mythology or the relationship with their kids. That's why I had trouble believing the hate Percy has for his father because of the lack of gods. We also don't get to see the behaviors of other campers. We never found out that Ares campers were mean or that Artemis has no children. It made everything less emotionally impact full. It also made camp less fun and less interesting.
The Solution? Again when Tyson comes to camp, give him a tour! We can meet the campers and we can tour the mythology with Tyson. If the next movie isn't longer than the first I'm guessing we will still miss the mythology and excitement that the book has.
1. Follow the Book Like It's the Bible
The Problem The most common complaint in novels to movies. The first movie lacked so many things from the book it was saddening. No Ares, no Dionysus, no big three headed dogs. I don't think it's necessary to be exactly perfect, I like variation but don't shoot yourself in the foot.
So there you are folks what went wrong with the first Percy Jackson and how to fix it in the sequel.
However, I don't think it's a TERRIBLE movie (6/10 IMO) and fixing some minor flaws in the sequel would satisfy both the GA and book fans. So, I leave you with the 5 things missing from TLT and how to fix them in Sea of Monsters. Possibly spoilers.
5. It Wasn't 3 Hours Long
The problem: This one isn't hard to explain and is a common complaint for these kinds of movies. The mythology is so large, so complex that you can't simply fit all, or even enough, of it into 90 minutes. The shortened time left the GA wondering what had happened. They never got to explore Greek mythology or how the children of the gods act because there just wasn't enough time.
The Solution? Make it longer with more exploration of the mythology and of camp itself.
4. No Clarisse
The Problem: Clarisse is/was a major staple in the first book and anyone who read the books noticed her absence. She's a very arrogant and, well, mean child's of Ares for those who don't know. In the books she is Percy's main antagonist at camp for a majority of the books. But instead they change Annabeth, who in the books only jokingly jabs at Percy and eventually falls in love with him, and make her a parody of Clarisse. And to make things worse Percy is going to have to fall in love with this parody that almost killed him. Needless to say again, the absence of Clarisse doesn't help this movie at all.
The Solution? Again it's quite an easy fix. If they stay true to the book then it should start out with Percy bringing his cyclops friend to camp. When they get there Clarisse is fighting some bulls. It's easy enough to have her and Percy talk. It doesn't even need to be their first encounter. It can start out with some insults and we'll all assume they met between movies. It is absolutely ESSENTIAL Clarisse is in the next movie because the plot won't be the same without her.
3.Wheres the Oracle/Great Prophecy
The Problem: Another major and vital piece to the Percy Jackson puzzle is the Oracle and the Great Prophecy. The Oracle is a mummy who spews out prophecies. One of these prophecies is the Great Prophecy. This prophecy is about how Percy will save or destroy the gods. Pretty important, huh? When leaving this out they had to make Percy run away from camp instead of being sent by the Oracle. Now since the sequel should do the same thing the GA will get bored with the thought of him running away.
The Solution? Most of these solutions are going to start out with Percy bringing his friend to camp. We could see Tyson, Percy's cyclops friend, getting the "run down" of how things work at camp. The Great Prophecy could be introduced with Annabeth slipping up and Percy questioning her, or Percy overhearing Annabeth and Chiron talking about it.
2.Who ARE the Gods, Anyway
The Problem: As mentioned above there is almost NO exploration of the mythology or the relationship with their kids. That's why I had trouble believing the hate Percy has for his father because of the lack of gods. We also don't get to see the behaviors of other campers. We never found out that Ares campers were mean or that Artemis has no children. It made everything less emotionally impact full. It also made camp less fun and less interesting.
The Solution? Again when Tyson comes to camp, give him a tour! We can meet the campers and we can tour the mythology with Tyson. If the next movie isn't longer than the first I'm guessing we will still miss the mythology and excitement that the book has.
1. Follow the Book Like It's the Bible
The Problem The most common complaint in novels to movies. The first movie lacked so many things from the book it was saddening. No Ares, no Dionysus, no big three headed dogs. I don't think it's necessary to be exactly perfect, I like variation but don't shoot yourself in the foot.
So there you are folks what went wrong with the first Percy Jackson and how to fix it in the sequel.
