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S2:E12 Part 3 - Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (2010 Film)
19 Plays4 days ago
Welcome to Based on a Book’s three-part April Adventures special, where we are diving into The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan–along with its 2023 Disney+ TV adaptation and the 2010 movie version.
In Part 3, we’ll reluctantly visit the infamous 2010 movie adaptation and wrap things up by finding out which godly parent would claim us if we were demigods in the Percy Jackson universe.
Hosted by Keri with co-hosts Lindsey and Crystal.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians Disney+ TV Show
- The Lightning Thief Movie
- Greek Travel Tellers Blog - All the Greek Mythology & Percy Jackson Connections
Question of the Episode:
- If you were a demigod, who do you wish was your parent out of all the Gods?
Bonus: We took this quiz, so you should too!
Percy Jackson Quiz - Which Greek God Could You Be the Child of?
Share your opinions with us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube or email us at basedonabookpodcast@gmail.com.
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Send us a Book Adaptation Request!
Intro/Outro Music - Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)
Thanks for listening to Based on a Book - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(1:52) Extra Content from Parts 1 and 2
(12:02) Movie Breakdown
(44:34) Final Verdicts
(45:53) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Based on a Book' Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to Based on a Book, where godly drama and mythological mayhem come to life. I'm Carrie, your friendly neighborhood demigod and companion for this week's quest. I'm Lindsay, and I believe surviving the Lightning Thief movie should count as a heroic quest.
00:00:23
Speaker
And I'm Crystal, 100% pureblood goddess.
Final Episode on 'The Lightning Thief' Series
00:00:30
Speaker
This is the third and final installment of our Lightning Thief extravaganza. In this episode, we're diving into everything we didn't get to cover in our breakdown of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief.
00:00:45
Speaker
And if you haven't noticed, I've pronounced it three different ways in each episode.
00:00:52
Speaker
Because I literally looked it up and I thought I was pronouncing it
Pronunciations and Adaptations Overview
00:00:57
Speaker
correctly. And then i looked it up again saw it pronounced three different ways in three different interviews. So... just contact me and tell me which way I'm supposed to be pronouncing it.
00:01:06
Speaker
Yeah, Rick. when Yeah, Rick. But we're going to be covering both the original book and the Disney Plus series, just talking about it and discussing it.
Spoiler Alerts and Mythology Focus
00:01:17
Speaker
Then we'll reluctantly visit the infamous 2010 movie adaptation and then wrap things up, finding out which godly parent would claim us if we were demigods in the Percy Jackson universe.
00:01:33
Speaker
So this episode will contain spoilers for the Lightning Thief book, the Disney Plus series, and yes, even the cursed 2010 movie. If you haven't completed your quest through these yet, turn back now or risk the wrath of the gods in major plot reveals.
00:01:51
Speaker
So first I want to start with any little extra... Lightning Thief bits that we didn't get to get into in the first two parts, because we kind of flew through those, the TV show, the book, and I mean, we probably missed a lot of different things because there's so many extra connections, like Greek mythology connections in the TV show and just in general.
00:02:21
Speaker
I actually found a really good source um called the Greek Travel Tellers blog. I'll actually provide a link in the description of this episode.
00:02:34
Speaker
But it's a great link for the different connections of Greek mythology and the Percy Jackson series as a whole.
Exploring Book Details and Camp Half-Blood
00:02:41
Speaker
But it does for the Percy Jackson, the Olympian series.
00:02:45
Speaker
not just the lightning thief. So there might be a little spoilers for other books in the series, but I was able to kind of like find the different characters I was looking for. It has pictures and it shows like the different connections between the mythology and how they talk about it in the actual book.
00:03:05
Speaker
So I thought that was really cool, but didn't know if you guys wanted to talk about little, any extra bits before we get into the movie at all. You know, I had some like actor connections.
00:03:19
Speaker
hu Like, Toby Stevens plays Poseidon in the series, yeah who's the sea god. His mother, Dame Maggie Smith, played, i think it's Thetis, which is the sea goddess in Clash of the Titans in 1981. Yeah.
00:03:41
Speaker
oh Oh, interesting. thought that was neat. That is a really cool connection. i wonder why he's like, it's okay. my You said it was his mom.
00:03:53
Speaker
He's like, my mom did this. So I put that on my resume. She's awesome. Harry Potter. So yeah, did right I have experience in this. Right.
00:04:04
Speaker
Yeah. Something that I really loved in the book and just like in the movie in general that I feel like we didn't get to like go into more detail about Was just the camp in general, which I'm assuming is going to be. I haven't personally read the rest of the series. I know, Crystal, you've read the rest of the series. But I'm excited to see this camp, like, expand.
00:04:31
Speaker
This Half-Blood camp expand in the series in general. and Because we have all these houses. i feel like we just, like, touched on it. And it's obviously, like, this, like, almost, like, training facility, basically, for all these demigods, right?
00:04:45
Speaker
Right. And like, I like these like added details where their talk about these ah like They have all these houses for all these different gods, right?
00:04:57
Speaker
And Percy in the book is like, well, where's these gods' kids and things like that? And like they're like, well, these gods don't ever like
Comparing 'Percy Jackson' and 'Harry Potter'
00:05:07
Speaker
have kids. And that's why you know they don't have anybody in these houses. And and I like whenever they were showing, like I think it was like Artemis or something. like They never have kids anymore.
00:05:20
Speaker
I think it was, I don't know if I'm pronouncing this correctly, Harris? or like yeah Zeus's wife? Yeah, never had kids and things like that. And so I just thought that was really interesting. They have a house, but they they show it in the camp that they have a house, but they never have kids or put any kids in there.
00:05:41
Speaker
Right, because to not have a house in the camp would be like an insult to them. Yeah, yeah. Which is another reason these, you know, or another way that the author shows that these gods are temperamental at best.
00:05:56
Speaker
Yeah. And I really, i love that that's shown. I think for me, the thing that we probably didn't touch on as much as we could have is the obvious parallels to a lot of other hero's journey type stories, specifically Harry Potter.
00:06:15
Speaker
I mean, we see the two boys and the girl, you know, the Ron and the Harry and the Hermione and Grover and Percy and Annabeth. oh And we kind of see that growth together. But I think what makes this story different and in my mind a little bit better is that at Camp Half-Blood, they recognize that these demigod children are smaller percentage than the general population. And so they're being taught skills to survive in society as it is.
00:06:53
Speaker
yeah Whereas at Hogwarts, it was teaching them how to survive in their own little wizard bubble outside of the muggle world. And I think that that's such a huge ah huge difference.
00:07:07
Speaker
And I think in a great way, because we're we're saying that, like, yes, you're different. Yes, you're special. You know, yes, things are going to be harder for you, but we need to make sure that you have the skills to get by.
00:07:20
Speaker
in the world as it is, not as we wish it would be, not as it should be, or we want it to be, but as it is. And i really loved that, especially touching on the fact that like we have neurodivergent, you know, kids, ADHD, dyslexia, probably some autism in there, but they didn't talk about it at all when the book was written.
00:07:44
Speaker
And I love that that's so represented. and and And again, those coping skills, like they talk about learning those coping skills and how to get by.
Memorable Moments from the Series
00:07:54
Speaker
Yeah, i I was just thinking in my head as you're saying that, because I think that's a really good point.
00:07:59
Speaker
that And I was thinking about the fact that in this world of Percy Jackson, they have this thing called the mist that helps them live amongst other people in in the real world too. That helps them, like they need the skills to help them live amongst others.
00:08:17
Speaker
you know, mortals. Right. But they also have this extra thing that helps them called the mist that allows them to live amongst mortals. And I was thinking of Harry Potter that they have, they have something similar to that, right. That would help them. That makes people forget, forget what it is.
00:08:36
Speaker
Cause doesn't Hermione do that to her parents? Yeah. They
Adaptation Faithfulness: Series vs. Movie
00:08:39
Speaker
have all kinds of charms and spells that they can do yeah to make people forget or to cover something up or to make it seem different than what it really is. yeah Yeah. so i I think that's a really good point.
00:08:52
Speaker
Was there any favorite parts, like most memorable parts to you? both oh Either like the TV show or just the book in general? i mean, honestly, the Annabeth and the dog in Hades. Yeah. like That was in the underworld. Yeah.
00:09:10
Speaker
like Cerberus being playful and Annabeth having that moment of like a tender moment where she kind of becomes vulnerable showing that like we had a family dog when I was a kid and it was important to me. You know, like, cause we don't get to hear a ton about her childhood. We never get to see those tender moments and to see that tender moment. And,
00:09:31
Speaker
a big dog person, especially big bully breeds that are usually thought of as really aggressive. They usually are the like silly, goofy, playful dogs. And so that really...
00:09:44
Speaker
Especially after- That made me happy. Yeah, after we've been so traumatized by pets lately. Right? Mm-hmm. What about you, Lindsay? I actually wanted to bring up, since Crystal mentioned Annabeth, I wanted to bring up something that they covered in the series that I don't remember being in the book.
00:10:02
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, and Athena is known as the virgin goddess- If she's the virgin goddess, how does she have kids?
00:10:13
Speaker
yeah And they mentioned it in the series that Annabeth was born from a thought. um So I really like that they were able to include that and kind of explain it better.
00:10:24
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's cool. I like that a lot. I was trying to think. I don't even think that they didn't particularly leave anything big out from the book.
00:10:39
Speaker
In the TV show? No, I think they did great. Yeah, like, this adaptation was really awesome.
Critique of 2010 Movie Adaptation
00:10:46
Speaker
Not to jump too far ahead, but, like, the movie was so different from the book.
00:10:51
Speaker
I remember watching it and just thinking to myself, and especially having read the the next book in the series, going, how are they even going to do the next book? Yeah. Considering how much they changed and left out and, you know, in in Switched around and watching The series instead of Having that dreaded feeling I was having that like excited feeling of like Oh my gosh I know exactly how this is going to go this is going to work perfect they you know yeah and And so it was really i mean i mean as somebody who loved The books from the beginning and then was So freaking hurt And disappointed by the movie I was Pumped by the series like it just Got me all excited all over again
00:11:33
Speaker
Yeah, i feel like it was a really great example of bringing a book to screen. who Like it really felt that way. Like it felt like it was bringing the story to life.
00:11:48
Speaker
Absolutely. After like covering so many adaptations on this podcast so far and like having so many more to come, like I'm going to be using this as an example kind of thing. It's perfect. Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:02
Speaker
So anything else, Lindsay, Crystal, anything else to add? Not yet. Because let's get into this freaking movie. ah Please. say All right.
00:12:15
Speaker
This movie, I'm so excited to talk about this movie. Just because I just want to go in. i just want to go in. So it came out in 2010.
00:12:27
Speaker
20th Century Fox got the rights to it and it was directed by Chris Columbus. Feels like a Chris Columbus movie in 2010, my opinion. All right.
00:12:39
Speaker
I want to get into the biggest plot twist of all, which is the most absurd cast I've ever seen in my life for this Percy Jackson movie.
00:12:51
Speaker
looked it up and did the math.
00:12:54
Speaker
Percy Jackson, of the children that were cast, the the gentleman who played Percy... was the youngest and he would have been 17 or 18 at the time of filming. Percy's 16 in the movie.
00:13:07
Speaker
And literally everyone else in the cast is in their 20s. Yep. And all the other, like, this was right off the bat. I remember being like, who are, those aren't kids.
00:13:18
Speaker
Like, yeah, this is supposed to be about kids. Yeah. So I want to get into names and this cast. All right. Go, go, go, go. I'm going to try my best to pronounce these names correctly.
00:13:31
Speaker
So don't come for me. I'm ready. You already know me and me pronouncing names. Logan Lehrman or Lehrman playing Percy Jackson. You might know him from Perks of Being a Wallflower.
00:13:45
Speaker
Annabeth. We've seen her already. Yep. Alexandra Daddario, I believe. so Yes. so sister The older sister in We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
00:13:55
Speaker
Constance. Yes. Brandon T. Jackson playing Grover. Jake Abel playing Luke, isn't which was in every teen fantasy movie at the time.
00:14:07
Speaker
And in Supernatural. Yes. Sean Bean playing Zeus. A.K.A. Ned Stark. A.K.A. Boromir. Yes. A.K.A. Sean Bond. Sean Bond.
00:14:18
Speaker
Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and my personal favorite, National Treasure. ha ha ha.
00:14:28
Speaker
oh I feel it. I get it. That was a good one. We got James Bond up here. I can't. Oh, we did have James Bond.
00:14:41
Speaker
What the hell, really?
00:14:44
Speaker
Pierce Brosnan as a half horse. Alright, we got Poseidon, Dr. Owen Hunt. I love a Grey's Anatomy cameo.
00:14:54
Speaker
There's something about a cameo of a star that's in a TV series that they are that character in that TV series and they've been that character for so damn long. yep And then they show up in this random ass movie.
00:15:07
Speaker
There's something about that that absolutely sends me. Every time. We've got Persephone Rosario Dawson from one of my personal favorite movies.
00:15:20
Speaker
Josie and the Poison. Hey! Yup. Yup. but I liked her in Grindhouse.
00:15:30
Speaker
The classic, Josie and the Pussycats is a classic.
00:15:36
Speaker
Severely underrated. Severely underrated. She was actually nominated for a Scream Award for Best Cameo in this movie. And then, let's wrap it up with Uma Thurman.
00:15:52
Speaker
but Really? Thurman as Medusa. I mean, and there's many more in this film. This was absolutely insane. How this film had so many big names.
00:16:07
Speaker
Absolutely. i can't even believe it. I can't. and its But this goes to show you that it doesn't matter how great the acting is, a bad movie is a bad movie.
00:16:18
Speaker
Yeah. A bad, ah poorly written script, a poorly written screenplay is just... and And the thing is, is the movie isn't terrible, but it's not the book at all. Not even close. Not... no It's just not.
00:16:34
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And the author hated this movie yeah publicly. don't even think he's seen the whole movie. Yes. Criticized it publicly, exposed the movie, criticizing the script, never promoting the movie once.
Rick Riordan's Reaction to the Movie
00:16:48
Speaker
Literally publicly said on platforms saying that he have literally quotes from him. saying that, have you ever seen me public or publicly promoting it on my social medias, on my websites?
00:17:03
Speaker
No. Take that for what you will.
00:17:08
Speaker
So he and after this entire experience, when we're trying to work with them on this movie, he said in quotes, I basically wrote off Hollywood for a long, long time, and I really didn't want to have anything to do with the film industry.
00:17:25
Speaker
Due to his experience. I get it. And this was with an interview while being excited for the new TV show. Like, he didn't want to work with Hollywood for a long time.
00:17:36
Speaker
But then finally was able to do something with this TV show now. He was afraid because it was so bad that no one would want to pick it up again.
00:17:49
Speaker
And I get that. I mean, how many... how many you know book adaptations can you think of that got killed after the first movie and they've never been touched again. And they could have been really good if they had had you know another chance.
00:18:03
Speaker
There's ton. he He had no control over anything and that's why it was very important to him to have control over stuff for the TV show. And when you do and adaptation of an incredibly well-loved popular series,
00:18:23
Speaker
You can't rush it. You can't. I mean, like, yeah, if it's a book that nobody's really ever heard of, but you think this would translate better to screen, go for it. Some are out there.
00:18:36
Speaker
But. If it's as universally loved as this series is, the minute you you so you say that, the expectation is here. You know what I mean? And it if you don't take your time and and work at it, you're just never going to get there.
00:18:55
Speaker
and And not listening to the fans, not listening to the author of this well-loved series... like I don't know what they expected.
Character Dynamics and Plot Divergence
00:19:05
Speaker
Yeah. you know yeah Lindsay, have you seen this movie before? was this your first time watching it? Yeah, it was my first time. And Crystal, was it your first time? Or have you seen it? You've seen it, yeah. you've seen Multiple times.
00:19:16
Speaker
Yeah. It was always on cable for a long time, too. Yeah. but he was always running on TBS or whatever, like TNT. It was always running for like four or five years There was... you could find it somewhere at least two or three times a day.
00:19:34
Speaker
Yeah, i this was my first time watching it, which is, honestly, I'm very surprised this is my first time watching it because i this this would have been my jam back then.
00:19:46
Speaker
This would would have been my jam because this was, like, right up there. At the same time, it was like, oh, my gosh, what other movies were coming out? It's like that I Am Number Four movie that also is an adaptation that came out. Mm-hmm.
00:20:00
Speaker
Just like all those like teen fantasy movies, like those were like my jam back then. And then watching this, i was like, oh my gosh. I mean, we're all agreed that it was like bad.
00:20:12
Speaker
Yes. Absolutely. like Okay. i I mean, I was just making the assumption here. I'm like, this is bad. that's a bad Like, this is really, really bad. Like, not even because of the adaptation part.
00:20:24
Speaker
Like, it feels like a bad movie, period. i Like, I tried to take myself out of it and, like, forget about the book. You know? And can I like this movie just for the movie?
00:20:38
Speaker
hu And yeah it's not as bad as, like, thinking about the book. But it's still not good. Yeah. You know? It's still maybe, like, a two, two and a half if you're lucky.
00:20:52
Speaker
Yeah. I agree. There's also a video game. Based on the movie. Not based on the book. Based on the movie.
00:21:04
Speaker
ah For Nintendo DS.
00:21:08
Speaker
Lindsay. We're going to need you to play that. Give us a review. I was going to say. Don't look at me. i appreciate sure i got a DS over here somewhere. yeah'm really ah why that Give us a review later.
00:21:21
Speaker
But yeah, so the movie is, if if you can't already tell, it's significantly different than the book in many, many ways. I mean, you still have similar characters.
00:21:36
Speaker
Someone still stole the lightning. Yeah. that's um And these are all still demigods, right? Yeah. And there's still a camp. There's still a camp. There's still like, well, I mean, there's still a decent amount but even the camp is different.
00:21:53
Speaker
Like, the camp is like preparing kids for battle. And whereas Camp Half-Blood in the book and in the series did have, like, sword fighting and archery and stuff, like, they weren't walking around in armor 24 hours a day.
00:22:08
Speaker
you know what i mean Like, they had their cute little orange... camp half-blood t-shirts and like yeah this was it a full-grown freaking adults at this camp not children i think that was the most shocking part watching this was the fact that they had aged these kids up to high school because like whenever we first started they're like on a school field trip and But they are literally in high school, like, saying that they're in high school.
00:22:38
Speaker
And I think that was the most shocking part to me. Like, I was, like, I can't imagine... read like I get the concept of aging it up, kind of. Like, I'm trying to, like, be in the mindset of, like, what's gonna, like, make money or something. You know what I mean?
00:23:00
Speaker
Like, I understand why people do that. But... I just like, I like, I'm thinking of scary stories to tell in the dark. Remember when we had that conversation yeah and like, we were like, well, what if they aged it up for the people that loved it when they read it, when they were younger, because the people that read it when they were younger are probably adults now, you know what I mean? Are probably older now.
00:23:23
Speaker
So I was trying to be in that mindset. But then i was also thinking, well, they didn't age it up because they were trying to bring a new generation in to love it and read it.
00:23:34
Speaker
Right. That's why they didn't age up scary stories to tell in the dark. Yep. So, but I hated it. I hated it because they also, not only did they age it up to high school, they completely, in my opinion, sexualized characters- What was that about?
00:23:56
Speaker
There was like so much. Yes. They sexualized with Grover seeing women around the camp. The daughters of Aphrodite. And then just literally any beautiful person. ah Yeah. At any moment after that, Grover was like like the horny. Percy being a ladies man. He was the horny goat. And that was really off-putting. It was just like, dude, not okay.
00:24:22
Speaker
Like, why? and this is a rated PG movie. Yeah. For a book that is supposed to be middle grade. Yeah. Like, young middle grade. And then, like, even the relationship between Annabeth and Percy. That really that really bothered me bad.
00:24:40
Speaker
So bad. Like, that it's almost like they they had to force some sort of, like, romantic tension into the story. And it's like, no, you really didn't. Mm-hmm.
00:24:51
Speaker
Yeah. They just needed to be friends. And I'm saying this as someone who loves romance and loves relationships like that and wants to see the tension. And I'm saying we didn't need it.
00:25:04
Speaker
We did not need it. The story was so good without it. Trust. Like, I'm telling you, and I'm saying that as someone who loves romance. So that's saying something.
00:25:14
Speaker
Right. And I was just like, and sexualizing Percy in general, like being a little ladies man that all like the ladies at the camp want too. Yeah.
00:25:25
Speaker
you know oh And Annabeth is smart. Annabeth is meticulous in everything that she does. And you guys in this movie like dumped her down like you make her this weird character that she is not.
00:25:45
Speaker
She's the daughter of Athena. And throughout the movie, they were all like, Athena, the goddess of battle strategy. The goddess of battle strategy. The goddess of... No, she's not.
00:25:57
Speaker
She's the goddess of wisdom. She's goddess of strategy at all. Across anything. She's the goddess of wisdom. who And yet Annabeth walked through this whole movie with her head up her ass.
00:26:10
Speaker
Yeah. It just... It was not... I don't know. Like the idea that these kids took on a lot of the traits of their god or goddess parent is so important to the story and for Annabeth.
00:26:32
Speaker
To just in no way whatsoever b the daughter of Athena was like, go i don't know where you're going to take this because that's going to work.
Casting Critiques and Plot Revelations
00:26:41
Speaker
Because they had to make the girl the dumb love interest because that's so on point of the freaking theme during that time. yeahp It's so irritating.
00:26:51
Speaker
It reminds me of the Transformers movies. Yeah. Yes, like, I know exactly what you're saying. I know exactly what mean. It's just like, really? you not kidding. I'm not kidding.
00:27:03
Speaker
i know exactly what you're saying. Yep. Yep. Like, i I don't necessarily think. And if I was trying to watch a Transformers movie, great. But I was watching Percy Jackson.
00:27:15
Speaker
And that was not it. Yeah, like, it's not that they're, like, I can't explain it. Like, if you watch it, you'll know exactly what we're talking about. also maybe don't watch it. You know? Yeah. yeah
00:27:29
Speaker
It's like, during that time, if you were watching these teen movies during that time, you can tell they're putting this person in a very specific character that are usually women and usually the love interest.
00:27:42
Speaker
Yep. And it just drives me crazy. Yep. Drives me crazy. And then we got Kyron coming over. Oh my gosh, I couldn't even take it.
00:27:54
Speaker
Him with his half-horse body and the way he was walking had me cackling so bad. Like with his shoulders back and his arms spread all the time. Like, what? I don't know what's happening here.
00:28:08
Speaker
yeah That reminded me of like Shoot. Naruto, who like runs with his arms back behind him. like that's all like Don't you disrespect my boy! But that's just it. If we were watching Naruto, great.
00:28:25
Speaker
But we're watching Chiron run across the beach. Also, what was with all the heavy breathing through the whole movie? People were constantly catching their breath. They'd be walking across...
00:28:37
Speaker
the the yard or whatever at the camp and they have to stop to catch they who I'm like okay like I thought you guys were in shape. I thought you guys were training.
00:28:50
Speaker
Also, the guy who plays Percy literally looked like he was like trying really hard not to laugh the entire movie. like He had a little smirk on his face. like He was really trying not to laugh.
00:29:01
Speaker
Also, his Zac Efron haircut is killing me. Oh my god. I noticed that too. I was like, not the Zac Efron hair. was like, this is really dated. Yes. my...
00:29:14
Speaker
and my favorite part which is like actually not my favorite part but like my favorite part to laugh at was this whole capture the flag thing because it was so corny so bad with luke yeah with luke and everyone and then he does this whole like little battle with uh annabeth which okay so i'm watching this i'm watching this with my family right And my family watched the TV show as well with me.
00:29:44
Speaker
So they were like comparing it at the same time too. And dad, he goes, oh, isn't that supposed to be Annabelle? Oh, no, not Annabelle.
00:29:56
Speaker
And I was like, we were like, not Annabelle. It's like the doll Annabelle. She's skimming across the water ready to battle. Oh, my God.
00:30:08
Speaker
We're calling Annabelle for the rest of the movie. Here comes Annabelle.
00:30:15
Speaker
But she's like a bull. Like, I mean, she's kind of like in the book, she's like kind of mean to him in the beginning, but it was just like, like we said before, it was just trying to create this like quote enemies to lovers situation.
00:30:28
Speaker
And we were not having it. and Also like the story was told so fast that, that like like We already know Poseidon is his dad in the beginning. And even like before that, when they're at the like school field trip and and then like the Fury attacks, and like we don't ever hear about, like oh, he'd always had trouble in school. There were always weird things happened to him that he couldn't quite explain. there was always like We never hear any of that.
00:31:01
Speaker
He never mentions any of that. It's just like... you're a demigod, Percy. You're a demigod, Percy. and and seriously, then, and he's just like, wait, what? I don't belong He's, like, battling the Minotaur, like, that fast.
00:31:18
Speaker
Just, like, the Fury attacks. Grover takes him home and says to his mom, we gotta get him out of here. And she's like, okay. Like, and, like, there was no, you know, and Percy's just, like, along for the ride. Like, where are we going, guys? Like,
00:31:34
Speaker
Yeah. It was very messed up. Yeah. yeah However, Mr. Uglyano is well cast. Smelly Gabe. Smelly Gabe.
00:31:45
Speaker
Oh no, Uglyano's here. He did pull off the light jerk stepdad though. That was kind of that was good. Yeah, definitely.
00:31:56
Speaker
Also, a huge difference is this big dramatic Hades thing that happens at the camp showing himself looking for Percy and looking for the lightning bolt. Yeah.
00:32:11
Speaker
That was my son's favorite part of the movie. yeah It's a demon. It's the devil. And I was like, it is Good job, bud. Good job. you know And then this part, it's just really drives me so crazy. It's changing the entire plot from here on and doing this whole map thing with the pearls. well um And the the things that they left out, specifically...
00:32:38
Speaker
the the things that they left out about camp between when and the Minotaur attacks and when he decides to go on this quest, which isn't even called a quest.
Plot Changes and Mythology Portrayal
00:32:48
Speaker
He just wants to go save his mom or whatever. Yeah.
00:32:50
Speaker
They left out things that i like I get cutting the movie for time. But again, those were things that are actually important in book two and movie two.
00:33:01
Speaker
So. Which they made. They made a second movie. They made a second movie. Yeah.
00:33:08
Speaker
I'm not saying anything. Because I don't want to give away what you're supposed to be paying attention to for for book two or movie two or anything like that. Because especially season two coming up, I don't want to ruin anything for anybody.
00:33:19
Speaker
But legit, they they they left out so much of this of the book in this movie that it it made me question whether or not they were even going to make a movie two and...
00:33:35
Speaker
how would they possibly even be anywhere near close to the book when the first one was so far off? You know what i mean? That it ruined the storyline that leads into book two.
00:33:47
Speaker
It's not even there. Like, I'm just going to say it. The storyline involves Kronos. Kronos is not in all brought up in book one or in movie one. You know what i mean? like it's a It's the main plot point in book one driving the whole freaking storyline.
00:34:01
Speaker
And yeah he's not there in the movie. So where do we go? What happened? What were you say, Lindsay? They didn't even have Dionysus. and Right?
00:34:13
Speaker
Where's Mr. D? Right. Running in the camp. Where is he? That's my buddy right there. Gone. And like this whole thing with like Luke and Luke's like playing video games and like it's Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Yeah. It's like so like modernized. Like, yeah.
00:34:35
Speaker
Like I just like. Honestly, this was kind of like National Treasure with teenagers.
00:34:43
Speaker
and They have a map. They gotta to find the clues. They gotta find the pearls. Go to the underworld. To return the treasure. yeah That they stole but they didn't steal. like lu luke is also son of Hermes. Why is he playing a war game? That's Ares.
00:35:00
Speaker
Who isn't in the movie at all? Nope. Nope. Not to the end. When they go to Olympus. Yeah. I was like, k Crystal's disappointed. Sure was. Sure was.
00:35:12
Speaker
that's her man. Why is it that I like the jerk so much? They cut Dionysus. They cut Ares. Yep.
00:35:22
Speaker
And so, like, this whole map thing is, like... you get You have a location. it takes you to a Pearl because they need the Pearls to get out of the Underworld once they get to the Underworld, right?
00:35:33
Speaker
and And then when you get a Pearl, it shows up with a different location, right? And so that's how they're seeing the different monsters, like how we see in the book, which aren't even accurate to the book.
00:35:48
Speaker
Nope. but But one of them is Medusa, which is... Uma Thurman. Uma Thurman. And I'll never forget this quote that she said when she's like, I used to date your daddy. I was like, oh my God. I kind of that. I kind of love that moment. Like, I used to date your daddy.
00:36:11
Speaker
I was like, Okay, Medusa. she was She was... Again, these gods and goddesses and monsters, they're doing too much.
00:36:22
Speaker
But I'm living for it. It's kind of nice. There was also this rule where the reason why the gods could not talk... they're like They weren't allowed to have physical contact with their kids. They weren't allowed to talk to their kids at all.
00:36:36
Speaker
Yeah. wait They couldn't. Which... that had that wasn't a thing in the books but like i guess they couldn't figure out a way to explain the forbidden show because they didn't even say that like poseidon and hades and zeus were not allowed to have kids they just said it's exceedingly rare for them to have children her and then they're not allowed to talk to their kids like what no yeah the gods are allowed to talk to their kids just those three aren't allowed to have any because they're too strong and didn't we end up going to the parthenon in tennessee in nashville that's a real place yeah yeah but that wasn't in the book no not in book no not in the book but it is a real place i will say you guys know how much i love it when like they visit like real places and do real things which is why national treasure is a really great movie carrie i know that's like honestly it's like a movie where anytime it's on tv i'm playing it yep
00:37:34
Speaker
Or like I'm sitting down watching it. Or like sometimes if I see it coming up on streaming, I'm like, you know what? It's about that time to play National Treasure. yeah Yep. I don't know why. I love that movie.
00:37:46
Speaker
But the Parthenon is a real place in Nashville and a lot of people don't. Like it's one of those places that's not like everybody knows about the St. Louis Arch. You know what i mean? that The whole country knows about the St. Louis Arch.
00:37:58
Speaker
But I think there's a ton of people that don't know about the Parthenon. If you ever get the chance to go in Nashville, it's actually really awesome. just i'm gonna go now you should yeah come visit it's not that far from me we'll go hang out and then we'll go to the zoo i love a good zoo with margaritas with margaritas they serve margaritas i did honestly i like that they had i mean i didn't like that they took away a monster to and replaced it with a monster right i did like the hydra part in it i thought that was kind of cool
00:38:31
Speaker
So yeah, they did have that whole scene in there. But they do have Poseidon always like talking in his mind in the entire movie, which I think is interesting. You know, Dr. Owen Hunt, he's talking in his mind the entire time.
00:38:45
Speaker
I'm like, Dr. Owen Hunt, Dr. Hunt, you have patients. You better get back to them immediately. You should be busy right now in the ER. All right. We don't need to be talking to Percy.
00:38:57
Speaker
ah We also get to see Persephone. i like that. Persephone's little bit is interesting. I mean, the whole Hades-Persephone thing is completely different. yeah This whole lightning bolt thing, completely different. Still not the Hades i wanted to see. Yeah.
00:39:14
Speaker
It was definitely a different Hades from the show. It closer for me. It was closer. It was closer, still not quite there. Yeah. What do you think, Lindsay? Yeah. um I thought it was interesting that they had her in the movie because the whole deal with Persephone and Hades is that she's allowed to go to earth during like the spring, which if they're there before summer solstice, she
Movie Execution and Divergence
00:39:40
Speaker
should have been on earth. She should have been on earth.
00:39:42
Speaker
Yeah. I hadn't thought that far ahead, but you're right. That's a good catch. That's a good catch. She's your mythology guru, so i appreciate you finding all those little things. Yeah, yeah. I do enjoy the mythology. Yeah.
00:39:56
Speaker
And then like we have like another thing of like Grover and like Persephone thing where like he stays behind and like makes it. And again, they sexualize this.
00:40:07
Speaker
Yes. It's like so weird to me. I'm like, especially watching this after reading it and watching the TV show. I think that was like a really weird experience.
00:40:18
Speaker
a It was very bizarre. didn't like it. Nope. Not a fan. Yeah. Definitely not a fan. And like, okay, next thing to talk about is this whole Olympus scene.
00:40:32
Speaker
What? What? Well, first of all, when they get to Olympus, they we have a full-blown battle because remember, Luke is the one.
00:40:44
Speaker
Okay. This was like... So, like, they're they're at the top of the Empire State Building, about to go to Olympus, and Percy confronts, or Luke kind of confronts them and before they go in there. He's like, I can't allow you to do this. Like, and they have this, like, battle between Luke and Percy, but they're both wearing the flying shoes.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah. And it was something out of, like... Hidden tiger crouching demigod. Like it was messed up the way they were like wire flying, fighting with each It was... i don't know. It felt like something from like Marvel.
00:41:24
Speaker
And not in a good way. Yeah. like they It missed the mark. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Just like this whole thing and Luke finds all this power or not Luke, ah Percy finds all this power and drowns him.
00:41:42
Speaker
drowns luke and then we have this is what really really was cracking me up the interaction with the gods with annabeth percy and all the gods they're like normal size and size gods are giant size little giants
00:42:08
Speaker
sister My sister goes, is this ai
00:42:13
Speaker
No, this is CGI. It's not AI. This is CGI. And I read of the reviews on this movie was that the CGI was really good. And I was like... mean, maybe for the time. Maybe for the time. had to try to like, this is 15 years ago. Maybe.
00:42:32
Speaker
maybe but That was just weird. that They're like little people and the giant gods, but they're, yeah. ah
00:42:45
Speaker
Yeah, this part really, hated it. I really hated it. like, oh, oh, I don't like that they're big. I don't like that they're really big. And it's weird. It's weird. always try to imagine what it looks like when they're filming those scenes.
00:42:57
Speaker
Like, what do they actually look like? Yeah. How did how are they doing this? Percy and Annabeth are actually, you know, 800 feet away on the other side. exactly They're yelling their lines.
00:43:09
Speaker
I found your lightning bolt! Yep. What? like Yeah. So, and all the gods are there, like, having their little meeting, and they, like, barge in...
Percy Jackson Quiz and Godly Parentage
00:43:23
Speaker
Annabeth and I will say Annabelle again Annabeth and about Percy barge in for this meeting and they're like all meeting and like even like Athena is there and she's just like hi mom and i was like that's so weird I don't like it how of you I also hated how like Zeus and Poseidon are like going at it like we're going to war they're late or whatever and Athena's like wait no it doesn't have to be like this like Athena would never have. never She would have never. Not my Athena. Yeah, not my Athena.
00:43:56
Speaker
She would have been let me tell you how this is going to play out, folks. And she would have had a PowerPoint. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Laser pointer, everything. So they saw everything gets solved and then they go he goes back to camp and stays at camp.
00:44:12
Speaker
And there's also this whole storyline where like for the satyr, they don't get their horns until they complete something.
00:44:23
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know what that was about. So then Grover has his horns in the end. I'm not even sure where that lore is from. Maybe there is lore for that. I don't know. But that's like kind of how it wraps up.
00:44:35
Speaker
Yep. It's going to be a big no from me. The silence at the end.
00:44:42
Speaker
I hated it. i hated it so much. I did not like it. And you know what? and it I always had heard from people how terrible it was and how much they hated this adaptation.
00:44:54
Speaker
and i'm with you. They were right. I'm with you. Yeah. You were right. But yeah. Any final thoughts? On that.
00:45:06
Speaker
I'm assuming I know what our final verdict is. It's definitely not the. Not the movie. I can tell you that. When we cover season two. Because we're going to have to cover season two. This was fun.
00:45:17
Speaker
Yeah. Are we going to watch the second movie? Please don't make me. Absolutely. But you know what I'm very nervous about is that I heard that the second movie has bits that it combined content from the second book in like the fifth book in the series.
00:45:36
Speaker
I think I remember that. I'll watch it again. I've already seen it. It won't be a spoiler. I'll watch it again to like be the buffer for us. Yeah. So I am worried about that, but I'm excited to cover season two. It's going to be super fun.
00:45:49
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But yeah. So let's get into our question of the episode. Kind of like a two-parter. We took a Percy Jackson quiz. Mm-hmm.
00:46:03
Speaker
which I think is available on like the Disney website. We'll provide a link in the description, so you can take it as well, which ask makes you take a quiz and ask which Greek god could you be the child of.
00:46:17
Speaker
And I want us all to reveal what the quiz gave, and then I want us to reveal, if you were a demigod, who do you wish was your parent of all the gods? Like, who do you wish you got on the quiz?
00:46:33
Speaker
Okay. If you didn't get that person on the quiz or that got on the quiz. All right. Let's start with Crystal. Oh. Well, i i want to I want to guess what you guys got. Like, I want i want the chance to guess. think Lindsay probably got Athena because she is so organized and so thoughtful and so – like, she's, the like, a planner.
00:47:00
Speaker
And I wouldn't be surprised if Carrie did too, but I think Carrie might have gotten Zeus because she's, I don't even know if Zeus is an available option on this quiz. I don't know.
00:47:12
Speaker
But because she's a little bit more like forceful about things and ideas and like outspoken. And so that's just my thought. Don't tell me. I wish that my godparent was Hephaestus, the god of craftsmen, because I love to craft.
00:47:34
Speaker
I love to build things. I actually took wood shop when I was in high school. I love working with my hands and I'm just not necessarily the best at it. So it'd be great if I had a godparent to help me with that.
00:47:48
Speaker
But you guys want to guess who I got before I tell you? I don't know anything about Greek mythology, so I feel like I wouldn't even know. i can't even. I'm going to let Lindsay. No, I can't. liny I'm terrible at guessing.
00:48:00
Speaker
I can't even. Okay, okay. I got Hermes, which I'm actually super okay with, who is the god of thieves, but also the god of travelers and and lost things. So basically, Hermes is described as a welcoming spirit.
00:48:16
Speaker
And honestly, like that's what I strive for in my life. I want people to be comfortable and feel safe in my home and around me. i want to do whatever I can to make sure that they feel comfortable in my spaces, unless they don't like you and they can go away, but I'll let you know.
00:48:34
Speaker
but I want people to feel like they can be themselves around me. And so, yeah, when I got that, I was like, Oh, I'll take it. I will take it. That's beautiful. Thanks.
00:48:45
Speaker
I love it. Alright, Lindsay? So, yeah Crystal nailed it. I got Athena. Hey! Which, I wanted Athena.
00:48:56
Speaker
She's my favorite. but She's always been my favorite. um You're a great Athena's child. Thanks. I see it. That's such a big compliment. Thank you. I'm excited.
00:49:08
Speaker
ah I also kind of picked a backup because i I knew I wanted
Episode Wrap-Up and Farewell
00:49:17
Speaker
Athena. I got Athena. There's another goddess that I thought would be kind of comical, but I wouldn't have a cabin, so I wouldn't be at Camp Half-Blood.
00:49:28
Speaker
Oasis is the goddess of failure.
00:49:34
Speaker
yeah people oh my gosh. So yeah, that was my backup goddess, just in case. But even then, I can see that because honestly, the goddess of failure learns from those failures, which goes back to Athena being the goddess of wisdom. so that's awesome.
00:49:50
Speaker
Yeah, I liked it. I got Athena. yeah Yay! You guys are so much more orcsized than I am.
00:50:02
Speaker
Yeah, and that's what I wanted. i wanted Athena as well. That's what I really wanted. We're sisters. Yes. So, and that's a wrap on today's episode in our three-part series on Percy Jackson.
00:50:18
Speaker
So thanks for joining us. Yes, I had so much fun. and I'm so happy I finally got to read this book because been wanting to read this book for so long. And I'm happy we got to do that together.
00:50:29
Speaker
So thank you for joining us on this quest through monsters, myths, and messy adaptations. Like that insane movie we just covered with the most insane cast I've literally ever seen on the most dumb movie I've ever seen.
00:50:49
Speaker
If you enjoyed the ride, don't forget to leave a review, share with your fellow campers, and hit the follow button. Be sure to follow us on social media, and let us know if you caught any Greek mythology connections in the lightning dave that we might have missed.
00:51:03
Speaker
We would love to talk about it. Until next time, steer clear of the underworld, and may the gods be ever in your favor. Bye for now, heroes. Bye!