they did a terrible job following the book

I liked the movie on it's own, but not based on the book. I really think it would have been better if it had a different name than the book, and possibly even different characters. I was a little disappointed that the characters weren't 12 and Clarisse and Ares weren't in it. If they make a 2nd one, they'll have to completely introduce Clarisse because she is one of the main parts. I don't think the movie was bad, just a little different. I would recommend the book a little more, but i still recommend the movie.

really, really bad. NOT LIKE the book in ANY way whatsoever, except for the characters' names. percy's poor? oh well, that's funny - he has an iPod touch, plus his stepfather has a sports car. bad plotline, acting, and screenplay. bad in general, could have been AMAZING. try again, please!

The Lightning Thief review: Violence- LOTS for a PG. Expect no shooting, but lots of swordplay and scary monsters. The minotaur scene wasn't as violent as I predicted, but the scene with Medusa was lengthy and definitely one of the scariest parts of the movie. If you have any mature 8 year olds or younger, that part will most likely scare them. A teacher changes into a Fury, and picks up Percy, which contains some scariness. Many monsters including one with like 7 heads and then it grows 2 more. Oh, I forgot to mention, in the Medusa scene, they end up cutting her head off and taking it with them. Yeah, so I think you get the point on the violence. Sex: Some flirting between Anabeth and Percy, and in the end they kiss. Peresphone sees Grover in the Underworld and shows obvious love for them. Grover makes some sexual remarks. All of this will go over kids head's though, so no need to worry; but the part in the casino is fairly explicit. Language: H**l, A**, g*d in a bad way, and D**M. Drinking - The biggest part is definetly in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They eat these flowers which make them not want to leave and party all night. There is drinking in the casino, and it's obvious the kids gamble. A guy in there seemed to be addicted to the video game he was playing. Gabe (Percy's step dad) always asks for a beer and orders the mother around. Overall- I honestly think if you have read the book and you go with a friend who hasn't, the friend will love the movie and you will be disappointed. I went with 2 friends, one has read the book ,and one who hasn't. You can guess who liked it and who didn't enjoy it as much. I have read all the books, and I admit I was disappointed, but still, with an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING book, you have a pretty good movie. Let me say why this is true (about people liking it). In the movie, they left out Ares and his daughter, Clarisse. They have almost the most important parts in the movie! The actors miserably failed to capture Rick Riordan's astonishing characters.You see, one who hasn't read the book won't notice these problems, and without them, it's a great movie! If the movie was like the book, I would give it 9,999,999,999 out of 5 stars. Yes the book is that amazing and the special affects in the movie could have made it ABSOULETLY FANTASTICLY ASTONISHINGLY FABULOUS! Overall, you need to read the book first to understand it, but you can still enjoy it without reading. Can't wait for "The Sea of Monsters" to hit theaters in 2012! Age group- mature 7 year olds and up. (the reason I said this was in the theater, I saw a little girl probably 5, crying and constantly telling her dad she was scared.) I know this review was immensly long (my longest yet), but I really hope it helped you figure out if you and your family shall see "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief".

I love this moive it is really good. There are points where i was a little scared like there is madusa she is kind of frecky. There is a little too much swering. But the main charater has ADHD and dyslexia and he facing those problems.

It was okay, I guess...but it didn't follow the book at all! If you read the book, you'll be dissapointed because many important things were missing. Every time Grover had the chance, he would flirt with the girls, there were scenes that might be a little scary for younger kids, and then there was the part where they were drugged with the 'Lotus Flower'. And they cuss almost every sentence. My advice? Go to your nearset bookstore and pick up the first Percy Jackson and the Olympians book -which IS appropriate for younger kids.

the book is better then the movie the movie goes way to fast. It is really good though. Hades wife Peresephone wears sexy clothing and makes-out with her husband in front of percy,annabeth,grover, and percy's mom.

I've never read the books, so I can't compare the movie. When this movie came out last summer I really liked it and watched it over and over again with my 5 and 11 year old sisters. Only recently did I realize that the movie really isn't the most appropriate thing for a 5 year old to be watching, even if it is only PG. However, I think Common Sense's rating of 11+ could be a bit lower. Some of the monsters are real-looking and definitely scary (the Fury, Hades as a demon) others are more fake-looking but still creepy (Medusa). The part where the Minotaur takes Percy's mom might disturb young viewers. There are many battles throughout the movie, climaxing with Luke and Percy's fight for the lightning bolt near the end, that are exciting but somewhat violent (but without much gory bloodshed). I'm not so much concerned about this kind of fantasy violence as I am about the other issues in this movie. I'm sure a lot of it will go over kids' heads, but still, are today's children's moviemakers really this perverted? Persephone and many other women characters wear very low-cut dresses, Gabe drinks and is disrespectful to Percy's mom and Grover flirts with girls. Also, Persephone "shows off" to Grover in a hooker-type way. The part that takes place in the casino is just inappropriate; kids should not see other kids eating drugged lotus flowers and gambling. Overall a so-so movie that could have been a lot better, with the iffy content overpowering positive messages.

It is a bad movie compared 2 the book . Some concerns would be that alot of the girls outfits are not very modest they cuss some but overall most of the people are positive role models. It is am educationall movie, but the books have way more facts. If u haven't read the books don't basecthe books on the movie.