Megan Hughes

As an adaptation, this film failed. The only resemblances are the names and locations. When Artemis is spoon fed the story of the People from his father, all agency and character development IS LOST. The joy of Artie's genius is in the blend of his childlike fascination with magic and his inhuman understanding of science. This was gone from the movie. The goal of saving his mother has been replaced with a plot to save his Dad that doesn't happen until book 3 with a villain (Opal) that will now be so far off the rails from the original story, there will be no coming back. My other issue is Commander Root. With the change from male to female for the LEP recon commander, Holly Short's character has been completely changed. Her story arch is driven by her passion to break the glass ceiling. How can the screen writers make so many drastic changes to the plot and characters and expect to tell the same story? How Kenneth Branagh can be convinced that this movie is an improvement from the books is beyond me. The stories have diverted so irreversibly, there is no turning back. You have ruined the franchise. Shame on you, Eoin Colfer, for endorsing the destruction of your story and its passionate, driven characters.