‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Is the Epic Adaptation Series Deserves
They say never to meet your childhood heroes. Even the fictional ones don’t always hold up — problematic creators, disappointing endings, stories that don’t stand the test of time — and the inevitable adaptations of those juggernaut stories risk falling flat and failing to capture the magic of the original.
But fans of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” novels — both new and old, as there is sure to be an uptick — can rejoice in the knowledge that “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” now streaming on Disney+, is more than worthy of its source material and the massive mythology behind it. Riordan himself co-created and executive produces the series along with Jon Steinberg, the pair of them extensively involved in production and writing. For adults who discovered Percy back in 2005 or new generations joining the quest with time to spare (a seventh novel is slated for 2024 publication), this hero is one worth meeting.
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Walker Scobell stars as 12-year-old Percy, a boy who grew up hearing stories of Greek gods from his mother (Virginia Kull) only to realize that he’s the offspring of one of them. When Olympus breaks into Percy’s world, he joins a camp for other children of gods (demigods, or half bloods) and sets out on a treacherous mission.
Scobell, who more than proved his mettle in “The Adam Project,” is given little to do in the first four episodes by way of actual acting; mostly he engages in stunts and combat while exploring shades of fear and confusion, but even this works expertly with the character’s pubescent epiphanies and flights of fancy. Anyone familiar with the young actor’s potential will sit in fervent anticipation of Percy’s odyssey introducing him to some swagger, and until then the stunts are still engaging — as are the visual effects accompanying them, especially the monsters — all of it under the direction of Anders Engstr?m, Jet Wilkinson, and James Bobin. In televised format, the story takes on a monster- or villain-of-the-week format as Percy and his friends battle powerful forces trying to prevent the success of their mission.
And while our hero’s range is sidelined — if only to be saved for later — the team around him gets a chance to shine, perhaps none more than Aryan Simhadri as Grover, Percy’s best friend and protector. Not only is Simhadri sweet and amusing, but it turns out his character is actually 24, which gives the 17-year-old actor’s performance another layer of entertainment. The trio is rounded out by Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth, a defiant but dependable daughter of Athena whose loyalty hinges upon Percy himself being honest (which he sometimes isn’t). Elsewhere, Olympus’s roster includes a parade of prolific guest stars, from Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus (truly inspired casting) to Megan Mullally as Alecto, and a mesmerizing turn from Suzanne Cryer as Echidna in Episode 4 (still ahead: Jay Duplass as Hades, Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus, and Lance Reddick as Zeus).
The series can be a little heavy on exposition — not its fault, when there’s not only a fantasy world to build but also existing mythology to recount — which occasionally muddles the pacing when it comes to which explanations make it on-screen or don’t. But the fantasy/action project comes at a critical time for Disney, capitalizing on millennial nostalgia while targeting a younger audience and franchise opportunities outside the diminishing returns of Marvel/Lucasfilm (Season 1 is ostensibly only the events of book one, “The Lightning Thief”). Four of the eight episodes were screened for critics, but if they’re any indication, Percy Jackson has been reborn — with a chance to live forever.
Grade: B+
The first two episodes of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” are now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.
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