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Percy Jackson And The Olympians Review: Disney+ Is Ready To Give Percy Jackson Another Chance, And Result Is Quite Satisfactory

Percy Jackson comes to the screen with a faithful adaptation of the original novels and increased production values that rival the original film adaptations

Nelson Acosta

- December 21, 2023 | 5:43 PM IST

Percy Jackson And The Olympians Review: Star Rating:

Cast: Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, and Megan Mullally.

Creator: Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg

Director: James Bobin

Streaming On: Disney+

Language: English

Runtime: 8 Episodes, Around 40 minutes each.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: What’s It About:

Once upon a time, when the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings movie adaptations began conquering pop culture, the movie studios looked at the success of both franchises and decided that they needed to do more of those. The result was a wave of fantasy book adaptations, which included Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the story of a young kid who discovers that he is the son of an ancient Greek and that his nature will put him and those he loves in danger. Disney+ gives fans and newcomers a new adaptation that will hopefully adapt all the books.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Script Analysis:

From a business point of view, it made sense to track down more stories in the vein of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. However, none of those adaptations managed to capture the magic of the previous two, and the result was a bunch of film series being abandoned before they were completed, among them most famously the Divergent series, which just gave up adapting its last installment. Only Twilight and The Hunger Games would succeed like the big ones that began everything.

So, while those film adaptations didn’t have the success the studios wanted, it would be naive to say that these failed film series don’t have any value. It’s the opposite when considering that millions worldwide still love a series like Percy Jackson. Countless individuals grew up reading the books and are still reading the many works Rick Riordan delivers today. This new adaptation by Disney+ treats the story respectfully and is the adaptation the books deserved.

This first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians comes out of the gates as a fantastic example of what Disney money can do regarding quality. Recently, Marvel has been having a quality problem where all their series look cheap for some reason; this is not the case with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as the season’s production values are different from the original movie adaptations. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one of the best-looking adaptations in recent memory.

There is money behind Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Still, there is also respect for the story, with Rick Riordan, the original author, working closely with the series producers to maintain the story’s integrity. It is true that, at least at this point in the story, Percy Jackson feels like countless other “chosen one” stories; the story itself uses many recognizable tropes and doesn’t stray away too much from the formula, but the execution seems to be on point, and that is what matters.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Star Performance:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians cannot afford top A-list actors, but this is for the best, as the show can use the money that would have gone for those A-listers into something else, like visual effects. This means that Percy and other main characters are to be played by up-and-coming actors, who are now closer in age to the characters in the books, and it gives essential secondary roles to working actors who might not be the biggest stars in the business, but who are superb at what they do.

Walker Scobell is, without a doubt, the focus of the show, and the young actor feels like the perfect Percy; he might lack experience, but he can carry the show on his shoulders without any hesitation. Scobell has recently worked in films like The Adam Project and Secret Headquarters, proving he has what it takes to be a leading actor, even at such a young age. Jeffries and Simhadri also do an excellent job supporting Scobell without ever fading into the background.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Direction & Music:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians have brought in a series of directors doing their best to translate the book to the screen. The series’ visual flair is so good that, at times, you could think you are watching a high-budget film production; this shows how far TV quality has increased in the last couple of years. Percy Jackson and the Olympians are presented in an aspect ratio often just reserved for movies, which also helps to increase the sensation that we are watching a film instead of a regular TV series.

The quality of the visual effects is relatively high as well. In a series with so many fantastic creatures and magic going around, it feels great that this aspect of the production manages to sell the world and the events believable. Your brain will tell you that what you are seeing is fake, of course. Still, within the confines of the TV series, the effects help sell the world to the audiences, and so does the score, composed by Bear McCreary, who knows more than just a bit about making epic music, just having composed the music for the last two God of War games.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Last Words:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians seem like a dream come true for fans of the books and even those waiting to see what happened to the characters after the original film adaptations failed to complete the story. The production values are high, and both young and old actors are taking the project seriously enough that this could be the epic fantasy series Disney+ has been searching for since their service started.