Percy Jackson And The Olympians Review: A Series-Length Retread Of An Overly Familiar Adventure
It's been less than 15 years since 20th Century Fox tried to leverage the "Percy Jackson" series of books by Rick Riordan into their own version of a "Harry Potter" franchise, replete with well-known adult actors, a group of less familiar child actors, a fantastical setting, and even the director of the first two "Potter" films. But while "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" did well enough to merit a sequel, there must have been some sense of a story that wasn't told as effectively as possible. Now, as we wrap up 2023, and as Disney+ embarks on its fifth year of existence, Percy is back and this time in TV form. "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" (please note the lack of an ampersand in this show's title) goes through the basic story that made up the 2010 film subtitled "The Lightning Thief," but has the benefit and imprimatur of Riordan as a co-creator and co-writer of some early episodes. But even with Riordan more directly involved, this new "Percy Jackson" feels overly familiar and not terribly involving.
Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) is a 12-year-old living with his single mom Sally (Virginia Kull) and her deadbeat boyfriend, presuming that his life will always be average and forgettable. But one day, Percy is shocked to find that, among some other strange things, he's not remotely average at all. He is, in fact, a demigod, the product of a love affair between Sally and the Greek god Poseidon, a fact he learns upon being brought to the mysterious Camp Half-Blood, where other young demigods train and hone their innate, magical skills. Percy soon makes friends with the hardened Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) and his old friend from his normal life Grover (Aryan Simhadri), who he learns is a satyr in disguise; the three embark on a quest to retrieve the lightning bolt of Zeus himself, lest they be accused of having stolen it and inciting an ungodly war.
"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" seems very much like Disney's attempt to a) extract some of that precious intellectual property from their acquisition of Fox and b) create a new adventure series that can connect with the whole family, a la something like "The Mandalorian." Though this show does indeed seem like it would safely appeal to kids and adults, it leans perhaps a bit too heavily on the kid side of things, without ever feeling as complex or thrilling as the source material might suggest. Certainly, some of the casting of the grown-up characters seems intended to appeal to parents, who may be pleased to see the likes of Megan Mullally, Jason Mantzoukas, Glynn Turman, the late Lance Reddick, and Lin-Manuel Miranda pop up. (Some of these actors do appear in the four episodes made available to critics at press time; the season lasts eight episodes.) But outside of the very presence of these performers, the scripts don't always seem tailored to fit their strengths.
An adventure show lacking in energy
Every so often, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" seems to be tiptoeing towards having some spikier sense of humor at its core. The episode titles seem playful and unexpectedly deadpan, such as "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom" and "We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium." And the very fact that folks like Mantzoukas or Mullally have been cast in recurring roles implies a desire for this show to not feel stultifying or turgid. But the humor comes sparingly, as when Grover tries to placate Annabeth and Percy in one episode with a goofy song or when one of the aforementioned adult performers is introduced by humming along to the theme from the Dudley Moore comedy "Arthur." These brief moments feel like oases in a desert, unfortunately.
The show surrounding these bits is moderately involving, but never quite so well-paced as it should be. (Especially since the first four episodes range between just 33 and 43 minutes long, including end credits.) "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" wants to structure its episodes around Percy getting to encounter one god after another, such as Echidna or Medusa, but centering each installment on these action-packed meetings means that there's slow movement at the beginning and end. It's also difficult — even for those of us who only know the world of Percy Jackson from the Fox films of the 2010s — to not watch this show and wonder how much extra ground truly needed to be covered by having a TV adaptation. It's not that this show is bad per se, as much as it feels like a remake of something that a) didn't need to be remade and b) doesn't seem to be doing things that much differently on the small screen.
When "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" opened in 2010, it was easy for non-readers to look at the film as a "Harry Potter" retread. As a TV adaptation, the similarities are certainly a lot less notable. Now, as a Disney+ series, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" is almost a preview of what a potential "Harry Potter" TV series, as threatened by David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, may look like. It's true that books often end up being trimmed to the bone when adapted for the big screen. But if this show is any evidence, it's perhaps true that trimming a larger story down to its most crucial parts is the right way to go. This show may yet win an audience, but feels like a somewhat dull echo of the film that preceded it by a decade.
/Film Rating: 5 out of 10
"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" premieres December 20, 2023 on Disney+.