Percy Jackson and the Olympians review of the first two episodes. Opinion, classification. Pros and Cons. Rick Riordan. Walker Scoble. Disney+

Percy Jackson and the Half-Blood Descendants

One of the greatest benefits of Dream Factory is second chances. If a project does not come out the first time or does not achieve the expected commercial potential, you can return to the series a few years later to offer viewers a new production set in the same world. The two parts of Percy Jackson’s adventures were not particularly successful, so the announced third part was never produced. Ten years after the series finale, another attempt to adapt Rick Riordan’s work for the screen appears on Disney+. But this time, with the close involvement of the author himself, who had to make sure that the latest film adaptation would fulfill the dreams of his book series, as well as introduce new viewers to the legendary meanderings of the world he created. However, after the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, one might worry that the series is not aimed at children and teenagers and that people who grew up with Riordan’s novels will quickly stop watching it.

Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) is a school outcast who hides from his bullies and eats meals alone in the cafeteria. The situation changes when he meets Grover (Aryan Simhadri), who soon becomes his best and only friend. When one of the girls who makes fun of Percy goes straight to the fountain on a school trip, the boy is accused of pushing her friend. From that moment on, the teenager’s life changes – he learns that he is the son of a Greek god, and that Grover is actually a satyr. However, some gods do not like hybrids and the Minotaur follows Jackson. The boy must save not only himself, but also his mother (Virginia Cole) from a terrible monster by discovering his true identity.

So we get almost the same story that we know from the first film of 2010. Since this time we are dealing with a series lasting several hours, we can expect the whole story to be expanded with additional themes and characters. But in the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians you haven’t felt that yet. While the first episode is an introductory episode, so we can’t count on a lot of action, the second episode should be laying the foundations for the actual story, but instead we get an episode that slows down the pace. In it, the main character goes to a camp for heroes, which should work like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series. A magical place that you want to explore, get to know all its nooks and crannies and get to know as much as possible about the people residing there. However, the series quickly reminds us that it is a production aimed primarily at young viewers.

So, instead of focusing on the development of the plot, we are thrown into the middle of another action that seems completely inappropriate at the moment. Percy has just arrived at camp and already has to prove his skills, completely unaware of what has just happened in his life. No one at the camp, whether Dionysus who runs the center, or Chiron, known to the hero from school, does not even try to give the boy any answers he requests to make the story more interesting. The second episode, aside from the theme of hiding the truth about Percy’s mother and giving the boy his first mission, is a waste of time and doesn’t add much to the whole. It’s clear that the episode is just meant to introduce Annabeth’s character into the story.

Be like Hercules

The problem is that Annabeth, like Percy or Grover, is hard to love. The creators don’t allow us to get to know these characters better, they are flat, bland and annoying at times. In the first two episodes, it’s clear that very little time has been devoted to these characters and too much emphasis has been placed on the action, which, let’s face it, isn’t very exciting. While the battle with the Minotaur still has some atmosphere, the competition in the camp does not elicit any positive impressions. Both in terms of locations that are currently devoid of legendary magic, and in terms of poor and cheap character armor. Although the series cost approximately $100 million, this money has not yet been seen. Even the special effects feel like they were made on cost, and the whole thing often resembles much cheaper productions filmed for the Disney Channel.

Walker Scoble is disappointing in the lead role, unable to carry the dramatic weight of his character, depriving him of any significant emotion. Aryan Simhadri and Leah Jeffries also don’t shine in their roles, but there are so few of them on screen in the first two episodes that that shouldn’t be surprising. Glynn Turman is by far the best actor, but he’s an actor with such a timbre of his voice that he doesn’t even need to make a special effort to attract attention.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians doesn’t start out well. Young viewers may love the series because it has a lot of adventures and great plots, but older viewers may draw their attention to many elements, from the slowly developing story, to the many logical flaws in the scenario, to the acting and the special level. Effects. It’s hard to say that Percy Jackson was a disappointment and would end up like Willow, but a lot of people, including book fans, could bounce back from an unsatisfying start. I hope that the upcoming episodes will reverse this unfavorable trend and we will finally get a strong series with potential that can be developed and used in the coming seasons.