Look, he never wanted to be a half-blood. Most of the time it puts him in life threatening danger, but this time he has taken to the screens.
We finally have our well deserved film adaption of Percy Jackson. If you watched the movies without reading the books you may think they are good, but they pale in comparison to the book series. The true Percy Jackson fans who have read the books will understand that this is the show we have all been waiting for. Well dear reader, it does not disappoint.
If you aren’t a big reader or you have never read the books don’t worry because you can still watch the show. The author of the books, Rick Riordan, is also the co- creator of the show and that means each episode is a chapter and each season is a book. It really is our childhood coming to life.
So far the Disney + adaptation has been amazing; following the book through almost exactly. Each episode is titled by the chapter name and what is even better is the production itself. I have never seen a show that sticks to the script so well. Now let’s talk about the actors. The three main characters are known as Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. When an actor doesn’t look exactly as the original is described there is always controversy but it is near impossible to find an actor/ actress that fits the role and looks the part. Regardless, these child actors have pulled through and they play their roles very well.
Leah Jeffires, the actress for Annabeth, is talented and there are certain scenes where it really pulls through. However, there are many moments where the character appears to have no depth. She feels very surface level at the moment but this may be because she has a lot of character development to do. Whether it’s intentional or not, her acting in this role could use some work so that her character is more consistent. Where there is depth in Percy Jackson, Walker Scobells character, there is a lack of magic. The production around Percy Jackson involving magic feels too mundane. While the character Percy is discovering his own identity and the extent of his powers, there isn’t enough magic behind them when he does use them.
Aryan Simhadri, also known as Grover, does a very good job of playing the nervous satyr. Where there is an issue with casting, I believe, is when they introduce the Gods.
For example, Hermes is a messenger God. He is known to be cunning, witty, a thief and a traveller. Greek mythology tells us that he is one of the 12 Olympians and generally a young, athletic God. Lin-Manuel Miranda does not present this sort of godly energy.
The same can also be said for Ares played by Adam Copeland. There is not enough self righteous godly power behind these actors during their scenes. However, the villains and sea creatures are absolutely fantastic. You can tell they are powerful and you can feel the magic of their acting through the screen.
Despite the harsh critique, this show genuinely is something I am sure many fans adore. If any of you watched the movies, then I am sure something we can all agree on is the fact that the actors this time, do a fantastic job of reminding us that these characters are children pushed into a quest that they did not want to do. Walker does a fantastic job through Percy when it comes to his growing dislike of the Gods. It really puts into perspective that these are children fighting in life threatening battles that really the Gods should be doing. All three of the main actors show us this and they do it incredibly well.
The books hold a special place in my heart and are the only series in the world that can take me out of my reader’s block so I could not be more grateful to the author, Rick Riordan, for finally making his masterpiece come to life. Dear reader, if you have never read the books then do not worry. This show is worth it overall so make sure to watch because a new episode comes out every Wednesday.
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