After meeting a stranger, Jess learns the father she never knew may have been a treasure hunter.

What a promising start: an appealing and talented cast, solid writing and directing, and a fun action romp that promises tons of adventure to come.

The opener takes off with gusto, giving viewers a rousing start along with a charming, energetic – and cute – cast. Typical of the Young Adult (or perhaps New Adult) genre, especially from Disney, the series lead’s parents swiftly vanish from the proverbial picture.

As with the source movies, this series demands a robust suspension of disbelief. One must accept that hidden puzzles and coincidences lurk everywhere. Go with the flow and enjoy the ride. In this instance, an assignment to track down the owner of an apparently-abandoned storage unit leads protagonist Jess into the shadowy and centuries-old world of treasure hunting. She stumbles into long-buried mysteries and secret societies with their altruistic guardians of history.

This brings us to FBI Agent Peter Sadusky, with a very welcome Harvey Keitel reprising the role, just way too briefly. He still knows secrets the bad guys want and enlists Jess’s help. Portraying current bad guy Billie Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones chews scenery with glee and oozes both intelligence and malice. She also looks like she’s having a blast in the role. She kidnaps a friend of Jess’s, thereby eliminating any last doubts Jess harbored about Sadusky telling the truth.

We meet Sadusky’s grandson Liam, and newbie FBI agent Ross, both of whom look like very promising characters. Jess and her roommate Tasha’s visit to the FBI balances amusing and desperate. Later, Tasha is the one who warns Jess not to let Billie see her necklace. She wears it in remembrance of her father and naturally it has an important symbol on it. One gratingly false note: otherwise brilliant Jess heeds that warning for all of that one scene, then promptly forgets about it and wears the necklace in plain view for the rest of the episode. Cringeworthy and just not smart.

What starts as a rescue mission to save Jess’s kidnapped friend ends as a mission to beat Pearce and company to the treasure. The two opening episodes skillfully set the stage, and it will be interesting to see what direction the show goes from here. One looming and very timely threat: Jess’s perilous status in the US, as she qualifies under DACA but still awaits a resolution. It ups the stakes for her personally and adds to what she risks by calling attention to herself.

Lots of deft humor here as well, that never demeans the characters or undercuts the danger they face.

Verdict: I want the show to tighten up the writing, but super well done episodes regardless. 8/10

Rigel Ailur