Christopher Nolan's newest big boy The Odyssey was a good-not-great film. There's crazy hype around it rn, which can be a recipe for 'underwhelming' a lot of the time. And that was def the case for me here.
I still liked it. Don't get me wrong. Really enjoyed certain scenes and characters, and was thrilled to go to the theatre for what feels like a bonafide big screen event. But I'm not walking away from it blown away thinking it was an all-time great epic war film. I'm thinking it was a fun theatre experience and a pretty decent flick.
Here are my main criticisms. We'll start with THE BAD, so that we can end on a positive note lol:
- I wish they did more with Odysseus as a character. I was kind of hoping for a reckless wiseass or a psycho mad genius portrayal akin to an Indiana Jones or a Mad Max (hell even some James Bond sexiness would've been welcomed). And instead Damon gives a flatly serious performance more like Batman or Superman. And that's not really what the morally dubious Odysseus is like in the OG tale. Could've used some Will Hunting clever asshole energy and some humor. But alas we got Jason Bourne in a Trojan warrior's costume. Kind of a let down. In the end I think that Damon wasn't the best choice for the main role. Tom Hardy would've crushed. Or someone else not as well known, where this role could've been their big break. I just felt like Damon was playing way too close to himself. And he's too big of a superstar to be able to do that in a historical war film set in Ancient Greece. It sucked me out of the movie a bit, and that was kind of a bummer.
- Which brings me to my second complaint: The American accents. Had Damon been able to spice things up and really dive into the role via an accent, then that could've changed the game entirely. But for whatever reason Nolan decided against that. I get that using British accents and older English dialect is still not true to the source material. But using Victorian Era British dialogue as a signal of antiquity is a tried-and-true method in filmmaking. And if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Every actor in this film is more than capable of crushing an English accent. My guess is that Nolan wanted the American accents because it's a way to connect the story to the present. He is clearly trying to make a comparison between contemporary Western society and the Bronze Age collapse at the end of the movie. Via that closing diatribe. So maybe the American accents are a way to drive home that point? Idk. I still think you could effectively get that message across with old timey British accents. Another womp womp for me. Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson were the only two that get a pass. Hathaway crushed her transatlantic accent in this. And Pattinson can do wtvr the f he wants.
- It also kind of felt like a PG-13 movie the whole time. Other than a few awkwardly placed F-bombs and maybe a couple somewhat gory kill scenes. They took out all the sex, a great deal of the gruesome bloodshed in the battle scenes, and almost all of the morally corrupt situations that Odysseus and his men involve themselves in (they show the pillaging of a village, but Odysseus claims "he can't control his men anymore" [paraphrasing] which implies that he doesn't condone the plundering and violence). I get that you have to toe the line to a degree. But they could've leaned way more into that R rating in my opinion. Some Tarantino esque savagery would actually be pretty accurate in this Ancient Greece scenario. I'm sure the movie execs were resistant to that, thinking it would hurt box office sales. That's the never-ending game in Hollywood, and they treated this like a superhero movie at the end of the day. It is what it is.
- I thought that Tom Holland was very average, even below average in this. Is he even a good actor? The jury is still out on that for me. And I also thought Elliot Page was pretty bad. I have zero problem with him and his gender transition journey. To each their own. I wish him nothing but happiness and success within whatever gender his true identity falls under. And I'm in no way upset by some of the other casting choices made by Christopher Nolan from a race, ethnicity, or gender point-of-view. I thought Lupita Nyong'o was pretty good as Helen and Clytemnestra (albeit in a limited role that left me wanting more). And sure, there could've been more Greek actors involved. But ultimately it comes down to casting people that are gonna deliver great performances and have big enough names to move tickets. This is top tier filmmaking and demands top tier actors in these roles. That's just the way of the industry. With all that said, idk I just thought objectively Page was not great at delivering his lines in the Hades scene. Quirky indie actor did not translate well into historical epic war drama here. Neither did dreamboat Marvel movie star.
Alright enough with the bad, here is some of THE GOOD:
- I really liked the Polyphemus scene and the design of the character. I kind of wish they had him talk more. That whole exchange between Poly and Odysseus in the OG poem is pretty important to the rest of the plot. But overall that scene was still epic af, especially when he started screaming after getting a stake in the eye. Apparently the performance by Bill Irwin was aided with animatronics and puppetry, which can be felt in a great way. Glad that Nolan didn't opt for CGI slop. Much appreciated, and gives the whole scene a way more real feel.
- I was a big fan of how Nolan depicted Circe turning the soldiers into swine. For those few minutes the film abruptly shifted its tone toward horror, and I was all about it on the edge of my seat. The food looked absolutely disgusting.. and how they couldn't stop eating, how it almost looked like tentacles... just so gross and frightening. I wish Circe was a more thought-out character and not just some peasant witch. Again, pretty important character - especially her love affair with Odysseus that's just completely omitted (another womp womp). But overall that was a great scene. I thought Samantha Morton's performance, though brief, was among the best in the entire film. Maybe the best. Would love to see her get an Oscar nom, although maybe it was too short of a cameo? We shall see.
- The scene where they go to Hades was another well-thought out production design. And it was cool how they had Agamemnon and Sinon give Odysseus some backstory. That definitely helped drive the overarching plot forward. Like I said before, I thought Elliot Page's delivery was pretty bad in this scene, but still the general storyline was a good one. And Tiresias was a badass, such a cool character design.
- The sirens were well designed, and I liked how you barely saw them and only heard their song for a brief moment. I thought it was effective how Nolan cut / muted the audio right as Eurylochus put wax in his ear. And Damon's performance as they sail past the sirens was strong. I wasn't the biggest fan of his explanation for what it sounded like to hear the sirens. That kind of came across as sappy, sloppy writing lol. But that sequence was still a good one.
- The part where Odysseus strings the bow and shoots the arrow, revealing his true identity to the suitors, was pretty sick. The battle that ensued was kind of lame to a degree. Def gave LotR 100 orcs slaughtered by 3 dudes energy lol. And Robert Pattinson's character is just such a little weasel. But after the battle, when Odysseus is limping around with two arrows in his back and a spear sticking out of his gut... that was pretty badass.
- All in all though, even with my laundry list of criticisms, I still had a great time at IMAX soaking this movie in. The experience was nostalgic and of-the-times, all wrapped into one. Big movie theatre moments don't come nearly as often as they used to. And this was still a really well-crafted piece of cinema. It's impossible to direct a movie about such a legendary story without making some risky choices with where you're gonna deviate from the original, and what you're going to omit. Given the massive undertaking, I'd still say it was solid job. Especially given the fact that Nolan fit it all in one film. Kind of shocked the execs didn't stretch this thing out into a trilogy. And in a way, I'm happy they didn't.
Those are my main takeaways.
LAST POINT - There were multiple parts of the film where it felt like Nolan was drawing from previously made movie epics / series. The cloaked Odysseus scenes feel like a direct homage / pull from Star Wars and Obi-Wan in the original film. And the whole stringing of the bow scene does feel like Aragorn being able to wield the sword in Lord of the Rings. There's even some King Arthur sword in the stone type stuff there too. And the final scene where Odysseus and Penelope sail off into the sunset into the west gave major Return of the King vibes, when Frodo and Gandalf and co. sail off to the Grey Havens.
The funny thing about all these references and possible homages by Nolan though, is how all those stories - Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Star Wars - are actually the ones that draw inspiration, whether directly or indirectly, from Homer's original Odyssey. It is one of the oldest written stories in western history, and is a foundational source material for all adventure tales, stories about journeys home, and kings taking back their throne. A bit of an ironic paradox at the end of the day. Drawing inspiration for an adaptation from sources that drew inspiration from that which is being adapted. Talk about a meta full-circle moment. My head is spinning 😵💫
I'm gonna give this movie 5 bags of popcorn 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 and a solid B-. Which is essentially a 3 out of 4 stars? Sure, we'll go with that ★★★. Gotta cover all the different styles of movie grading. Subject to change once I see it again, of course. I could see the rating go up, most Nolan movies are better the second or third time around.
It'll be interesting to see how much it sweeps up at the Academy Awards. It doesn't feel like a Best Picture worthy movie for me right out the gates. But we'll have to see how other movies stack up against it, from a hype and quality standpoint. I'm sure the Academy will be slobbering all over it. It def ticks a lot of boxes that Oscar looks for. Could see a Matt Damon nom (he does give a good performance, even though it wasn't the direction I was hoping the character was gonna go), an Anne Hathaway nom or even win, and definitely a Best Director nom for Nolan. Prob a bunch of other ones thrown in there too - Screenplay, Score, Cinematography, a bunch of the technical categories. Should be an exciting build-up this fall and winter.
Even with all my shit-talking, I still highly recommend going to see it. A fun one to see in the theatre, no doubt!
Until next time,
Keep on watching folks! 🎬 📽️ 🍿
-ZB
