A Big Movie Needs a Big Review, But First…
A movie this big requires a review to match, so it’s probably best to get a few things out of the way before we really sink our teeth in this behemoth adaption of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. First and foremost I am in no way, shape or form a Homer head. I was probably forced to read it in high school – a time far longer ago than I care to admit – and even then I only vaguely remember bits and pieces. Because my original source text knowledge is limited, I won’t be able to comment on the difference between Homer’s poem and its film adaption. Odyssey purists can stay their outcry as the ‘well actually’ history debates are outside of my wheelhouse.
Secondly, I have no interest in the internet discourse surrounding the casting. We will certainly talk about characters and the performers that portray them, but I will not indulge the worst takes that stem from racist trolls and right wing nutjobs. That kind of discourse can stay in X echo chambers but it has power here. If you’re looking for some more commentary on Elliot Page beyond their actual work in The Odyssey, you have again come to the wrong review. I’m sure the Daily Wire has 1700 words on why Helen of Troy shouldn’t be a black woman and I’m sure there are plenty of history nerds that can give you a 40 minute YouTube video of “Nolan Spit In the Face of History, Here’s Why!” There are places for that but we won’t be doing that here.
There Is No One Quite Like Nolan
(Universal Pictures)
With that out of the way, let’s get into The Odyssey, the latest film from beloved filmmaker Christopher Nolan. It is without a doubt one of the most audacious cinematic visions ever put on screen, a spectacle of epic proportions that demonstrates the true scale and scope of not just what Nolan is capable of, but what movies are capable of too. Visually, The Odyssey is astounding. A real crafts display of technical mastery, the kind of bold adventure that leaves you speechless with wonder and asking how they were even able to create what you’re witnessing. As a filmmaker, there is no one quite like Nolan. Real locations, practical effects, as much in camera as humanly possible all pay off big in The Odyssey, immediately setting itself apart as a visual feast bursting with cinematic excellence.
I was lucky enough to catch it as Nolan intended: in 70mm IMAX and I cannot imagine seeing it any other way. There are shots and set pieces that genuinely took my breath away, and some that left me trying hard to wrap my mind around how they did it. The Odyssey is truly a visual achievement, giving Nolan a blank check to build a lived in world as he sees fit and bring that vision to life. Sword and sandal epics are rare and great ones even rarer, but The Odyssey fits right in with the best of them and evokes the ancestors of the greats to carve out a place beside them. On a visual and technical level, there is nothing like The Odyssey.
A Huge Cast With Some Surprising Standouts
Nolan’s casting also proves to be some of the best choices you can make for something this gigantic. The Odyssey doesn’t have weak link, but there maybe one too many recognizable faces who’s inclusions are often squandered. Matt Damon is quite good as Odysseus, and Ann Hathaway as Penelope once again proves she is the queen of big performance. She gives a gusto to a character who would otherwise be sidelined, and dials in whenever she’s given the chance. Robert Pattinson as Antinous is a sniveling little bastard, a villain performance that makes you instantly hate him and long for his comeuppance. Tom Holland as Telemacus is good but is often outshined by his more seasoned counterparts.
The real stand outs are the supporting cast, all of whom have very little screen time but run away with The Odyssey. Elliot Page is excellent as Sinon (no, not Achilles and not a stand in for Achilles and stop being weird about it) who is given a terrific scene in Hades that really showed his skills as a performer. Samantha Morton as Cerce is a scene stealer and is part of one of my favorite sequences in The Odyssey. The last big standout I’ll highlight is John Leguizamo as Eumaus, a blind man and devoted friend to Odysseus. Leguizamo gives a career best in a long line of scene stealers, and is probably my favorite performance.
A Grand Spectacle with a Killer Final Act
(Universal Pictures)
The Odyssey is a grand spectacle at its finest, astounding with its visuals and elevated with its excellent cast. The final hour of The Odyssey feels like Nolan breaking down and giving the people what they want. It’s the most linear and straightforward action set piece of the entire film, and while it’s also kind of clunky and predictable and little goofy, it’s genuinely riveting and crowd pleasing. It was the first time in The Odyssey that caused me to lean forward in my seat and lock in, almost making up for the first half that felt like a slog to get through. For the first time in a long time, Nolan actually sticks the landing and delivers an earned ending with a satisfying payoff.
Many scenes in The Odyssey work on their own. The giant Laestrygonians are masterfully captured and terrifying, the cyclops Polyphemus is beautifully rendered and the cave escape quite thrilling, and the Hades set piece looks incredible and haunting. The siege of Troy is some of the most exhilarating war action ever put on film. There is so much to like in The Odyssey, and individual scenes are better than the sum of its parts. Make no mistake, The Odyssey is really good, it’s strengths living up to the hype of a new Nolan film.
But There are Flaws and a Lot of Them
(Universal Pictures)
But – and it’s a big BUT – for all his technical prowess and insistence upon grounded realism, The Odyssey is a bit of mixed bag once you get passed the cinematic wonderment of it all. Nolan also indulges his worst tendencies here and fails to fully wrap his arms around the material. It’s strange to see because Nolan has been making some version The Odyssey his whole career. On paper the text has everything that interests him: complex protagonists or burdened geniuses wrestling with their own morality, broad commentaries on the human condition, a journey home or to someone that takes far longer than expected and changes the hero in unexpected ways, and yes, opaque women written poorly.
Nolan has been iterating on these themes and ideas since his first film Following, and I’d argue that The Odyssey is a spiritual sequel to Oppenheimer. It makes perfect sense that he would now want to take a crack at the source of that influence, but as fate would have it he’s far better removed from it than taking the material head on. His iterations are far stronger than his direct adaptation, and for all its craft The Odyssey feels hollow and soulless. It’s dazzling images on a huge silver screen but very little underneath, bolstering his faults as a writer and making them more glaring than ever. There’s only so long you can hide behind your technical skills, and the expectation that The Odyssey would be visually impressive is now a given, making it harder to distract from his faults.
Nolan’s Adaption Is At War With Itself
(Universal Pictures)
Some of this stems from Nolan’s attempt at force fitting the Oppenheimer formula over The Odyssey. Oppenheimer and Odysseus are largely the same person, and grounding it in reality works for the WWII but doesn’t work when you’re trying to retell a fantasy poem of Greek mythology. Nolan all but removes the fantasy and mythos out of the story and attempts to interpret the adventure through a lens of modernity. Yes, there are creatures and the gods do play a role here (as they should), but there is a constant sense of undermining the belief and casting doubt on it all.
It leaves The Odyssey at war with itself, constantly questioning whether or not this is the will of the gods or simply an unfortunate string of coincidental mishaps. Nolan will tell you the sea is rough because Poseidon is taking revenge and in the same breath tell you that maybe its just the rough sea being traversed in an unknown world. Nolan is so hellbent on his realism that he negates the transportative nature of mythology. These things just aren’t in his wheelhouse, and removing them or refusing to engage with them is a choice that holds The Odyssey back from greatness.
The Fantasy Is Missing From the Mythos
(Universal Pictures)
I don’t need a shot of Zeus throwing lightning bolts from the sky. But the gods should be more than just an excuse to rename the golden rule as Zeus’s Law, and having literal god trials thrust against this winking ‘you know none of this happened right?’ sentiment leaves much of the film lost at sea. Any inclusion of them – Athena and Calypso and clumsily added and feel more like Nolan checking the boxes of the poem rather than any meaningful interest in them. I don’t even care about the colloquial language or American accents – those are choices he made that don’t really have any effect on the overall resonance or enjoyment of the film. The dialogue is clunky and sometimes downright poor, but that’s as much a staple of a Nolan film as his IMAX aspect ratio.
Maybe I’m misconstruing my issues here, but for all its grandeur there’s something missing from The Odyssey. The first 20 minutes are a rough go of clunky exposition, and the overall pacing is pretty poor. There’s some sound mixing issues where a lot of dialogue is very difficult to hear, whether it’s because the booming score from Ludwig Göransson blasts from the speakers even in quite moments (this movie never settles or breaths even when it isn’t moving) or the realistic background noise turned up too high to actually hear the main characters in a scene. It’s not a huge issue, but it is a noticeable one.
Aligned Conclusions, Rough Journey To Get There
Nolan’s thematic conclusion to The Odyssey is actually even more anti war than Oppenheimer. He assaults you with his message that war and the actions of soldiers are what bring about the destruction of humanity, and there is no victory when it’s born out of selfish ambition. It’s an interesting take but one that Nolan repeats in other, better works. To be clear, I’m totally on board with his critiques of the human condition and the consequences of our actions. I completely subscribe to a man so haunted by his desecration of tradition and sacred law that it takes him 20 years and a lot of death to reckon with his shame before he can face his homeland. I believe this is what Nolan is trying to get at, but I think his journey to get there takes him a little too far off course to land the ship ashore safely.
Final Thoughts
I really liked The Odyssey, but I didn’t love it. Despite one of the best visual experiences ever put on screen and the marvel of practicality amid a ever growing world of slop, something just didn’t connect. There’s a part of me that wonders if Nolan even LIKES The Odyssey, or if he just really wanted to finally tackle the story he’s been recreating in pieces his whole life.
It all just feels so cold and distant, and while that may be by design it acts as a hinderance in making The Odyssey something truly special beyond how good it looks. It’s not the best Christopher Nolan, but even middle of the road Nolan is better than most and all gripes aside you should still see The Odyssey on the biggest screen possible.
John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton Support Actor/Actress Campaign starts now.
Rating: 7 out of 10
