The Odyssey: Just Keep Sailing

The Odyssey is the latest film directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matt Damon as the titular character with Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson playing some of the major supporting characters. There have been countless adaptations of this story, but this is the first version to be put on the big screen and treated like a blockbuster. Christopher Nolan is the perfect person to bring this massive story to the big screen. Because this is an adaptation of such a popular story, there will be some minor spoilers about character moments and certain sequences of the film, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum. To those who are unfamiliar with the story, it's best to watch the movie before reading this review.

The good stuff first. Since this is a Christopher Nolan film, it should come as no surprise that this film was well directed and the cinematography looks beautiful. The Odyssey is a grand story, and Nolan has no trouble in portraying that. Every scene feels big and each conversation feels important. The acting all around was pretty solid. Anne Hathaway, who plays Odysseus' wife, and Robert Pattinson, who plays one of her suitors, were the two standouts. The soundtrack was also great. In addition, much of the filmmaking was practical. Most of the film was shot at actual locations instead of just on a set. The locations that were filmed at were Greece, Morocco, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, the United States, and the Saharan Desert. The only place where they filmed on a set was at the Universal Studios Lot at Los Angeles. They also actually built the Trojan Horse, and the film fully captured the claustrophobic and uncomfortable nature of having a bunch of soldiers being cramped up in the wooden horse. They also went practical with the cyclops, Polyphemus. They accomplished this with a combination of puppetry, animatroinics, and an on set performance by Bill Irwin. Most films would just CGI the cyclops, but creating the cyclops through practical effects makes it look so much better. Now since this was such a gigantic story and production, some CGI was needed, but it was never too distracting. The scene where Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs was also really well done. It was almost like a body horror film for a second. The way she used her hands to morph their faces into what she wanted was a new and unique way to handle such a concept. However, in my opinion, the two best scenes were the sacking of Troy and the buildup to that, and Odysseus's return to his kingdom ad his fight against his wife's suitors. The two scenes are perfectly built up and as the scenes goe on they continue to ramp up until it reaches a crescendo and leaves you in awe. In my opinion those two scenes were perfectly executed. Most of all, I liked the themes explored and how Odysseus's character is explored and evolved through those themes. Odysseus is one of the smartest characters in the story. Howver, that kind of intelligence ususally comes with a huge burden. As a leader, he always has to make the tough choices, and keep moving on despite all the chaos that surrounds him. In addition, he has live with the consequences of his actions, particularly with the sacking of Troy. He has to face the reality that despite all his brilliance, there will always be things that he can't control, and he can't save everyone. This is pefectly portrayed in his relationship with his men. There isn't really any standout members of his crew, but as the film goes on the crew starts to doubt Odysseus and he has to accept that he won't be able to get them home due to the dangers they face, his own decisions, and human nature. Human nature is often our undoing, and that's the case with his men. I also like the consequences of Odysseus's plan that defeated Troy, and what that meant for his journey home and for the world at large. He knows that it is mostly his fault that none of his men survive, and that everything he knows will soon change.

Now before we get to the negatives, there are some things to consider and and some things that may split some people. Now there has been a lot of controversy with this film and some of the casting choices. We live in a world where people will try to cancel you for chewing too loudly. All the public outcry and fears ended up being unfounded or insignificant. Now I will say this, since the story takes place in Greece, there should have been more Greek actors. There is one Greek actor, but they could have casted more Greek actors to play background characters or even smaller supporting roles. Also, the story is told out of order. It jumps to different character viewponts and different points in time frequently. Often times in the movie a scene will go on for a few minutes and then jump to an unrelated scene or a different point in time and then back again, sometimes more than once for a particular scene. I can understand those who are unfamiliar with the story may feel a bit lost and wish it was more linear. I wouldn't mind it being told straightforward either. However, I do think the way Nolan approached the story was executed well. It builds up the legend of Odysseus and the kind of man he was to his son Telemachus, who is searching for him. It also does end up paying off in the end with his dynamic with Athena and why he keeps seeing visions of her, and why his sacking of Troy changed the world as he knows it. Now, since this is an adaptation, there are obviously going to be a few changes from the source material. My memory of the story is a little hazy, so I'm sure there are more changes, but the changes that stood out to me the most were the characters of the cylcops Polyhemus and the sorceress Circe. In the original adaption Polyphemus definitely has a mean streak to him and is more malevolent. In this version he is more animalistic and operates more on instinct. For Circe, in the source material she is seductive and is able to lure the men in her trap by her beauty and charming them. In this version she portrays herself as scared and helpless, which causes the men to lower their guard and fall into her trap. After Odysseus forces her to change his men back, they leave immediately after. In the original version after they are turned back into humans they stay with her awhile and she falls in love with Odysseus. I can understand that some may not appreciate these changes. However, I do think the scenes do work by themselves and are appropriately suspenseful, especially with Polyphemus.

As good as this movie is, it's still not perfect. Some are just nitpicks. For insance, the storm that sets them off course initially does not look that bad. It just seems underwhelming. Howver, the film later makes up for this when it shows the storm that kills everyone but Odysseus. That looked like a storm that could destroy a ship. Also, one of Anne Hataway's character's maids ends up being in league with Robert Pattinson's character. When Anne Hathaway's character locks her into the room where Odysseus is killing all her suitors, you don't see her get he comuppence. Also, Matt Damon's portrayal of Odysseus is mostly just stoic. Now for the most part, that works. You can see the gears in his mind turning as he takes in each situation. However, i think there could have been a bit more range in his emotions. I feel like in some scenes he should have been angrier and in some more horrified. However, I do think his performance works for the most part. I also wasn't the biggest fan of how Odysseus initially meets up with his son. It just cuts to him in disguise and telling his son what they must do. He hasn't seen his son in almost twenty years, and has missed out on seeing him grow up. I wish there was a scene of Odysseus seeing him from a distance and taking all of that in. The movie does that when he sees his wife for the first time in twenty years, and I wished they did the same thing with his son. Howver, I do like the way his son find out Odysseus is his father and how that scene plays out. In addition, i wasn't the biggest fan of the Calypso scenes. I feel like her and Odysseus didn't have much chemistry and the scenes with them weren't as engaging as the other scenes. Now since this is an adaptation of such a gigantic story, some aspects of the original will be expanded on while some will be sped through. Not everything will get the attention it deserves. It will depend on the person on which they wanted more emphasis on and which they wanted less emphasis on. I like how they gave Robert Pattinson's character, one of the main suitors, a big role. In the original, the suitors were pretty interchangeable. With Robert Pattinson's character, they give him a backstory and many scenes of him being an opportunistic, conniving, backstabbing snake. Howver, some of the things I wished were explored more were Odysseus's dynamic with Athena and Poseidon. The twist between him and Athena was cool and all, but like I said earlier, more could have been with that. Also, one of Odysseus's biggest flaws is his pride and in the original story that just escalates his conflict with Poseidon. In the film, Odysseus is told to swallow his pride and take Poseidon's punishement for blinding his son Polyphemus. However, that aspect of the story is just skimmed through. All it shows in Odysseus floating on a raft at sea and getting rained on. Poseidon doesn't even make an appearance. Howver, all the ideas and themes from the original story are there. It's just that not all of them can be given the same attention and care as others.

In the grand scheme of things, the good far outweighs the bad. Most of the negatives are small, and even the bigger ones don't damage the film too much. You can feel the effort and technical mastery in each scene. This is a worth adaptation worth seeing on the big screen, preferably on IMAX.

Final Rating: 8.5/10