Forget the controversy, the Odyssey's BIGGEST problem is...

[00:00:00]Before we get into this Odyssey review, we need to address the pre-release controversy and work out if any of it was justified.

[00:00:07]>> Go yourself.

[00:00:09]>> Helen of Troy being black, such a non-issue, of course, because Lupita Nyong'o is awesome. Elliot Page as Achilles, how did that rumor even start?

[00:00:18]He's not even playing Achilles, he's playing the small but important role of Sinon, and he does a good job.

[00:00:23]>> Yes, no, no.

[00:00:25]>> And what about Agamemnon looking like Batman? Okay, that criticism is actually pretty legit.

[00:00:31]>> I'm Batman.

[00:00:32]>> If we had an hour to spare, I could also give you a deep dive on how often Nolan deviated from Homer's 3,000-year-old poem, and how this film blends in other versions of the Odysseus myth. But let's just agree that he's taken some liberties and move on, because I got to be honest, a much bigger issue is that the Odyssey was a bit disappointing. It didn't make me feel anything other than admiration for Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker. But the director's work is just so good that even this movie, which, let's be real, would not even make it into his top five films, will still be a major contender for best picture at the Academy Awards next year.

[00:01:10]And talking about the Oscars, pencil in Anne Hathaway for a best actress nomination for playing Penelope. She absolutely slays.

[00:01:18]>> Matt Damon >> as Odysseus will probably also get a nom, but he can thank Nolan for leaving out some of the more problematic stuff the character did, you know, like hooking up with Calypso, played by Charlize Theron, hooking up with Circe, played by Samantha Morton, and ordering the killing of 12 maids, which is not really great look for a hero, is it?

[00:01:38]>> Bringing it all.

[00:01:39]>> [groaning] >> Let's go.

[00:01:42]>> The end result is a movie that kind of feels like what you'd get if you cross Dune with Percy Jackson. And is it just me, or does the score include a section that sounds suspiciously [music] similar to the theme from Interstellar?

[00:02:00]>> [music] >> On the topic of audio, the sound mix on the dialogue is diabolical at times, which makes me wonder if that's a product of the compromises made to shoot on relatively noisy 70 mm IMAX cameras.

[00:02:17]And does using this premium format deliver a payoff with incredible visuals?

[00:02:22]Yeah, I guess, but certainly not the wow factor I was expecting. To be clear, my expectations were through the roof because the movie mirrors the first four books of Homer's epic, which focus on Odysseus's teenage son, Telemachus, played by Tom Holland, as he figures out how to navigate a dangerous situation in the continued absence of his father.

[00:02:46]While all the other heroes of the Trojan War have long since returned, Odysseus is still missing years later and is presumed dead, especially by a legion of suitors hoping to force his wife, Penelope, to remarry. The suitors, led by the conniving Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson, would also love to knock off Telemachus, heir to the throne of Ithaca. But the kid decides to risk his life on a mission to find out if his old man is still alive. Talking about Odysseus, the smartest bloke in the Greek army and architect of the whole Trojan horse business, is stranded on the Isle of Calypso, where he's been living in a blissful state of amnesia brought on by the overconsumption of the lotus flower. Yes, this is a bastardization of the OG poem. And his dealings with Circe a bit later also differ from the poem, but I guess thematically on point. But can I just say that Samantha Morton is unreal in the role of Circe and the body horror of her terraforming Odysseus's men into swine is wild. As a metaphor for PTSD, the film, like the poem, is unmatched and the score by Ludwig Göransson is very, very good. Homer's poem has a non-linear structure, which must have been music to Nolan's ears, and it's no surprise he handles that aspect with ease. He seems less confident, though, juggling the supernatural with grounding the movie in reality, and there are some awkward moments where the film seems stuck between fantasy and real life.

[00:04:14]But, I'm going to throw Nolan a bone here and say all the fantasy elements are told in flashbacks, and Odysseus is an unreliable narrator, so maybe none of the fantasy stuff actually happened.

[00:04:24]That would make sense, given the film starts with a line on the screen that declares the events happen in a time of apparent magic. This technically qualifies as a disappointment by Nolan's lofty standards. I'd rank it as a lesser work to Oppenheimer, Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and The Prestige. But, in saying that, The Odyssey is nonetheless a stunning technical achievement. It gets three and a half stars.

[00:04:49]>> Go yourself.

[00:04:52]Is that clear?