'The Odyssey' Review: A moment in cinematic history

The Odyssey is a movie I would have had almost no excitement for whatsoever if it had been directed by anyone other than Christopher Nolan. It is an adaptation of a Greek mythological poem that I have heard about for ages, but read only a sliver of by comparison. I am not big into fantasy either, and the only other sword-and-sandal epic I have ever seen is Gladiator. And yet, The Odyssey was my second most anticipated movie of the year, solely because of Nolan and his elite track record–and he delivered.

Enough has been said about the scale of the film–every frame shot in IMAX, entirely practical effects on location, and zero CGI–but what about the scope? Well, this is Nolan’s most mainstream and accessible modern blockbuster apart from his Batman trilogy and possibly Interstellar. It is straightforward, crowd-pleasing, and much easier to get invested in and enjoy. The point is, it isn’t as dark and dramatic as his previous film, nor is it as confusing or hard to follow as the one before that.

The Odyssey is a classic action-adventure, throwing you into hardships of epic, exhilarating proportions while following Odysseus on his way home from war, all while examining morality, human responsibility, and faith as a whole. It combines this with a brewing revenge quest in the castle of Ithaca as well. On both fronts, the film is groundbreaking and fulfilling.

While I think The Odyssey is perfect in its filmmaking craft, it personally does not always land with all the weight it should, particularly in its pacing and execution of its massive action set pieces and encounters. Looked at individually, sequences such as the Cyclops’ cave or the Laestrygonians’ attack are brilliant. However, because they are strung together back-to-back quite early through the middle of the film, the overall pacing takes a hit. It does not feel like each is given enough time to fully develop and tell its own distinct story. Instead, they feel sudden and shallow, all coming at a snap of the fingers.

As a theatrical experience, these portions totally worked, but from a narrative standpoint, it felt a bit rushed and repetitive, especially with the many scenes of characters just running back to the ship for safety. As a result, I found it harder to get attached to the characters. Odysseus’s men die left and right frequently, and I felt like I was, at times, on the outside looking in during these segments.

But that is the extent of my criticisms. Everything else in The Odyssey is masterful, and it’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said already, so I will just cover the highlights of what stood out most to me.

The first thing that sticks out, as mentioned before, is the tactile realism of the movie. Everything feels real because everything is real. When Odysseus’s crew is braving the seas, the cast is drenched, and so are the crew and director behind the camera. The size of the Cyclops is daunting because it’s actually there as a sixty-foot-tall puppet. The Laestrygonians appear giant because they physically are. Even in the smaller scenes, the atmosphere and aroma are top-notch–like in the castle, where the lighting, intimacy, and sound design are prominent.

This tangible environment must have made acting much easier, which brings me to the performances. Obviously, Matt Damon is tremendous as the lead and deserves his praise, but truthfully everyone was operating at a peak level whether they had two hours of screen time or just a few minutes. There are literally too many names to mention, but my favorites were Robert Pattinson as the slimy prick Antinous, Himesh Patel providing a great counterbalance to Odysseus as Eurylochus on the voyage, and Zendaya, who makes a devastating impact as Athena despite her periodic screen time. But like I said, everyone was a standout here, and it was also a lot of fun to see Tom Holland in a non-Spider-Man role, as he was fantastic as well.

The Odyssey is reminiscent of Oppenheimer in the sense that it features a protagonist grappling with the choices he has made–in Odysseus’s case, breaking Zeus’s law with his Trojan Horse plan. What the film explores as a consequence is Odysseus’s response to that decision: trying to save the rest of his men and defying the gods. It all comes through in his actions for the remainder of the film. The sacking of Troy exemplifies the start of this journey excellently. Not only is it a great, tense, and bombastic sequence on its own, but it provides the foundational bedrock for Odysseus’s character. Everything that follows is a direct result of this, as Odysseus learns along the way what it truly takes to get home.

The sections I loved most in The Odyssey were actually its bookends: the first and third acts. The beginning of the film sets everything up nicely, with intriguing drama in Ithaca and flashbacks establishing Odysseus’s backstory. The stakes and story are presented immediately, and I thoroughly enjoyed the tension building from the onset. The real juice lies in the final act, though. This may be Nolan’s most satisfying and entertaining finale to date. If you’ve seen that report of Tom Cruise cheering during this portion of the film, that was me as well, just internally. I was sitting up on the edge of my seat, my palms were getting sweaty, and I was eating up every single second of it. This was Nolan going god mode once again, and I was thrilled to witness it in the full glory of IMAX all the way up to the final shot of the movie.

I have to admit that I thought I was going to love The Odyssey just a little bit more than I did, and my few grievances stop me from giving it my highest rating. Maybe a rewatch this weekend will change that. Either way, the film undoubtedly remains a historic achievement and will serve as a landmark cinematic event in the years to come. I absolutely loved it, and it made me appreciate authentic filmmaking even more, which is something other film studios need to learn as well. This was a far better production spend of $250 million than…certain other movies. The Odyssey is what it looks like to combine high-quality sets, fully practical effects, emotional and thematic story, and blockbuster spectacle all on the absolute highest level, proving that the future of cinema can still be incredibly bright.