The Odyssey

Then there’s the dialogue, which had very little to say unless it was expository or reiterated Odysseus’s desire to go home and Penelope and Telemachus’s wish for their father’s return. Believe me, this is a constant theme, said over and over again.

What about the action? This is a war-and-monster movie, and it all felt beneath Nolan, who created great war and monster movies in Dunkirk and the Batman series. For some reason, all of these sequences felt uninspired (like I’ve seen it all before), with nothing unique except the monsters’ character design. Sure, the cyclops looked cool when he first showed up, but then it got boring real fast. I’ll blame this on the IMAX cameras. All of the cinematography felt labored and low to the ground. Those cameras are heavy and can’t shoot extended sequences. Again, all the action felt like highlight reels.

“…the three-hour final product was an attempt to squeeze in an eight-hour movie.”

Lastly, the acting. I’m looking at Hollywood stars on screen. That’s Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Holland up there…not Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus. I might as well throw John Leguizamo in this pile as well. Very little character development. I’ll give Anne Hathaway some credit. She gives the only true emotional performance, but when the lackluster acting of her supporting cast is considered, she comes across as overacting because no one else is willing to match her energy. There’s a scene somewhere in the constantly shifting timelines where Odysseus and Penelope have a “conversation.” I felt like I was watching community theater at this point, rather than two Oscar-winning actors giving the performance of a lifetime.

The sound was the toughest element for me to get over. Right off the bat, from Travis Scott’s poetic performance to simple dialogue, the sound mixing was off. I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying. I experienced this exact sensation with Hamnet, but eventually it got better. So frustrating that I checked out of the movie because… what the hell is going on… and it was hard to get back in.

Yes, going in, I had my reservations about The Odyssey, but my colleagues kept telling me this is Christopher Nolan. He’ll come through. That’s how I felt about Oppenheimer, but with The Odyssey, it all just felt like amateur hour. I couldn’t take anything about this film seriously. But at least we’ll get to see the end-credits song performed at the Academy Awards…that will be a hoot.

In the end, I just wanted The Odyssey to feel like an epic, grand adventure, and, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I wanted this story to say something about humanity. Anything that felt inspiring or profound. Instead, we just got this grand adventure all for the sake of being a grand adventure. Sure… many will find that enough for a fun summer movie, but what we really want is a great movie. One we’ll remember for decades to come. We’ll be lucky to remember this film a month from now.