Oppenheimer took a stunning $975 million at the box office and bagged seven Oscars. As a result, Christopher Nolan probably had the chance to make whatever he wanted. His choice was a near three hour adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic.
Matt Damon heads a star-studded cast, as Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca. It depicts his long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War, to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway).
As long as it does not involve Batman, I will probably turn out for anything that Nolan produces. However, I have always had an aversion to Greek, or any other kind of mythology, so this epic was never going to be in my wheelhouse. Bearing that in mind, I think this appealed to me as much as it possibly could. It is certainly a technical marvel, especially with the CGI kept to a minimum. I did not see it in its intended IMAX presentation, but regular collaborators Ludwig Goransson and Hoyte van Hoytema excel with their scores and lensing respectively, and the sound Oscar might as well be handed out now.
I found the story to lag a little at times, though. The sacking of Troy and a fight scene towards the end are thrilling. I was less interested in the more fanciful elements of the tale, involving giants and spirits, along with talks of the Gods, but that is not a criticism of the film making. Damon gives a wonderfully muscular performance, Robert Pattinson makes a nicely oily villain, John Leguizamo a touching ally of Odysseus, and Himesh Patel does well to show the conflicted loyalties as the hero’s second in command. The female characters are very much on the periphery, particularly Zendaya who just pops up every now and again to look vexed, with only Hathaway, and Samantha Morton as a witch, able to make a positive impression.
I am pleased that The Odyssey has done spectacularly well at the box office so far, as it will just strengthen Nolan’s ability to continue to bring his dream projects to the screen and it is a great rebuff to Elon Musk and the rest of the racist/transphobic crowd who have run a campaign against the film. However, as much as I admired it, with this subject matter, I found it a bit of a slog at times, and a little over long.
Rating: 7 out of 10