Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron
Movie Length: 2 hours 52 minutes
Dan’s thoughts: This was one of the movies I’ve been looking forward to for a while. A retelling of one of the oldest known pieces of literature from a director who has been known to deliver great movies, and a cast full of A-level talent.
A long time ago, I read Homer‘s Odyssey – quite a few times actually, being the classics nerd that I am – and as the movie progressed, some of the major parts of the poem came back to me, and I knew what was going to happen. I did like how the movie showed parts of the Trojan War through flashbacks but didn’t focus on it as the main part of the film was Odysseus’ return home which was well done. Christopher Nolan filmed the movie entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras, so if you get the chance, you should see it in that format.
The main cast, including Matt Damon as Odysseus and Tom Holland as his son Telemachus were terrific, as were Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Odysseus’ wife (and Telemachus’ mother) Penelope, John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, the servant for Odysseus.
The cinematography was terrific and the choice to use a 60 foot tall puppet instead of CGI for the Cyclops was a good choice of practical effects vs CGI and Ludwig Göransson once again delivered a terrific score.
Dan’s Rating: 8/10. If you’re looking for an epic movie that comes in at just under 3 hours, and want to avoid some the summer heat that is currently happening, go see this movie (and see it in IMAX 70mm if you can!)
The Odyssey is now in theaters.
Leonard’s Rating: 9/10. Easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year so far, if not this decade. Whenever you think that Christopher Nolan has brought us the biggest, most grandiose spectacle on screen, just hang fire five minutes – something even bigger is on the horizon. And yet, for all of the bombast – and for all the talk of ‘perceived magic’, Gods and Monsters – the story remains incredibly human and intimate. Yes, some of Nolan’s writing is clunky at times (there’s a couple of lines that I’m sure sibling Jonathan may have winced at) but, at the core of it, THE ODYSSEY is a story of family, drive, humanity and regret.
There’s a couple of niggles: prepare your eardrums, mind, as the sound mix and score do hit volumes and frequencies that some may find uncomfortable and three hours is one hell of a full meal, you may feel a little full coming out of the cinema. But end of the day, performances are career-best and are going to challenge award-season judges for picking out favourites (Damon, Leguziamo, Hathaway and Pattinson particularly stand out with Holland, Zendaya et al all holding their own); the production quality and ambition of scale is sky-high; and you don’t get many films where an audience, after enduring three hours of bums on seats, is willing to stand around in the foyer and discuss the themes on display. Forget the conversation about what screen size to see this in, any will do, as THE ODYSSEY fills whichever you decide to plump for.
Are you going to see the movie? Have you already? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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