Christopher Nolan has gotten to the point where he is more bankable than any of the biggest stars in Hollywood. The Oscar-winning director turned a three-hour drama about the creation of the atomic bomb into one of the biggest box office hits of the decade.
Though “Oppenheimer” is the film that got Nolan his first real awards recognition, it was a step down in scale. He has been known for making sprawling epics with huge ideas. After taking a step back to make what is essentially a courtroom drama, Nolan has come back with a vengeance in the form of “The Odyssey.”
A Masterful Retelling of One of the World’s Most Famous Stories
GettyAfter “Oppenheimer” further cemented the fact that Nolan can make whatever he wants, and it’s going to crush at the box office, he had a blank check for his next film. His original films have mostly been mind-bending sci-fi epics or twisty thrillers, so the expectations were that he would cook up another original idea in that mould.
However, he decided to take things way back and adapt Homer’s “The Odyssey,” which is one of the most important pieces of fiction ever created. Everybody knows the general premise. We follow Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, who is on a mission to reunite with his wife and son after the completion of the Trojan War, played by Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway.
Along the way, Odysseus and his crew run into various challenges. Meanwhile, there are many men courting Hathaway’s Penelope for her hand in marriage, including Robert Pattinson’s Antinous.
Nolan, as he typically likes to do, chooses to tell the story in a non-linear fashion. We see flashes of the Trojan Horse and the battle at Troy. We also cut between Odysseus’s life with Calypso, played by Charlize Theron, as he tries to remember his life after the Trojan War.
“The Odyssey” is an absolute cinematic feat. What Nolan is able to achieve varies between gobsmacking and awe-inspiring. Sword and sandals epics have been a thing of the past, and even when we have gotten them, they’re cheap and filled with CGI. Everything Nolan creates here is real. I’d imagine they had to use computer imagery for a few things, but even when they do, it looks seamless.
Everything shot on boats is a triumph. You feel as if you are out to sea with Odysseus and his crew. The performances are also incredible across the board, with Damon, Hathaway, John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton as the standouts. This may be the best work of Leguizamo’s career, as he plays Odysseus’s loyal servant Eumaeus. Holland also holds his own, but isn’t asked to do too much, and Pattinson is the perfect villain for this story. We also see huge stars like Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Jon Bernthal in small roles, but Damon, Hathaway, Leguizamo, Pattison and Holland do most of the heavy lifting.
“The Odyssey” feels big not just in the scope of the actual film, but the fact that so many big names were willing to attach themselves to the project.
IMAX 70mm Is a Mind-Blowing Experience
Sadly, not everybody will be able to experience “The Odyssey” in IMAX 70mm, as there are only 25 theaters in the U.S. that can show it. It’s hard to put into words how special it was to see a film of this scope and scale in such a premium format. The screen is massive, the sound is booming and the picture has the best resolution you can get.
However, that does bring us to one slight criticism. There were times in my screening where the audio mix sounded off. There were a few examples of characters talking, but their voices were inaudible due to loud music or sound effects. Other than that, it was an incredible experience. If possible, this is the format to see this movie.
Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography is as brilliant as ever. The film goes for a very naturalistic look. Scenes shot at night are lit by fire, and they are shot at real locations. Ludwig Göransson score is bombastic and intense. From a technical level, it doesn’t get any better than this.
A Historic Achievement
It’s easy to feel hyperbolic about a new Nolan movie. It’s rare to see a huge sword and sandals epic on the big screen with a packed audience. Walking out of the theater gives you real hope for the future of cinema.
Is “The Odyssey” perfect on every level? No, but that’s part of Nolan’s charm. His films can get a bit sloppy, but what really matters is that they make you feel something in the end.
As I was watching the final act, I couldn’t help but feel that I was witnessing history. “The Odyssey” feels like a film that is going to be talked about decades from now. You have to appreciate Nolan’s commitment to making films that feel like major events. “The Odyssey” feels like his most ambitious work yet, which is really saying something.
In the end, “The Odyssey” is a historic achievement for the world of filmmaking and will likely be the defining historical fantasy epic of the 2020s.
Rating: 5/5 stars
