"The Odyssey" Defies All Expectations

In the 2000s, Warner Bros. had their eyes on telling the story of the Battle of Troy, for which directing duties of the film would land on a young Christopher Nolan, in what would have been his first major Hollywood blockbuster. When another director the studio wanted became available, Nolan was removed and given the task of directing another blockbuster as a “consolation prize.” The favored director was Wolfgang Petersen, and he would ultimately direct “Troy,” while Nolan would direct “Batman Begins” instead. I believe history has proven which of these projects had the more lasting impact as the years have gone by. Whether Nolan ever regretted losing “Troy” to Wolfgang Petersen is impossible to know. Whatever inspired him to finally tackle Homer’s epic, “The Odyssey” feels like the culmination of a decades-long ambition.

If Nolan made you believe a bat and a clown could wage an epic war in the streets, he is about to make you believe that a man can battle a cyclops. This is key because one of the reasons the poems by Homer have stuck around all these years are the visuals they create in our heads of gods that battle over the lives of humanity like kids who fight over a piece of candy. Nolan wisely keeps Zeus and Hercules off screen (the humans in this movie are acting by faith rather than any personal conversation with an almighty) and focuses most of the story on Odysseus (Matt Damon), the man who helped take down Troy in a single night but took years to get back home. Why did it take him so long to get home?

Even he isn’t sure when the movie starts, as he can’t remember much of his life before that point, and we will discover the journey (or hell) he has through alongside him. He isn’t the only one who is looking for answers: his son Telemachus (Tom Holland) is also searching for answers to what happened to his father, as he looks over his kingdom that is in danger of being overthrown by lawless men who want to marry his mother (Anne Hathaway) and inherit his kingdom. From there, we follow two men on a journey of discovery, both on separate paths that will eventually collide in a massive, epic finale that only happens in Hollywood movies once in a generation. Whether Nolan was offended by being passed over by “Troy” or not, he directs “The Odyssey” as if he has something to prove.

His direction is grand, larger than life, and uncompromised. Most people who come off a Best Picture winner like “Oppenheimer” would take it easy the next time around, maybe give themselves a break after winning the highest honors in the industry. Nolan directs “The Odyssey” as if he looked at all the awards he received on his shelf and thought, “I think I can do better.” Better may be relative as this is a very different movie from “Oppenheimer,” but it is certainly more ambitious. In a world where computer graphics provide the ability to duplicate soldiers, Nolan is using real extras for his battle sequences. Why use AI to make statues when you can build the sets yourself? Why use a green screen when the open sea is available? Heck, why use a standard camera?

Why not shoot the whole damn thing with IMAX cameras (which is, obviously, the preferred format to view this in, but the scope is still felt on a standard screen as well)? Nothing is off the table, and while I wasn’t thinking about the process during my first screening (I was just too captivated by the experience), I couldn’t help but notice during the second screening just how much out of his way Nolan seemed to go to make filming this movie difficult. This is the modern-day equivalent of recreating the Civil War in “Gone with the Wind” while shooting in the harsh desert of “Lawrence of Arabia” all rolled into one. The sheer magnitude of this film can only be believed by experiencing it.

While the scope is going to leave the first major impression, thankfully the story matches the scope in some surprisingly personal ways. With most of the time spent with Odysseus, Matt Damon gives his most grueling (if not exactly nuanced) performance of his career. Much like the character he is playing, Damon comes off as a weary soldier who has been in the industry long enough to know that he can’t play Jason Bourne forever, and he is giving his all for what (he claims) is his “last chance” to make a sweeping Hollywood epic. While the cast is varied and stacked, I was equally impressed by Robert Pattinson, who plays an antagonist that reminded me of the unstable ruler Joaquin Phoenix played in “Gladiator.”

Cold and calculated, with a sick confidence that hides how much of a coward he is, Pattinson’s Antinous is the mix of ambitious and stupid that makes characters like him so dangerous in movies like these. Considering Pattinson went to this after playing a fiancee faced with a dark secret from “The Drama” earlier this year, it is great to see the great character actor who was initially pegged as little more than a teen sex symbol during the “Twilight” craze. Even the women – slight though their screen presence may be – are more than just prizes waiting to be won, but humans who stand by, listen, and strike when the opportunity arrives. While their trajectories may be set in stone, their journeys are far from predictable.

That the film ultimately winds up being a great entertainment seems almost as much of a miracle as the filmmaking process itself. With stabbings, beheadings, and suffering on the ocean, few will walk away feeling this is a pleasant road trip experience. Yet because we are experiencing a classic hero’s journey, we watch, we endure, and we hope that the journey has a satisfying conclusion. When it was delivered, I just sat in awe by what I just witnessed, wondering if I will ever see anything like it again. I hope with this (and “Project Hail Mary” from earlier this year) Hollywood realizes that betting on ambitious visions is more exciting and (more importantly) profitable than the latest Disney rehash. Whether it happens or not, “The Odyssey” is a gift from the Movie Gods and we should sacrifice our best DVDs to them for giving him the chance to finally show us that he was capable of delivering a Greek epic for the ages.

This review was originally published on The Fandom Post.