You know when you’re driving home to your family and you’re already late so you figure you might as well make a few stops because you’re already in trouble anyway? That’s pretty much the plot of The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s latest epic that is, indeed, epic.
Odesseus, who looks a lot like a bulked up yet scraggly Matt Damon, saunters off to some place for work, leaving his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) home to take care of the house. He takes a few years to make it back (hanging out with Charlize Theron, imagining Zendaya), leaving his friends and colleagues to fend for themselves.
The Odyssey looks and feels exactly how you’d expect a Christopher Nolan film based on one of the most famous books of all time to be: it’s pretty awesome. With sensational visual effects, a riveting score by Ludwig Göransson (the white Swede behind Sinners), and immersive performances by the A-list cast, The Odyssey casts its titular character to one unpleasant adventure after another.
The first two hours are nearly flawless as Nolan does what he does best. He takes the key elements from Homer’s multi-decade story, places them on parallel timelines, and slams them back together as sparks fly. Odysseus’s tale is brought to life in a cohesive, fast-paced way, simultaneously grounded and fantastical. From the famous cyclops to a dangerous encounter with Cercei (featuring a brief but memorable turn by Samantha Morton), Nolan delivers one impressive set piece after another. It’s spellbinding.
The final hour isn’t quite as strong, as the story shifts from Odysseus’s odyssey to his inevitable attempt to regain his throne in Icarus. It’s in this stretch that parts of the movie begin to feel a little more conventional and the script strains in a few parts, notably Odysseus’s awkward reunion with his son (Tom Holland, once again playing a teenager). Damon is great in the movie except for the early moments in the third act, which suffers from some questionable dialogue and rushed editing—it feels as if a few chunks were cut to keep the film under three hours. Nolan could have accelerated things further by getting to the point versus watching us Odysseus converse with his bride, face covered to save his reveal for just a little later. It’s never tedious, but Nolan veers closer to the sun than you’d like.
There is still plenty to like in the third act, however, including an entertaining climax that lets villain Robert Pattinson finally flash his talent, even as his true cowardice is revealed. An emotionless recasting of the invasion of Troy, Ludwig’s score pounding off screen, also leaves you breathless.
Hathaway deserves plaudits for her performance as Queen Penelope, as does John Leguizamo. Zendaya unfortunately is underutilized, as is Lupita Nyong’o.
Even though the movie is just about Matt Damon taking the long way home, The Odyssey is a must-see on the big screen. It’s an incredible feat of filmmaking and storytelling, an epic thousands of years in the making.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.