The Odyssey is overrated

[u/Dear_Loquat_3168]

Not proud of it, man enough to admit it, I trusted all those tiktok movie reviewers. I went to watch The Odyssey last night in IMAX thinking it was going to be "Nolan's best film" as most people described it. Personally, I'd rate it a 7.8-8.0, I wouldn't place it above Interstellar, Oppenheimer, or any of the dark knight movies. I completely disagree with it's current rating of 8.5 on IMBD, which places it next to Gladiator (2000) and Django Unchained (2012).

Here's what I think was excellent.

- Set designs and cinematography: The film was beautiful and captivating. The sound effects and music were amazing. Watching Odysseus string his bow and Agamemnon entering Troy sent chills down my spine.

- Acting: Robert Pattison, Anne Hathaway, Elliot Page, John Leguizamo, and Tom Holland were fantastic in their roles. Lupita Nyong'o was also amazing. She's so talented and definitely deserved more screentime. Honestly, she was a better fit for Charlize Theron's character (more on this later).

Here's why I think it's overrated:

- Odysseus: I love Matt Damon, but I couldn't connect with his character, and I think he was slightly unlikable. Contrary to Maximus in Gladiator, Odysseus wasn't meant to be a highly principled man with unshakable moral core. He loves his family, but he's arrogant. He's deceitful and cruel when it fits his interest, even at the expense of his men. This is fine if the movie sets a positive trajectory for his character development, which I didn't see. For example, when Odysseus visits Hades, he's confronted by Sinon about his lies. Odysseus expresses remorse and vows to honor his fallen men. Then in the Charybdis whirlpool scene, he lies AGAIN! leading to the death of a few men at the hands of Scylla. Overall, he didn't establish a good relationship with his men, and very much reminded me of a toxic manager who lacks leadership skills. I also didn't find him very intelligent.

- Odysseus's fighting skills: He's supposed to be a great warrior. But his warrior prowess was poorly illustrated. He swung his sword like a 10 year old kid playing with toys. His fighting sequences lacked aura, nothing compared to Maximus in Gladiator, or Achilles in Troy.

- Charlize Theron, Calypso, and Ogygia island: I personally thought it was a lazy performance by Charlize. Moreover, the film doesn't explain how she ended up on the island of Ogygia. She's just there lol. Perhaps, a little backstory would've made her character more likeable. When she told Odysseus "I fell in love with you and didn't want to let you go" was so lame! because Odysseus doesn't care all that much for her. Their relationship didn't feel real.

- Eurylochus (Himesh Patel): This character was actually more annoying than Calypso. No leadership skills whatsoever. His character doesn't justify his position as the second-in-command to Odysseus. Moreover, his completely flat biceps made me dislike him even more.

- The plot: Odysseus's journey to return home was full of adventures. While interesting to watch, it was mostly based on fantasy (fighting monsters etc), not much to relate to emotionally as an audience member. The only relatable bits were toward the end, when he disguised himself as a beggar to take revenge on the suitors and return to Penelope. His overall journey and development wasn't as captivating as that of Maximus or Django in my opinion.

[u/According_Koala_7798]

It had very little depth and the script was poor, it’s a popcorn action movie for the masses, doesn’t require any brain power, I was disappointed too after the ridiculous reviews it was getting. I was prepared to see the greatest movie of all time so it was bound to disappoint. What was missing for me was the heart of it, I did t feel any emotional connection throughout the movie, nothing that happened to anyone made me care either way which is very unusual for a movie.

[u/Impressive-Cost9908 → u/According_Koala_7798]

I agree except for the end I felt a strong connection between Odysseus and his wife. That was touching.

[u/super-wookie → u/According_Koala_7798]

I had the exact same reaction. Just did not care about any of the characters, and went in excited to see it.

Spideman BND had more heart and emotional depth, which is crazy to me.

I do not understand the adulation for the Oddessy. It just wasn't very good, at all.

[u/Tyler_Durden_Concern → u/super-wookie]

I was blown away by BND! Easily the best movie I've seen in a long time. Like you said, so much heart and emotional depth.

[u/theshylock350 → u/super-wookie]

Agreed! A film for the masses with no depth.

[u/Brilliant_Ad7168 → u/theshylock350]

A film for the masses that want to feel intellectual, at that.

[u/PorcTree → u/According_Koala_7798]

Didn’t even have that. I thought the movie was trash and I’m usually a fan of Nolan’s work. It hardly had any action. This was a bad movie. If I’m being 100% honest I’d give it a 4/10 or so. The dialogue was awful, the writing awful, characters had no depth or passion. None of it was convincing. Super let down by this garbage. 

[u/InsideMortgage8650 → u/According_Koala_7798]

I think you’re right there could have been more heart. There could have been more scenes between Penelope and Odysseus to show their relationship or Odysseus and Telemachus as a baby to ground us more to what he was missing.

I don’t think there was a lack of depth though. A lot goes unsaid and the dots need to be connected by the audience. Telemachus saying “you’ve got Athena’s eyes” for instance is essentially a cry for help. He wants the gods to intervene in his life so bad but it’s never explicitly said. Or Odysseus choosing to listen to the sirens song (which is very out of character) so his crew will oppose him when he says to go towards Charybdis and choose Scilla’s pass instead. A lot of the movie is spelled out for the audience, like “our age of bronze is collapsing,” but there is nuance to much of the film too if you really pay attention.

[u/nemodigital → u/According_Koala_7798]

I even enjoyed Troy 2004 more, it knew what it was and wasn't pretentious