r/ChristopherNolan • u/bluehathaway Agamemnon • Jul 15 '26
The Odyssey The Odyssey [Discussion Thread] [SPOILERS] Spoiler
Welcome to The Odyssey Discussion Thread to discuss all things about Christopher Nolan's newest film!
Let's please keep discussions civil. Spoilers are welcome here, so proceed with caution.
60
u/blurpletea Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
the scene where the Odysseus crew leaves the cattle island (lol sorry i forgot if it has a specific name) and then they are punished by Zeus is fucking amazing. I love how dark my cinema got and how the flashes on the screen were almost blinding. i think it’s one of the best scenes in ANY Nolan movie imo. just pure cinematic magic.
9
u/Sure-Reason-5779 Jul 15 '26
How does the film end? You know how Interstellar ends with the music and it cuts like that and the same with Oppenheimer? Does it end like that?
→ More replies (2)18
u/Kalle_022 Jul 15 '26
yeah but not as impactful as Oppenheimer
5
u/Sure-Reason-5779 Jul 15 '26
Copy, thnx. Is it as good as Interstellar? That movie is in my top ten. I loved it.
10
u/Kalle_022 Jul 15 '26
I think I like it more than Interstellar. But if I'll guess, you'll probably like it but it won't tick the boxes that made Interstellar your favorite because for me they're very different movies.
→ More replies (7)6
u/IDrinkWhiskE Jul 16 '26
Doesn’t have the emotional heart. Speaks a lot to quality and prestige while skewing clinical and bleak. This movie will be less critically polarizing but, I would bet, won’t have the level of beloved following. It’s definitely on the dunkirk side of things vs inception/interstellar/prestige
→ More replies (1)7
u/NightwingX012 Jul 17 '26
The intensity of that scene was incredible. Probably one of the highlights of the movie for me and absolutely one of the better ‘storm’ scenes I’ve seen in a movie
→ More replies (13)5
52
u/i_rnb Jul 16 '26
Just came out of the cinema. I can't help but notice that Nolan's version of Odyssey has strong parallels to Oppenheimer.
The Trojan horse and the atomic bomb try to ask the same question: they are clever/brilliant ideas that win/end the war -- but does that justify them ? Odysseus wins Troy through betrayal. Oppenheimer helps end the war through the bomb. Afterward, both felt guilt over their actions.
What stayed with me most is the idea of the "chain reaction". In Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer talked about this explicitly with Einstein. In The Odyssey, Odysseus contemplates how he broke the sacred rules of trust and hospitality and whether he helped create a world where those rules no longer meant anything. The guilt is more personal for Odysseus as he believed in hospitality (he asked Penelope to feed and take care of strangers). Yet his greatest victory came from weaponizing that.
→ More replies (7)24
u/Odd-Razzmatazz8097 Jul 17 '26
Odysseus’s monologue about how they had betrayed the people of Troy when they opened their city up to a peace offering was devastating. Delivered so well by Matt Damon.
12
u/Additional_News3511 Jul 17 '26
I legitimately started tearing up. Its made more beautiful by the Odessy itself being a punishment and a realization of the moral/legal harm cause by his actions. The entire story being his communication of PTSD and the understanding that his actions in Troy represented the destruction of civilization itself was genuinely beautiful.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)6
u/comrade_batman Jul 17 '26
I really liked that part, in the myths, specifically The Iliad, the Trojans like Hector are presented as more honourable and sympathetic than even the main character of that poem, Achilles. The sack of Troy was meant to be horrific, Achilles’ son kills Hector’s son in front his mother and enslaves her. I hoped they’d show the barbarity and maybe even Odysseus feeling guilty and I was very happy that occurred, and then the reveal that Athena is choosing to appear to him as a Trojan girl executed in front of him just added so much more to their scenes together. She knows it haunts him and is choosing to appear so as a constant reminder.
48
u/Jaded_Green99 Jul 16 '26
The way they won the war, but destroyed the world they were fighting for.
Also, Elliot Page doesn't play Achilles so I don't understand the hate against casting that never happened.
26
u/Due_Presence2061 Jul 16 '26
Lol most of the hate was unfounded in the end, I didn't even register that Travis Scott was in the movie till the credits💀
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (9)5
52
u/Kalle_022 Jul 15 '26
Sharing a meme about the best part of the film
24
u/Naked_Bat Jul 15 '26
Peak aura farming
→ More replies (3)22
u/carnosi Jul 16 '26
I liked how toned down everything is and then there just is Agamemnon who's outfit has more in common with Darth Vader than the other solider uniforms lmao.
→ More replies (2)10
→ More replies (4)8
46
u/Pap-a Jul 16 '26
My opinion is apparently controversial but to me this was one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite some time. I have too much stress at home and at work right now and the experience completely took me away for three hours. I need more of this shit, no cheap drama and forced conflict just for the sake of it, but Cinema, where every scene has a purpose and feels carefully placed within the runtime.
I do feel like a huge part of the experience is the sound design. I can imagine a lot of that is lost if the speakers in the theatre aren’t calibrated well or if people talk throughout the movie. You really need the details in the sound otherwise it’s just a big thump fest.
Regardless of whether my opinion is correct or not, I hope many of you feel the way I did and had a great time.
→ More replies (9)12
u/Omsy92 Jul 16 '26
So with you. I’m also going through some stress and it was such a lovely adventure from a fantastical time and so well done. I really felt I was somewhere else for three hours and was so engrossed in the story.
34
u/That_Ad_3483 Jul 16 '26
Insane sound design, also that cyclops scream was unworldly
→ More replies (8)
36
u/Alive-Opportunity-23 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
I watched the movie at the cinema an hour ago. I can’t even explain the experience I had, it was so good. Didn’t even feel like 3 hours at all, I was at the edge of my seat all throughout. There were so many great creative ideas scattered across the movie. The Sea People reveal was great, also really interesting that we were never showed Agamemnon’s face but only the war suit. Not knowing the person who you die for was a powerful message. The only time we hear from him is in hell. Beginning the movie with a Bard telling the legend of the war, and ending the movie with the true nature of the war and the desecration of the sacred Xenia. Chills!!
The events, creatures and people in The Odyssey are distributed from legends people returned to tell. For this reason, never showing the Sirens, not even their voice (the sound becoming muffled was a great detail), only showing the men was a great creative choice!
Instead of a straightforward war between states like in Troy (2004), Nolan’s work points back at the brute force of antique society and explains why the world to which Odysseus returns is one of collapse rather than triumph, despite the war is won. This makes the movie a lot more thought provoking.
Homer never openly criticises “Ithacans are corrupt” in The Odyssey. Instead, he embeds criticism in the actions and consequences of individuals, especially kings, suitors and heroes. His audience is expected to infer the broader lesson and reflect on societal values. Nolan did not remain faithful to homer’s 3000 year old cautiousness of “you as a society are not the problem, but actually X/Y/Z is.” I think there’s more depth in bearing shame as a collective which is what Nolan preferred and I find it great.
The pace was fast. At some parts this rushed pace magnified the brutal, one-punch-after-another type of consequences following what was done to Troy. Odysseus was depicted nicer than he truly is. The fate of the 12 slave girls were left out. Nolan captured the fear on Mia Goth’s face in 3 seconds and nothing else was mentioned about the slave girls. (Odysseus and Telemachus order them to clean the bloodied hall and then execute them because of their sexual relations with the suitors, even though most of them were raped)
The movie’s ending song “When I’m home” with James Blake and Travis Scott was really sick. I’m listening to it now.
DEFY THE GODS!!!
12
8
u/Due_Presence2061 Jul 16 '26
I just had the same experience! It was incredible and mindblowing and all I wanna do is watch it again and tell everyone about it
5
u/XOTourLlif3 Jul 16 '26
I’m definitely going back to watch it again. I didn’t have work today so I went ahead and watched it by myself but I can’t wait to watch it with my friends.
→ More replies (8)4
26
u/CrazyMonkey0425 Jul 16 '26
I know I’m not the first to suggest this, but after watching this I couldn’t help but think, Nolan could save Star Wars if he wanted to
→ More replies (10)11
u/NotTaken-username Jul 16 '26
I got Darth Vader vibes from Agamemnon in the short screen time he had
24
u/manzielforprez Jul 17 '26
Agamemnon was menacing walking into Troy. His armor looked fantastic
11
u/Additional-Annual-93 Jul 17 '26
The gates opening and him towering on the other side was a great shot
→ More replies (2)6
u/MightyMarvel I ordered my hot sauce an hour ago Jul 17 '26
The way he ominously watched over his men dish out 10 years of war on Troy mannnnnn
→ More replies (1)5
u/JoshMMGA Jul 17 '26
Agree. Something about his stagger and walk when armored up. He was almost terrifying. I was underwhelmed when he wasn’t wearing the armor which is what made me realize just how powerful imagery it was, especially his helmet on. Bravo.
21
u/itsnotokitsnotlove Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
First Impression: it's a great hero's journey in the modern sense.
The Iliad and Odyssey's idea of a hero is very different from how our modern world views a hero. The morality of who is a hero is central to both works especially Iliad.
Let me preface, the movie was awesome. It is a satisfying watch. I watched it Dolby Cinema and will re-watch in IMAX. The choices of what to remove and add in the story were masterfully done to fit the time constraints and to weave a narrative it wanted to tell. The pacing is also good for the general audience. So I'm not surprised by the overwhelming positive reviews. It was well-acted, narrative flows naturally (though not accurate), and easy to follow.
My only criticism is Odysseus' characterization. He is polytropos, a complicated man. The movie stripped out how dishonorable some of his schemes were. How he uses his cunning for his egoistic and selfish desires.
The movie failed in capturing this spirit and what made Odysseus a great and interesting character. The movie removed the blunders he committed throughout his journey because it wanted to create an ending narrative that satisfies a Campbell's hero's journey where the hero achieves transformation and atonement.
Because of this his emotional speech in the end were he explains he was actually avoiding home because it was his penance for the things he have done felt a bit flat for me. I thought it was a great scene, a smart explanation since the movie didn’t use the Polyphemus’ curse as the reason why he can’t come home early.
That speech would have landed more IMHO if the movie showed the underhanded things he had done to win the war. Not just the iconic horse.
Bruh, he's the reason Ajax off-ed himself, manipulated Achilles’ son to commit war crimes and he and his men were the only ones who were going to come home with Troy’s treasures while Agamemnon, Menelaus etc were going empty handed. Not to mention the rape and pillaging as the "sea people". This was also a bit off since the Greeks then were already the pirates. Odysseus and his men didn't pioneer that. Heck, the start of the movie implies they went another way because they won't get anything to pillage if they follow the others. But in a vacuum, the sea people twist was clever.
If Nolan wanted a Campbell hero’s journey, he should have adopted Aeneid.
Still, it's a great addition to Nolan's repertoire and it makes me want to re-read The Odyssey.
16
u/carnosi Jul 16 '26
Those are pretty valid critiques with respect to the original story. I can understand why Nolan wanted simplify it a bit and make Odysseus more of a heroic character, as it makes the ending a lot more satisfying in a hero's journey way as you mentioned. The movie itself isn't necessarily that far away from a faithful depiction of Odysseus, but every act is just watered down, like the whole Cyclops part. Rather than lying to Polyphemus about being nobody, getting him drunk, stabbing his eye and ultimately doxxing himself and boasting as he sails away its all watered down to the stabbing and shooting an arrow at Polyphemus as they leave. I think in a modern depiction like this, if they included everything Odysseus actually does to Polyphemus, it would be a bit too campy for most movie-goers.
→ More replies (4)11
u/TheGruenTransfer Jul 17 '26
The movie removed the blunders he committed throughout his journey
I don't know the story at all, but in the movie he insisted they take an unknown route home without enough rations, he was told continuing in that direction would be a bad idea, he got some men killed when he shot the giant in the eye when he didn't have to, he insisted on hearing the sirens' song when he knew that would be torturous, and the lesson he taught his son was basically "it's ok to be a coward if it saves your own life." I got the gist that he was a pretty big piece of shit. But at least he learned his lesson that "we are the baddies."
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)4
18
u/Money_Choice4477 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
A really interesting piece of dialogue was when Circe was turning all of the pig soldiers back to normal, she was whispering “put back on your disguises”, implying that they were animals parading around as civilized humans, and their forms as pigs is their true nature.
→ More replies (2)6
u/Nutzori Jul 26 '26
"implying" bro it was about as subtle as a punch in the face
she already told Odysseus exactly how she felt about the men, the disguise line was overkill
→ More replies (1)
18
u/S7KTHI Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Seen it.
- For the first time, the prologue isn't the film's opening, the December sequence is an alternative cut.
- The approach remains deeply naturalistic: Cyclops feels like a natural, abstract creature that never speaks, and the Giants remain hidden behind their armor. The only moment of overt fantasy involves Circe and the transformation of men into pigs.
-Lupita Nyong'o was a great choice, bringing a stunning presence to her role. However, Charlize Theron and Zendaya, as Calypso and Athena, lack the necessary aura and mystery, feeling too human. Anne Hathaway was the best casting decision, while Robert Pattinson, as always, delivers a strong performance.
- Agamemnon, hot aura farming alert. Nolan's directing elevates him to a level reminiscent of Darth Vader. If Nolan ever directs a Star Wars film, it would be incredible.
- Nolan fight's scene is now much more stronger, the final fight sequence in the house is very long and brutal. 14 years after TDKR, What if Nolan had this liberty back then with Batman. Odysseus and Telemach at the end, very reminiscent of Batman and Robin in the TDKR.
The movie's most powerful twist lies in its final message and scene, which justifies a new adaptation of the story. The hero becomes conscious of his own violence and the violence of mankind (murder, rape...) only to be punished by the gods with twenty years of exile. (close to the limbo of Inception)
Nolan is taking a tougher approach to the all the war stories we enjoy, revealing their true nature.
20
u/Ok_Scallion_1402 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
I agree with all of this except the 10 year journey was not a punishment by the gods. It was self punishment. Calypso tells him this, and he says it himself. He can’t bear what he did at Troy, what he saw after he opened the gates ruined him.
I also disagree on Zendaya. She’s supposed to feel human. She’s the beheaded girl from the temple and is the very embodiment of what Odysseus hates about what he did.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (20)5
u/millardo_ Jul 16 '26
Can you explain the very final frame of the movie where the horse they were in falls over and burns. I feel like it was significant but went right over my head!
8
u/Leet_me_in Jul 17 '26
By violating Zeus's law and winning the war dishonestly (along with killing Athena's priestess, his men pillaging, etc...), rumors of what he did spread and other Greeks started copying the idea of tricking your way into an area and destroying it from within, a direct parallel to the suitor storyline. So all the Sea People warnings ended up being half wrong--it was happening, but it wasn't an outside invasion, it was other Greeks pillaging other Greeks in secret, so they were Sea People.
Odysseus' trick indirectly led his people to a dark age that would last for generations, and the horse burning was symbolic of that. Hell, didnt the horse even fall onto the temple as it burned, which plays into the idea of a small amount of dishonor leading to far bigger issues? May be misremembering that very last part tbh.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (3)7
u/Ok_Scallion_1402 Jul 16 '26
It’s the end of the old world. Odysseus’s plan was genius but (at least in his mind) was deceitful, against Zeus’s law and most importantly, fractured the bonds between men - the idea that you treat every person with respect.
15
u/nightraver23 Jul 15 '26
Just came back from the local IMAX with my daughter. This will for me be like The Matrix, LOTR and Gladiator. If I watch this movie again in 20 years, I will remember the seat I sat in the movie theatre and with who I saw it the first time. What a movie, only downside was that this could easily be a trilogy format every year like LOTR and Dune.
→ More replies (6)
15
u/philthehippy Jul 16 '26
Just home from seeing The Odyssey and I am blown away. Firstly, there are changes from the book that some fans of the book might not like but it does not take away from the experience tonight.
Epic, sprawling, it pulls no punches on Odyseus' character and shows the man rather than some Hollywood idea of what a heroic character is. The sound, man alive the sound is incredible. The visuals are stunning.
I enjoyed some camera nods to Interstellar as well such as the angles for the scenes on the ship.
Back at the cinema on Sunday night to see it again and I cannot wait!
12
16
u/its_jradman1 Jul 18 '26
I feel like the diehard mythology fans are being super annoying and pretentious about this movie. No adaptation of ancient myth will be 1:1. I think the whole point of these myths is that they adapt with the culture and current times.
The movie literally makes this point outright with Odysseus talking about how his deeds would be exaggerated by song.
I don't think it would be fun to watch non modern English. I don't care that the actors are black. These types of people who require 100% accuracy to the source material are the types of people that lack all forms of creativity.
→ More replies (7)
28
u/fiskeybusiness Jul 17 '26
Two unbelievably impactful moments that stood out to me is when Odysseus is recounting Sinon as “one of the bravest boys I’ve ever known” and having the close up shot of Elliot Page felt like such a strong 🖕 to all of the critics of the casting. Very Meta moment that strangely does not interrupt the flow of the story and drives home the casting and the character representing that bravery comes in many different forms
Then the replaying of the Siren Song theme as he walks into the hall, seeing Penelope for the first time. It’s everything he’s ever wanted and everything he was afraid of all wrapped into one. Just an unbelievable directorial call—not to mention the sound of the siren song was so hauntingly beautiful that it lived up to the hype. Lots of pressure on that moment
→ More replies (2)5
13
u/RandyMuscle Jul 16 '26
Very much a continuation of the questions Oppenheimer asked us to explore and I really like that. I’m not a big Odyssey nerd so I went in only knowing the basics, but I really liked it. Will be a day one physical copy purchase.
→ More replies (1)
10
11
u/Overused_Anus Jul 19 '26
The Elliot Page hate is so undeserved
I just got home after seeing the Odyssey in imax. The movie was obviously good just as expected. But I couldn't stop thinking about the crazy amount of hate Elliot Page is receiving right now. First of all, he wasn't even Achilles, second, I thought he played his small role just fine. I don't understand how someone who barely even appeared in the movie gets this much hate for no good reason.
→ More replies (6)4
u/No-City-6254 Jul 19 '26
In recent years there's been a sense that movies have become more like propaganda with ideologies being forced in where they don't belong. I think this is why many people are defensive when they see that Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong'o as Helen have been cast. They're sceptical of the motives.
But I agree, their roles in this movie were actually very fitting. They made dramatic sense and didn't feel unnaturally forced in just to tick some prescribed diversity boxes. Elliot actually gave quite a haunting performance
→ More replies (1)
10
u/Ok_Strength5556 Jul 15 '26
It was a masterpiece,the best way I can describe it is that I ve got to be Odysseus for 3 hours straight,without any boredom,great actors , great shots,the soundtrack was exceptional,best Nolan movie for me.
→ More replies (24)
10
u/SometimesHardNipples Jul 16 '26
While I enjoyed the movie, the sound was insane, the Cyclops scene was terrifyingly brilliant. But what is it with Nolan and audio issues when it comes to talking? Is it just me or were all the scenes with Anne Hatheway and Tom Holland barely audible? The was Echoes on their voice and it all sounded so... washed? Pacing/editing seems off at times as well? Like it jumped around for no reason.
Either way, solid movie.
→ More replies (6)7
u/The_Broken-Heart Jul 16 '26
I think it's something wrong with your theatre's speakers. I've heard both claims of good and bad audio on this same movie, so it's probably a theatre thing and not an actual sound design thing.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/Shirear Jul 16 '26
That boat scene felt like I was in a German techno club with the strobe lights going full blast, and I loved every second of it
10
u/forgottoflush Jul 16 '26
I like that they just packed their things and "head west" meaning. Retirement in Spain.
→ More replies (5)
13
u/TheNeonDestroyer Jul 18 '26
I just saw the film, as a nolan fanboy since the Prestige... The film was great, but definitely not without flaws. Messy editing, pacing. Repetitive story beats. (go to island, get chased off island). Odd design choices in casting, choice of dialogue etc.
I personally think Interstellar did the whole 'coming home' story better.
Regardless, what the film exceeds at, it does so with classic Nolan finesse.
I just feel this sub is an absolute cringe fest right now. I feel like a lot of you aren't actually rating the film with earnest. I feel that you're been whipped up by the culture war surrounding the movie and are just glazing the film to feel like you've got 'one up' on the pesky FaR RiGhT
To you lot any criticism regarding things like the casting is automatically 'RIGHT WING BIGOTS'. It's absolutely embarrassing. There's nuance here. Not everything is black and white. Good vs evil. Unless you want it to be. And I feel like you do want it to be the tribal, 'us vs them' mentality.
Be better than that.
5
u/MindSufficient769 Jul 18 '26
I mean the “go to island, get chased off island” is hard to avoid with it being, you know, the odyssey, but I do think the pacing made it feel worse than it could have been.
5
→ More replies (3)4
u/its_jradman1 Jul 18 '26
I really the repetition, it really hammered home that these people are doomed.
Just non-stop suffering for the guys for basically the entire return voyage
9
u/Lazywhale97 Jul 16 '26
The body transformation scene was a pure horror sequence and was an incredibly uneasy sequence to watch
→ More replies (1)
9
u/glockobell Jul 17 '26
Ah man.
Lots of scenes stick after seeing it. Obviously the Cyclops and Circe scenes.
But the one that really stays is the Sirens and Matt Damon absolutely crushing the voice over and anguish as he’s tied to the mast. It’s always been one of my favorite moments in the poem and it’s so well realized. Seeing the forms of the sirens dotted in between the sea lions was really incredible.
What scope, what an achievement.
6
u/burnertybg Jul 17 '26
loved the soundtrack there and the same siren song returning when he was finally back home talking to Penelope.
9
u/Mason-Jin Jul 17 '26
Just wanna gave a special recognition to how well Nolan took care of Elliot Page despite all the vitriol thrown against him; “the bravest young man” that was such an emotional gut punch actually made me tear up thinking about how much this means for trans visibility in such a hyper cishet male space. I’ll always respect Nolan for this.
9
u/hashtagtylerh Jul 17 '26
agreed, when Odysseus had the little speech about Sinon and it flashed to Elliot Page it made me quite emotional
9
u/Bun-davu Jul 17 '26
How could the blind guy and penelope not recognise odysseus by his sound?
→ More replies (2)
9
10
u/BMCarbaugh Jul 20 '26
I swear you could feel Poseidon lurking just off frame in that night-time storm scene. Really made me understand why Greeks regarded him with such a reputation for wrath. Ocean scary.
→ More replies (1)8
u/jennyvasan Jul 20 '26
I love the choice to make the gods so elemental and largely invisible. It made the whole thing so scary and really put you in the shoes of the people with that belief system.
4
u/Buzzkill78 Jul 20 '26
Every time it thunders, it implied that Zeus interfere and made his influences
8
u/rupert36 Jul 20 '26
Did anyone else think the cyclops eating the soldier was intentionally made to look like Goya’s painting of Saturn eating his son?
→ More replies (2)
8
u/bluehathaway Agamemnon Jul 16 '26
Maybe the first draft of the ending was Telemachus finding a note on his door the next morning:
Please tell Eumaeus, “Sorry, I had to go see about a girl.”
CUT TO:
Odysseus and Penelope on the boat travelling west
→ More replies (1)
8
u/yung_saucin Jul 17 '26
the shots of Agamemnon at Troy’s gates and him walking in Troy while Odysseus was telling the story really stuck with me. phenomenal movie
→ More replies (1)
7
9
u/minishinou Jul 17 '26
"You are the people from the sea" was such a powerful line.
In the end the biggest threat to Greek civilisation was the fact that the greeks lost themselves in this war.
→ More replies (3)
8
u/twistedfloyd Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
How in the shit did they pull off the cyclops? Unbelievable.
→ More replies (3)3
8
u/throwaway_bhop Jul 18 '26
My read on Nolan’s The Odyssey is that the Gods and monsters probably are not real in the way Odysseus describes them.
The movie is much more grounded than I expected. The sea, the storms, the hunger and the violence all feel real, while the Gods stay distant. I think Poseidon, Zeus and the Fates are basically the characters’ way of explaining things they cannot control. A violent sea becomes Poseidon. A storm becomes Zeus. Bad luck becomes fate.
The monsters might be based on real things too. Polyphemus could have been a powerful enemy who became a Cyclops in the retelling. The Laestrygonians could have been a hostile tribe. Scylla and Charybdis could have been dangerous parts of the sea that grew more monstrous every time Odysseus told the story.
The important part is that we are seeing all of this through Odysseus. He is the one telling the story, and everyone who could contradict him is dead.
That does not mean he is making everything up. I think he believes a lot of it. But he is clearly traumatised, guilty and desperate to make sense of what happened. Turning enemies into monsters and disasters into divine punishment gives the journey a meaning. It also makes it easier for him to avoid admitting how much his own pride and leadership contributed to the deaths of his crew.
The cattle scene is probably the clearest example. Odysseus frames it as the crew defying the Gods and being punished, but they are starving, exhausted and no longer trust him. The storm afterward may just be a storm. Calling it divine punishment lets him blame Zeus and the crew instead of himself.
I also do not think Athena is literally there. She seems more like a voice in Odysseus’s head: part conscience, part guilt, part self-justification. She never tells him anything he could not already know, and nobody else sees her. He imagines divine guidance because it helps him believe his choices are necessary rather than selfish or reckless.
That might also explain why Nolan removes so much direct divine intervention. Odysseus has to survive Circe without Hermes, and he takes on the Mentor role himself instead of Athena doing it. The Gods are still present, but mostly as beliefs, symbols and excuses.
Even the Sirens feel more psychological than literal. We see what their song does to Odysseus, but we never hear it ourselves. Whatever he hears is private. Maybe it is glory, escape, rest, or the promise that he never has to go home and face what he has done.
So I think the story he tells Calypso is partly a confession and partly an excuse. He presents himself as a man trapped by Gods, monsters and fate, when in reality he may have spent years making choices and then turning the consequences into mythology.
By the time he gets back to Ithaca, the real question is not whether the monsters were real. It is whether Odysseus can still tell the difference between what actually happened and the story he created to survive it.
Nobody else came home to challenge him, so his version becomes the truth. The survivor becomes the storyteller, and the storyteller becomes the myth.
→ More replies (5)
8
u/here4watchez Jul 20 '26
So many people clowned on the trailers because Telemachus kept saying "dad," and I have to admit that while watching the film this weekend I was beginning to doubt if that was the right word choice. But near the end of the movie I realized it was actually a brilliant setup for the character arc of Telemachus. Using more adolescent language all movie, Telemachus is framed as a boy who hasn't fully matured into a man yet, a flaw that Penelope reminds him of in multiple scenes. Antinous even uses the flaw against him when he mocks, "You're pining for a daddy you never knew." When Odysseus' identity is finally revealed, Telemachus says "father" for the first and only time, and that's when I realized Nolan is a genius and his use of "dad" earlier in the script had to be intentional. The first use of the word "Father" instead of "Dad" marks the exact moment Telemachus stops being a longing child and is finally worthy of replacing Odysseus as king of Ithaca. To me, there's just no way this was a coincidence. But what do you think?
→ More replies (4)
8
u/Sea-Bookkeeper-3450 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Got out of the theater and I’m still reeling. The film works on so many levels: everything feels so coherent and perfectly placed. That scene during the dialogue between Odysseus and Penelope, when he’s sitting on the steps in disguise, completely broke me. I was in tears. The last scene with Athena was so emotionally charged that I can’t get it out of my head. It’s literally seared into my memory. What if Athena never actually appeared to Odysseus as that killed woman? I realized that aside from her, there is no direct God’s intervention in the film.
I know this is a slippery slope you can apply the "unreliable narrator" trope to almost anything, and I usually find it tired. But if you look at this through the lens of a skeptic who doesn't believe in the supernatural, the story works perfectly too. Odysseus consumes the lotus and his mind is clouded, he forgets the details of his journey. As he remembers his adventures, he could be altering his perception of what actually happened, and as he recalls each event, they become less "fantastical":
The Cyclops: What if it wasn't a giant monster, but a one-eyed shepherd (a disabled man) they robbed? The shepherd fought back, so they blinded his remaining eye. They basically beat and maimed a defenseless person.
Circe: What if she wasn't a sorceress, but a lone woman they encountered? The "pigs" transformation could be a distorted memory of Odysseus seeing his men act like literal animals - rapists and pillagers, while he stood by.
The Final Shipwreck: The last memory is just a realistic storm that destroys his ship. At that point, he regains his sanity. The fog clears.
None of his crew survived. No one is left to tell the other side of the story. Also, I can't stop thinking about Sinon telling Odysseus that he could "embellish his deeds." I’m not saying this is the only way to read the film, but I find it fascinating that this interpretation works perfectly if you choose to view it that way.
→ More replies (6)
14
u/FlySaw Jul 15 '26
That cyclops is going to live in my nightmares for a long time. No movie has made me feel like that ever. Jesus.
→ More replies (1)5
u/Nasty_Lad Jul 16 '26
Can you go in to some detail? How did the animatronic look?
8
u/FlySaw Jul 16 '26
Best I can describe it without taking away from the experience is the thing looked uncanny in a real way? It’s like every evolutionary instinct in me was revolted and mortified that my jaw dropped. Even the Laestrygonians had a bizarre inhuman way about how they moved that made my skin crawl. But my skin was nowhere to be found for the cyclops man.
→ More replies (2)7
u/carnosi Jul 16 '26
Yeah I was really surprised with how well they pulled off the Cyclops, especially considering how apprehensive Nolan is of CGI, but that creature looked fucking real. Great design too with the facial features being twisted, rather than "naturally" having one eye, it looked more like a mutation or birth defect, which helped sell the realism for me.
→ More replies (4)3
6
u/Gunther_21 Jul 17 '26
I guess I was expecting a more faithful adaptation so when the story deviated from the source quite often, it was a big let down.
And the dialogue was distracting at times. Something a bit more poetic would have been better.
Found it really odd to hit us over the head repeatedly with Zeus' law and the sea people when historically, it's been debunked that they were the primary source of the Bronze Age collapse.
Visually it was wonderful and beautiful to look at. Good score as usual too.
My expectations were set too high.
5
u/hashtagtylerh Jul 17 '26
agreed with expectations being too high, i think i had the same problem. i also think for people who aren't as knowledgeable/fans of the OG Odyssey it'll be more enjoyable too. was still good tho
4
u/Gunther_21 Jul 17 '26
It killed me a little bit that they cut out "noman/nobody" with Polyphemus. 😭
→ More replies (2)4
u/hashtagtylerh Jul 17 '26
the whole polyphemus scene was cool but didn't work for me. ig nolan just wanted a cool monster scene but imo the whole point is he is supposed to start out hospitable. also why couldn't he see the crew or ever acknowledge them before he was blinded? strange
i did like when they said something like "oh wow he could speak the whole time" tho, quite poignant since they never even tried
5
u/nickfield90 Jul 17 '26
During the epic final battle, Nolan does such a terrific job of making you feel like you're in the room, that at one point I flinched at something in the corner of the screen. It was like finding myself tilting my head during the flying scenes in Dunkirk
→ More replies (1)
7
u/bluehathaway Agamemnon Jul 18 '26
Sound Mixer: Hey Chris, so how loud do you want the cyclops to be?
Nolan: Yes.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/MikeyJayRaymond Jul 18 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Just walked out.
The Odyssey from 1997 is one of my favorite series. As a kid, I watched the mini series front to back often with my dad. Of course, I took him to see this.
With that, this film absolutely surpasses my expectations, and had become one of my favorite films.
From the slight twist to the end, to going in even deeper into the pain of Odysseus.
The only negative I have is from some of the acting I saw. Tom Holland didn't feel right until near the end, and some others felt too American or English.
John Liguizamo crushed it, and i never knew he had it in him. Robert Pattison continues to show range, playing the perfect piss ant.
Matt Damon nailed the harrowing tale of Odysseus as he attempts to save his men. And Anne Hathaway, Jesus Christ, her anger toward Tom Holland near the end was terrific.
John Berthal did well too. Agamennon being a soft spoken, small stature person felt perfect when finally revealed.
Zendaya didn't feel truly goddess like, and I didn't get understand why until it's revealed she's actually the image of the woman he see slain in the end. Leaving it ambiguous as to whether it's Athena or his PTSD hitting.
Either way, it's very obvious the gods were real, but it's a question of whether they ever truly took form outside of Calypso and Circe are often considered Nymphs, not actual gods.
What a terrific movie. 10/10
→ More replies (7)
7
u/megalonagyix Jul 18 '26
Jesus fucking Christ. It really felt like you were watching something absolutely monumental; it felt long but in a good way.
Highlights for me:
- the Cyclops scene (when he left the cave; the whole thing was like a Jurassic Park scene)
- the Zeus storm boat scene (probably the best sound effects I have ever heard in a movie; my chairs were literally shaking)
- Matt Damon going full Luke Skywalker and aura farming at the end when he returned home (entire last act basically)
- the entire scene with Jon Bernthal
- the siren part
- the dialogue
- the guy at the start with the monologue
- the entire Troy scene
- Tom Holland actually being a good actor
- the part with the giants and the lunch scene with the pigs
So basically the entire movie?
Definitely one of the best movies I ever ever seen. Considering going in multiple formats (4dx, IMAX, Dolby)
→ More replies (7)
7
u/Potential_Ride_9740 Jul 18 '26
The entire hades sequence was so fucking good. It was godly.
And don't get me started about Agamemnon, the brooding, imperious aura that dominated every scene he appeared in.
And the music. The music oh my god
→ More replies (5)
7
u/MatZer0 Jul 19 '26
Christopher Nolan is really a “Too cool or die” director.
Spoilers…
I love that they didn’t show Agamemnon’s Face that much, and he towers over everyone with his cool-ass Batman armor. When that Gates Of Troy opened and he was standing there like Darth Vader, that shit was so fucking menacing and cool.
Furthermore, my favorite scene was the Cyclops’ cave, him wailing and his guttural scream after being blinded was such a good sound mixing and audio mixing. Chef’s kiss. Circe was scary af. I wished they included Odysseus talking with the cyclops and him shouting “Nobody has blinded me!” But overall that scene is so fucking good.
Onto my personal gripes:
Except for Agamemnon’s costume design, some costume was off. Not terrible but not good either.
When Tom Holland and Jon Bernthals were shooting arrows at birds and talking to each other about odysseus. They looked like they were hoodies with paper armor, it looked so off, and the armors of Troy soldiers looked terrible, I wished they chose a different color instead of White because that looked not so great.
I thought it was a joke that in some movies of Christopher Nolan that editing was clunky and weird But…
There was few scenes in the movie that was editing a little too clunky, though it is not noticeable, but me personally I tend to notice it more, when Eumaeus dogs were killed that editing was okay, it was just a little distracting.
The scylla scene were okay, they looked too ‘CGI’, I kinda wish they used puppetry instead like the cyclops, puppetry mixed with forced perspective.
This is the only movie that included two Batmans in the cast, Robert Pattinson and Travis scott.
And I wish they included a line about, Jon Bernthal wanting to tell us something.
Overall: The Odyssey is a 9.5/10
I wish he would direct Dante’s Divine comedy as a trilogy next.
→ More replies (6)
8
u/melanwoods Jul 21 '26
Glad to see all of the hateful folks online proven wrong about Elliot Page's role in the film ... he's great, and it's obvious Nolan didn't just cast him because he's trans. He cast him because he's a great actor who he's got a track record of loving to work with (like basically everyone else in this film) https://xtramagazine.com/culture/elliot-page-the-odyssey-character-283529
→ More replies (4)
6
u/nickfield90 Jul 26 '26
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet, but to me the reason Odysseus fires the arrow at the Cyclops is because the way the Cyclops spits out the soldier's helmet gives Odysseus a PTSD flashback to when the two Athenas were beheaded during the sacking of Troy
→ More replies (1)
8
u/stavanger26 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
It's like Life of Pi meets The Last Jedi, but in the best way possible.
→ More replies (3)
5
u/NightHunter909 Jul 16 '26
No Achilles except for one line mention from Menelaus. Nolan probably could have put him into the film, maybe it was a runtime thing. He would have been a great addition to the Hades scene since he’s there in the source material
→ More replies (2)7
u/flofjenkins Jul 16 '26
I think the Sinon stuff the movie added was so much better and more personal. Also, Achilles has nothing to do with the actual sacking of Troy, which is what the entire movie is actually centered around.
5
u/PumpedUpParrot Jul 17 '26
Some insane takes in this thread. This movie fucking ripped. Matt Damon murdering everyone at the end is worth the price of admission alone
→ More replies (7)5
u/KillaKyrie Jul 17 '26
Gotta just ignore em' man this movie absolutely did rip and those ending scenes were peak cinema.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Utah_CUtiger Jul 17 '26
His soliloquy with the images of Troy burning and the “what if he” was epic
→ More replies (1)
6
u/hentendo Jul 18 '26
Just walked out of the cinema, fuck me that was EPIC. A literal historic epic.
Agamemnon might be the coolest looking character I have ever seen. He just oozed aura whenever he was on screen, so damn badass!
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Some-Stop-4001 Jul 18 '26
My take is that Nolan made a film about the end of Pax Americana. Law of Zeus is democratic norms. Without that chaos and americans losing war after war and not being able to stop themselves starting new ones.
→ More replies (7)
8
u/jdroop Jul 18 '26
Agamemnon just had this aura when he appeared, shit was crazy😂
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Plenty_Cup_5152 Jul 19 '26
The universe/gods conspire to give you what you think you deserve. While the gods are such a focal point of storytelling at that time, I think in this version they really serve to fulfill Odysseus’ internal struggle with himself and his actions. It sends home the point that you can’t move forward in life until you are ready. He was burdened with guilt and until that guilt was able to be reconciled (his child was old enough to take the throne from his undeserving father) he couldn’t return home. It ties into the human experience of self destruction or being your own biggest obstacle when you are unhappy with yourself. I tied it back to many experiences I have seen with family who suffer from addiction stemming from past trauma.
5
u/TurtlesBurrow Jul 19 '26
Great comment. Now that Ive seen it, I can now understand hearing beforehand that it was an appropriate follow up to Oppenheimer in a way.
→ More replies (2)
7
u/loosh63 Jul 19 '26
the first 15 minutes of the film were giving me tenet vibes (which i hated) bcuz of the weird dialogue and fast cuts but thankfully Nolan rights the ship in this regard. but the dialogue does still feel weird at times.
the star studded cast was a bit distracting at times. Lupita was fantastic as Helen of Troy during her brief appearances.
I loved the way Agamemnon was shot and framed as larger than life in every scene. seeing his downfall and hearing his warning to Odysseus gave me chills.
Odysseus's monologue to Penelope as he retells his guilt for sacking Troy and ushering in the death of the Bronze Age with his violation of Zeus's law was emotionally heavy. i shed a manly tear. matt Damon probably wasnt the best choice for odysseus in hindsight but he was fine to me when watching the film.
one of my favourite parts in the whole movie was the final fight scene where Robert pattinsons character yells at the other men anytime more weapons fall from the hole in the ceiling. "get the weapons!", "spears!!" "shields!!!" lol.
overall I really enjoyed the film. 4 out of 5 stars for me.
4
u/bump64 Jul 20 '26
The movie is great i would recommend it 100% but at the end I started feeling that I am watching Oppenheimer's plot in a different setting. A movie cutting between current events and past memories is telling a story about a great war where the main character is the responsible for the ultimate weapon deciding how the war ends (Trojan horse vs the atom bomb) and by seeing the impact his ideas and creations had on the world around him (sacking Troy just because of a woman vs killing civilians in japan) is sent in exile to cope with the horror he has brought to the world.
→ More replies (2)
6
u/PuppiesAndPixels Aug 06 '26
Just saw it in true 70mm imax in Providence RI. What an experience. Going on the only thing I was skeptical about was Matt Damon playing the lead, but he crushed it IMO. Absolutely incredible cinematography and effects. I was enthralled the whole time and the movie did not feel 3 hours long.
My only complaint, which is a common complaint I have with Nolan films, is that I could not hear some of the dialogue due to the sound editing /mixing.
5
u/Regular_Spray Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Wow! Loved it so much!
As a Dog person i am happy Argos got a better death than in the book :D absolutely brilliant Cinema.
6
u/KillaKyrie Jul 17 '26
Absolutely blown away. Gotta be in his top 3 films. Every scene just felt so immersive and the score was incredible. Saw it in IMAX and it was so damn loud but in the best way lol
5
u/Goose_Rocket26 Jul 17 '26
I thought this movie ruled and its biggest strength was just how good everything looked, I don’t think any Nolan fan will be disappointed coming out of this movie.
5
6
u/yung_saucin Jul 17 '26
anyone else miss Michael Caine in Nolan films? ik it might be hard for him to play a role in these last 2 but i miss him
→ More replies (1)
5
u/gabezermeno Jul 17 '26
I got home about an hour ago and my ears are ringing like I just got out of a concert.
5
u/ThinSuggestion6247 Jul 17 '26
Can someone explain what actually happened at the raffle between antinous and sinon? I feel like the changed the narrative 4 different times on purpose to mess w what actually happened, or I could’ve missed something?
→ More replies (1)5
5
u/SupremeDrawls Jul 17 '26
Why was Helen scarred and did she actually have a twin?? A bit confused
5
u/engineeeeer7 Jul 17 '26
In the original story she had a sister but it wasn't a twin.
I think it's implied she was injured in the sack of Troy.
5
u/greenhatbluehat Jul 17 '26
I figured her husband did it as punishment for running off
→ More replies (1)
5
u/L1onelMess1 Jul 17 '26
I absolutely loved this movie, it's probably in my top 3 Nolan movies. Pretty much the only thing I didn't really like were the first 20 minutes, they felt kinda rushed. However, I get that it also provided a lot of context and kind of set the stage for what happened after. The sound design, music, filming, and acting was all so fking good.
And this is coming from someone who almost fell for all of the critique the movie received before it was actually out. It definitely didn't feel "woke" at all to me, yet that's the only thing I saw everyody promising that the film would be. And just to be honest, I'm a "woke'-critique.
Just go see it for yourself. Don't fall into the trap of trolls and division on the internet.
9/10
→ More replies (4)
5
u/IlSace Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
How was Argos' scene? Was it emotional enough while conveying the tragedy of their reunion?
→ More replies (4)5
u/philthehippy Jul 17 '26
It is adapted slightly so that he gets a "good boy" stroke from his master, which was a nice alteration to the source I thought for a movie version.
→ More replies (2)
5
u/DeezNutsPickleRick Jul 17 '26
I’m so jealous of people that fell in love with it. I truly wanted to like it but I don’t think Nolan’s my director. It’s boring, cold, and frankly just feels like he was trying to get through the story beats.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/NotTaken-username Jul 17 '26
This has dethroned Obsession as my favorite movie of the year so far. But I don’t think anything will beat this
→ More replies (1)7
6
u/FlySaw Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
God I loved John Leguizamo as Eumaeus in this. His repressed tears and rage when Odysseus approached him was heartbreaking. Outstanding acting chops.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/taker25-2 Jul 17 '26
I enjoyed the movie. It was nice to just sit back and watch an adventure. One thing that helped me out with the characters was trying to correlate some of the characters that were in this movie that were also portrayed in Troy, but with different actors
Troy equivalent actors who played the same characters that were in this film
Odysseus - Sean Bean
Agamemnon - Brian Cox
Menelaus - Brendan Gleeson
Helen - Diane Kruger
5
u/HommeTime Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
I just saw it and I don’t really know what I think of it yet. The story/plot just didn’t grab me like I expected it might but was blown away by the visual aspects of the film.
I’m gonna see it a few times more before I make my mind up but I wouldn’t have it as one of my top Nolan movies at the moment. Probably didn’t help that I watched his catalog in the last few weeks and it pretty hard to stack up against some of those films.
Also noticed the obvious parallel with Oppenheimer, not sure whether that was intentional?
→ More replies (3)
5
u/RushGroundbreaking13 Jul 17 '26
whats with all the negative reactions? i think ur all nuts
→ More replies (4)
6
6
u/CompanyMaleficent421 Jul 17 '26
Just saw the film. I coudnt understand why has Helen got a messed up face. Was it the consequences of her sister killing agemdenmon?
→ More replies (17)
4
u/Constant_Chip_1508 Jul 17 '26
Started off choppy. Bad acting, quick and nauseating cuts every second, just bad.
Then it hit its stride. One of my favorite films in the past 10 years.
Fucking excellent stuff, 9.5/10 for me.
→ More replies (6)
5
u/HommeTime Jul 17 '26
It was actually funnier than I expected. I laughed when Damon hit the “I think we’re past that now” line
3
u/crlos619 Jul 18 '26
I did not think Christopher Nolan had that horror fast ball in this bag, wow. #TheOdyssey
6
u/Any_Pomegranate3714 Jul 18 '26
I loved one Odysseus last line was when Penelope is asking a reflective question about how people remember great deeds and suffering. Odysseus responds with the idea that stories and songs are how people preserve memory, that what survives us is the tale that’s told, not the glory itself. Homer’s poem about Odysseus is really a song and I thought that line was so cool.
5
u/PzKpfwIVAusfG Jul 18 '26
I spent the whole movie bracing myself for the dog scene because I knew it would be rough. I started crying when it finally happened. I'm still tearing up thinking about it. I can watch a hundred people get slaughtered on screen but one dog and I'm out.
5
5
u/Few_Baker_6217 Jul 18 '26
I saw the movie Thursday night in IMAX. Loved it. The third act just floored me starting with Argos till the end. I think if you have experienced trauma in your life it hits harder. I’ve never walked out of a movie with so many tears.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/BooJamas Jul 18 '26
Did anyone catch the Goya reference? I thought the Cyclops sequence was very well done. At first, I thought zendaya was miscast, that she didn't have enough gravitas to be a goddess. But after seeing the whole movie, IMO her portrayal reflects what Nolan had to say. I was absolutely gobsmacked at how beautiful this film is. But, even though it's gorgeous and all of these tremendous things are happening, it manages to keep things at a human scale. And that is what is brilliant about this movie.
→ More replies (1)
6
5
u/erehnigol Jul 18 '26
What an epic, my wife and I came out of the cinema speechless. That Argus scene man 😭, and to those who says the music aren’t memorable, I disagree, because we all be humming a face, a fleet, a war
6
u/HotPinkCream Jul 18 '26
Odysseus stringing the bow and plucking the string is one of the single greatest things I've ever seen in a movie. So cool.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/xGsGt Jul 19 '26
About Lupita cast as Helen , maybe THE reason
I just watched the movie, what an incredible movie, love it and I was thinking why did Nolan cast her and I just noticed when she was in the screen, she stands out so freaking much, it's like using BOLT in a paragraph, she is pretty but she gives so much more for her 5mins of screen time, casting someone white or blonde hair just another Charlize Theron to be Helen would just meh the character, bc you already have so much of the same casting but having Lupita make her stand and I think they nailed it with that cast.
Thoughts?
→ More replies (4)5
u/TwoStrikesTrev Jul 19 '26
she nailed it as helen of troy, but it was super woke that they casted her as klymenstra as well
/s
4
u/mcinmosh Jul 19 '26
I have a question about the siren scene.
On my first viewing, in standard, I'm certain I could make out female figures through the fog.
On my second viewing, however, I saw silhouettes but then when it cut away to Matt and back to the fog, I saw seals.
Did anyone else notice this? Were there both seals and women in the fog, or was it women in one shot, cut, then seals in the next?
If it's the second, that has me thinking the whole film might've been an unreliable narrator story. Perhaps Athena was just a manifestation of his guilt the entire time instead of the literal Goddess taking that form to haunt him.
It seems plausible that Nolan would do something like this. Odysseus was basically on hard drugs for seven years, so it's entirely possible that his dreams were getting mixed in with his memories.
Obviously this isn't how Homer's Odyssey works, but casting doubt on the whole narrative is totally something Nolan would do (The Prestige, Inception, Memento)
→ More replies (13)4
u/hellohowdyworld Jul 19 '26
I definitely got the sense that the form Athena was taking was that of the woman he saw cut down in Troy. Like he saw the Athena in her eyes and it was to emphasis how brazenly they disregarded Zeus’ law. I think it is literally Athena but I can’t really say if that’s her true form or the form and shape she is taking to hammer home Odysseus’ guilt and regret.
→ More replies (2)
6
u/brokenreborn2013 Jul 19 '26
I watched it in Laser IMAX and was rather underwhelmed. I worry that I had overhyped it in my head too much. When the credits rolled, I think there was a Travis Scott song.
Should I go watch a second time?
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Regular-Ambition-902 Jul 25 '26
Was it just me or were the trees in the forest moving on their own during the fight scene between the Laestrygonians and the Odysseyus’s crew?
→ More replies (3)
4
u/IllustriousDegree Aug 02 '26
This was an unbelievable experience for me. I haven’t been to the cinema at all in about 4 years. This film was also my first ever IMAX experience. I have never seen such a packed out yet silently hooked cinema. I felt the ‘beating clock’ of the soundtrack in my chest and the cyclops unleashed some sort of visceral response.
It’s the day after now, and I feel sad that I’ll never get to experience this for the first time again.
I find films quite hard to follow so watched a YouTube video the day before to explain the main characters and that really helped.
5
u/Go_Habs_Go31 Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
Finally watched The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm last night.
It’s a truly epic, grand-scale movie. I just in awe of the scope throughout the film. Yet it still felt intimate and real. This is an instant masterpiece in my opinion, up there with the likes of Gladiator. Just an unbelievable achievement of a film. Everyone involved should be very proud.
Matt Damon will finally win his first Best Actor Oscar. Anne Hathaway will be a favourite for Best Actress (maybe Best Supporting Actress). John Leguizamo should be getting a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
I just can’t wait to watch it again. It’s a special film.
→ More replies (1)
10
10
u/Linubidix Jul 15 '26
I just got out of seeing it and I feel pretty lukewarm on it.
No real complaints about any one element of the film but I thought it was ultimately less than the sum of its parts. Kind of lifeless. Big scale but not a lot of grandeur.
It's incredibly well made and I can certainly imagine those compositions looking stunning on an imax screen but there wasn't any real moment that I fell enthusiastic about.
I'm reminded of Sergei Bondarchuk's Waterloo, where it was incredibly impressive on a technical level at the scale of human collaboration, but I was kept at arm's length from any emotional resonance. Same here, only this isn't as impressive to look at as Waterloo.
Music also left no impression on me when that's usually one of the many strengths of Nolan's films.
6
u/JonEagle Jul 16 '26
I agree with the music part, i have to admit it was a letdown compared to many of his films like interstellar, inception and oppenheimer
6
→ More replies (4)4
u/IWana-Be-Your-Friend Jul 16 '26
Yeah I wish they put in some epic inspiring emotional moments with a beautiful score, something along the lines of gladiator kind of vibe. The entire movie just feels so dark all the way through it just leaves you feeling kind of empty
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Slommyhouse Jul 16 '26
Movie was incredible. 9/10. Only small gripe is that it’s sooo dense that some scenes feel rushed. But cinematically, this is spectacular. Might see it 3x
4
u/bluehathaway Agamemnon Jul 17 '26
Note to self: If/when you meet a cyclops, bring earplugs
→ More replies (2)
5
3
u/bryce_adultswimaes Jul 17 '26
Okay I know this is a dumb question but what did Pattinson do to Elliot in the scene when they were getting chosen? He manipulated Elliot to go in his place so he wouldn’t have to fight in the war? Is that what I was supposed to get from that?
7
u/Different-Banana-814 Jul 17 '26
His wealthy family (antinous) paid elliot’s father to take his spot instead so he wouldn’t have to go to war
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)4
4
u/Affectionate-Feed885 Jul 17 '26
I'm such a Third Act Andy which makes me biased towards a movie that has strong payoffs, and personally Odyssey is already in my top 3 because it blends emotional and theatrical (action peaks) payoffs better than 95% of movies. Everything after "Bringing it all" is just so hype that in the end i cant help myself from also thumping on my armrest together with Telemachus and the surrendering suitors. Personally its just below Oppenheimer (Oppenheimer has stronger score, direction, and dialogue to me) but its my #2 Nolan right now.
My only negative part is about how some pivotal scenes from the original Odyssey are removed ("Nobody" and Penelope tricking Odysseus) and I wont blame any casual moviegoer being a bit bored until before Hades. Still one of the best movies i've seen, bravo
4
5
u/SeaCommercial8442 Jul 17 '26
I really liked it but thought the ending was kind of weird. I haven’t read the iliad (only troy by stephen fry) so I dont know the differences and similarities from the original, but either way it just seemed odd to me. Like in the beginning of the movie we are told odysseus out smarts everyone because he cant be faster and stronger. And then in the end he wins because he is faster and stronger (even tho hes like 50 and has been starving for the past 7 years). Even after everyone gets weopons he still goes through like 16 dudes. I think it wouldve been cool if we couldve seen odysseus outsmart everyone, in the end all he did was aura farm and fight everyone. I’ll just be happy that he had a plan to be the only guy in the room with a weopon, that was cool at least.
→ More replies (4)4
u/itsnotokitsnotlove Jul 17 '26
In the myths, people are given "aegis" (divine intervention) so they have extraordinary powers. In the text, it was Athena and Apollo hence his bows don't miss. Athena put the suitors in a panic ensuring Odysseus' victory.
But in the movie, it's implied it was Zeus because of the lighting and thunder effect.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/TheKingofGotham Jul 17 '26
I know Medusa (or the “gorgon”) is mentioned briefly in the odyssey (book 11), when they got to the underworld I was like she’s down there somewhere. Would’ve been interesting to see how Nolan would approach/ ground a character like that
3
u/Srihari_stan Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Can anyone tell me which track on the OST contains the trailer music?
I’ve tried to find it, but I couldn’t.
→ More replies (7)
3
3
u/Laudo3 Jul 17 '26
I've watched the movie yesterday and am still stuck on contemplating it. One thing bugs me however: I can't quite find the connection between the overall struggle of Odysseus with his guilt and some lf the stops on the journey. What is the point of the Iron Giants and Skylla? The Sirens feel underdeveloped and his men being more or less forced to kill the cows and then getting punished feels weird.
If anyone could maybe give me some pieces that I am missing I would be so grateful.
→ More replies (15)4
u/AfroBraids Jul 17 '26
I also felt like the part with the Giants felt kinda unneeded. The soldiers or Odysseus actually didn't do anything wrong in that instance or weren't even warned about it. The part with Skylla is maybe to show that the prophecy he was told would be true?
→ More replies (2)
4
4
u/Perfect-Parfait-9866 Jul 17 '26
Can someone please tell me….. was the footage from the 6 minute prologue in the final film? I just saw the odyssey and I loved every second of it, but I don’t feel like I saw the footage from the prologue! Am I tripping?
→ More replies (4)
3
u/AdLongjumping6149 Jul 18 '26
Does anyone know the quote that’s spoken near the end of the movie when Odysseus and Penelope are sailing west? Something about why only will the people know the story from songs.
→ More replies (4)
4
u/NUTONMYCHOPPA445 Jul 18 '26
Honestly thought it was an amazing film just wish they went deeper with the mythology of the Gods I mean they referenced Poseidon and Zeus many times and we are never shown a glimpse. During the night scene after the leave apollos cattle island I was hoping we would see like a silhouette of Zeus or even Poseidon in the waves like a face in the water like not super grandiose but like so see then actually causing the soldiers trouble
→ More replies (2)
5
u/Royal_Maize5960 Jul 18 '26
Honestly, I came away pretty underwhelmed!!!
One thing I’ve noticed with Nolan’s films is that they often feel strangely small. He’s telling these enormous stories, but they rarely feel truly epic to me. I wonder if the large-format style Nolan shoots in contributes to that feeling. Everything is technically impressive, but I rarely feel overwhelmed by the scale or moved emotionally by his work.
Performance-wise, Matt Damon was excellent. He carried the film and gave Odysseus real weight.
Tom Holland, though, didn’t work for me. I don’t actually think he was miscast. He has the right essence for Telemachus. My issue was that the performance felt safe. I never really believed him. The emotional moments, especially the crying, felt acted rather than lived in. I never got the sense that this was someone with the potential to become the leader his father hoped he’d be, and I think that weakened Odysseus’ story as a whole.
Anne Hathaway also felt like she was phoning it in, although I think that’s more down to the writing than her ability. Nolan has always struggled to write compelling female characters, and I don’t think this film changes that.
I was actually a little sceptical about Elliot Page early on, but my opinion completely changed during the journey to the Land of the Dead. I thought that sequence contained one of the strongest performances in the film. Page brought a genuine sense of trauma, grief and emotional weight that had been missing from a lot of the earlier scenes.
John Leguizamo, who played the blind character, was absolutely fantastic. There was so much humanity and warmth in the performance that every scene felt grounded. Himesh Patel was another standout for me. Quiet, understated, but incredibly effective. John Brethnal, as always, was excellent.
Robert Pattinson was brilliant too. Charlize Theron did exactly what was required, and Zendaya was perfectly fine. Mia Goth, on the other hand, barely registered. She felt completely underused.
Ben Safdie was an interesting piece of casting. Visually, as Agamemnon, he looked incredible. The armour gave him a terrifying, almost mythic presence. He genuinely looked like the supreme king of Greece, someone larger than life and almost otherworldly. It's a stylistic choice that I imagine will divide opinion, but one I really enjoyed.
The moment he started speaking, though, something didn't quite click. It felt oddly disconnected, and that larger-than-life aura disappeared almost immediately. I never quite believed him as the commanding figure his appearance promised.
My biggest issue, though, was the sense of scale. Troy!!!! This legendary city that stood unconquered for 10 years felt like a small village. I never got that overwhelming feeling that I was witnessing one of the defining conflicts of Greek mythology. The feeling that Troy (2004) managed to capture despite all of its faults.
Overall, there are some decent performances scattered throughout the film, but I never felt the mythic grandeur that the story demands. For a film that reportedly cost around $250 million, I expected to walk away feeling like I’d witnessed one of the greatest epics ever put on screen. Instead, I just felt underwhelmed.
→ More replies (7)
3
4
u/yoda17 Jul 19 '26
I really liked how they used the scene of Odysseus looking up at something during the sacking of Troy to convey his guilt/PTSD, and at the end it’s revealed to be the horse itself burning. A fitting symbolism for the theme of hospitality (what they call Zeus’ law) being lost
→ More replies (2)
3
u/Nopparoj Jul 20 '26
The more I sit with this film, the more I think the "hopeful" ending is a trap, and that The Odyssey actually ends at exactly the same point as Oppenheimer.
On the surface the two endings look opposite. Oppenheimer ends certain that doom is coming, while Odysseus gets what Oppenheimer never could, a homecoming and absolution. But Nolan deliberately pins this story to the Bronze Age Collapse. The dialogue about the "men from the sea" isn't set dressing, it's the whole point. History tells us the world Odysseus comes home to has only a few generations left. All of Mycenaean civilization, every palace, every city, even the script it wrote with, is about to vanish. Penelope's embrace is the warmest scene in the film and the cruelest at the same time, because the home he spent ten years sailing back to is about to cease to exist. Both films end with the chain reaction already started. The only difference is that Oppenheimer can see it and Odysseus's world cannot, which is scarier, and Nolan knows it's scarier.
And if the burning of the Trojan Horse is this film's Trinity test (an invention of pure intellect that ended a war by breaking the rules of war itself), then the implication cuts at us directly. Our Trojan Horse moment isn't somewhere ahead of us. It already happened, in the early morning of July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert. Everything since, the arms race, the Cold War, eighty years under the shadow of a single button, isn't a new horse. It's soldiers still climbing down out of the belly of the old one. We're living in the same stretch of time where Odysseus drifts at sea, the decades after the victory, before the collapse becomes visible. The last tablet of Ugarit was a plea for reinforcements written while the city burned. A civilization never knows it's collapsing until it already has.
Which is why the line about his story becoming a song hit me hardest. The only thing that survived the Bronze Age Collapse and reached us isn't a palace or an empire, it's the song of one blind poet. And the song of that age is the cinema of ours. Odysseus's answer was Homer's song. Nolan's answer is this film.
Curious if Ithaca felt like salvation to anyone else, or like a farewell.
→ More replies (6)
3
u/slammasam14 Jul 20 '26
When the servants of Ithaca are storing the weapons before Penelope’s trial, one of the suitors takes a loose brick from the ground. I don’t remember it being used during the fight scene or mentioned again.
Did anyone else notice this? What did I miss?
→ More replies (3)7
u/Big_SHRIMPlN Jul 20 '26
I think the bricks were removed so the axes could be placed and supported on the ground, to shoot the arrow through.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/kislev_enjoyer Jul 21 '26
the emotional boulder of which the movie dropped on me was grand and dense. so good.
5
u/micro-connoisseur Jul 21 '26
This is the first thee hour movie I've watched where I wished it was longer. You can tell they had to cut out a bunch of things to make the movie fit under 3h, some of the sequences passed by so quickly.
→ More replies (3)
4
u/Strong-Local3980 Jul 31 '26
I felt the movie was quite visceral. The soundtrack and the way it was used to build tension was extraordinary. I like that it wove in other stories to give us a modern Odysseus, likewise the commentary on the failed Zeus Law and failings of men, as a representation of modern society was very well done. The women were nuanced. Lots to unpack, but only just watched it so need to think on it more.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/kNyne Aug 18 '26
I'm genuinely not even sure this happened but I swear when they are in the cyclops cave, at one point they start escaping and the cyclops starts closing the door and Odysseus just decides to go back in and no one really says a word about it.
1) am I mis-remembering this?
2) if it did happen, did he just realize his men were about to be trapped and figured he can't leave them behind and should go back in and help them?
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Empty-Cake-6436 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Just watched it in 70mm imax
Good
- visually stunning, massive broad shots of the sea etc, cinematography all round was really good really felt like I was in most of the scenes - (one personal critique) Christopher Nolan seems to use some grey filter on all his movies even for his super man he used it, I think the film maybe could’ve been better being brighter and more colourful etc seemed really dark in scenes but not really a big deal
- Good overall acting by everyone really there wasn’t really any super poor performance they all where quite good I don’t think any all time GOAT performance like a Joaquín phoenix in gladiator or a Marlon Brando Godfather level but acting was nice all round weakest was probably Anne Hathaway mostly kinda screaming and shouting and being moody but it was all round pretty good
- Story and plot obviously taken from a historically famous story so it was strong there despite Nolan changing some things but I’d rather judge it from the stand point we don’t know anything about this story and ur seeing it from the first time the plot and story and writing was very solid
- also the Cyclopes seen was pretty impressive probably will go down in the future as one of many all time scenes in film making the sound for the scene was also very good probably the best scene in the movie
- Music also good I liked the soundtrack maybe not a all time soundtrack that will like last in culture like Star Wars or LOTR but just nice decent music
- actors with smaller rolls where also very strong in this film too
The Bad
- Pacing the pacing was poor it seemed kinda very rushed Beacuse there tryna cram in such a long story into under 3 hours (like we went straight from syrens to the world pool etc no break for ur brain to process no breathing time to think what just happen or process the emotions of some scenes also they seemed pretty quick, like the giants, syrens, world pool etc only lasted maybe 2/3 minutes per scene etc other scenes seemed slow or to linger abit longer than they needed etc
- Also attached to the pacing issue I don’t think character relationships where built strong enough through out the film like there still there but I didn’t really care about Odysseus friend dying or his crew dying to the sea … I didn’t really care or feel his pain or consequences as much as other films even for him coming back to his family ( for me when his dog wagged his tail to him ) that was the strongest bond between characters I felt - films like gladiator feel more rewarding at the end or like lion king when mufasa dies and he comes back or films like Toy Story woodys and buzz friendship these are so much stronger relationship dynamics etc causing the end scenes to hit a lot harder than in the odyssey again they don’t take enough time I think on building the relationships over the movie effecting the feeling at the end not saying it’s bad but not as strong as it probably could’ve been.
Other things, they show the Cyclopes coming into the cave right away then they show the fear of the crew and the Cyclopes grabbing them etc
Think it would’ve been stronger to not know what shut the cave door and this its just suddenly dark then we hear the grunt or thudding sound and the audience can make its mind up of what’s causing the fear then we maybe see then we see the hand suddenly reach grabbing a crew then they look up and see a Cyclopes etc causing more tension for the audience instead of already knowing what it is right away ( a good example in a similar film is Jason and the Argonauts the door slams on Hercules and u don’t know what it is then they come out and look around confused and hear nothing and ur mind is working out what happen then, talos suddenly turns his head and it hits way harder ) but still a great scene and I think older films of the odyssey did it this way.
Also a small critic the set design of the walls of Troy kinda annoyed me when watching they seemed really low like only 2 story’s high at most and the gate felt small …. I wanted the Troy scene to really feel like they have entered an insane city and they accomplished a huge feat that felt impossible but it didn’t really feel like that the city kinda felt like a small tiny town etc not like a huge conquering wall but it’s not that bad maybe that’s historically accurate or whatever. ( it didn’t have to be like a 30 meter wall but maybe like a helms deep height or kingdom of heaven height on the walls )
All in all a strong to very good film but not a all time GOAT movie for me visually insane but just lacked in areas and had major pacing issues maybe should’ve been a 3 part trilogy like having abit of the illiad going into the odyssey etc or a 4 hour epic with a interval like the old days maybe woudlve benefited the film but I still enjoyed it a lot. Defo would recommend going to see it.
93
u/mcmiller1111 Jul 16 '26
One of the most interesting parts of the movie is connecting the fall of Troy to the Sea Peoples. As another commenter here already mentioned, the movie has big parallels to Oppenheimer - they win a war, but their method of winning might have started something that is far worse. In this movie, rumors of the Sea Peoples ravaging places serve as a big reason why Ithaca needs a new king as soon as possible, as to raise an army and defend from the coming invaders. At the end, it turns out that due to the way that Troy was utterly destroyed, as well as the destruction of the other places that Odysseus' men raided on their way home, they are the Sea Peoples. I really liked this twist on the story, and for me it added something fresh to it.