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re: The Odyssey - Movie Discussion - Spoilers
Posted on 7/18/26 at 3:20 am to iwyLSUiwy
Posted on 7/18/26 at 3:20 am to iwyLSUiwy
This movie was one of the worst theater experiences Ive ever had in my life. Nolan is the most overrated director in Hollywood today. He knows spectacle, but absolutely misses it with actual human emotion.
Within 10 minutes of the movie, we have two characters speaking to each other in which is supposed to be a heart felt moment. You get one character speaking a line and you get a close up shot, and you get this loud blast of sound. Then it cuts to the other character. Another line of dialogue, and another loud blast of sound. What is the point? Youre not getting me to sympathize with either character with the forced, and out of place score.
We get a battle scene that I still dont know where it is in the work by Homer. Just a bunch of guys in medieval fantasy armor destroying Odysseus and his men and forcing them to flee. Seriously, where in the Odyssey is this from? I havent read the story in a while, but I dont remember this anywhere.
Matt Damon is absolutely miscast as Odysseus. He is not a sympathetic character. He is a great warrior that does what is necessary for himself, and yet, we get a soft Matt Damon, playing Matt Damon, in a Matt Damon movie. Jon Bernthal as The Punisher is closer to who Odysseus is that whatever Nolan and Damon decided the character should be for the movie.
Where is Hermes?
One of the most famous parts of the Odyssey is the interaction with Circe, and yet Matt Damon strolls in and after about three lines of dialogue, Circe agrees to turn his men back into humans and everything is good?
Why the hell is Agememnon wearing fantasy armor while the rest of the whole cast wearing something at least a little more similar to the Bronze Age period? Also, why is Menelaus and Telemachus dressed like they are about to speak to Little John in Sherwood Forest?
Maybe explain why the cows(of Helios) on the island are off limits. Instead its a 5 minute scene that ends with the whole remaining crew being killed. That kind of seems important. Maybe say why.
Where the frick is Hermes?
For the most part, I actually enjoyed the finale. Tom Holland rounds into the role of Telemachus pretty well, and Robert Pattinson as Antinous is a solid villain in the end. It just would have been nice to see the last inquiry of Odysseus by Penelope. That always felt like a vital part of the end of the story.
Also, Elliot Page’s character is not there to take the place of Achilles. We are shown that the character is not much of a fighter, and that’s why she is left to “guard” the Trojan Horse, and to die. In the Odyssey, when Odysseus goes to the underworld, he speaks to a number of characters from Achilles to Agamemnon to Ajax, even to Hercules. The Page character is there to put a link to Antinous in the third act. It has nothing to do with replacing Achilles.
Nolan is good at spectacle but when to comes to human interaction, he fails most of the time.
This was not a good movie at all.
This post was edited on 7/18/26 at 3:50 am
3
Posted on 7/18/26 at 6:27 am to devils1854
quote:Are you talking about the tall warriors? That’s in the book.
We get a battle scene that I still dont know where it is in the work by Homer. Just a bunch of guys in medieval fantasy armor destroying Odysseus and his men and forcing them to flee. Seriously, where in the Odyssey is this from? I havent read the story in a while, but I dont remember this anywhere.
quote:Disagree. He was one of the few that was correctly cast.
Matt Damon is absolutely miscast as Odysseus. He is not a sympathetic character. He is a great warrior that does what is necessary for himself, and yet, we get a soft Matt Damon, playing Matt Damon, in a Matt Damon movie.
quote:Hmmm. Again, disagree. And it was way more than 3 lines. It was a 20-25 minute scene from when the soldiers arrive to when he saves them. And there was a lot of tension too with him eating. He spoke about 10-15 times more than you claim.
One of the most famous parts of the Odyssey is the interaction with Circe, and yet Matt Damon strolls in and after about three lines of dialogue, Circe agrees to turn his men back into humans and everything is good?
quote:Here is where I question whether you watched the movie. Because it was explained before, during, and after it happened. The sun god is mentioned about 4-5 times.
Maybe explain why the cows(of Helios) on the island are off limits. Instead its a 5 minute scene that ends with the whole remaining crew being killed. That kind of seems important. Maybe say why.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 7:08 am to ell_13
Yeah I was about to say…they clearly state several times it’s the sun gods cattle (Apollo) and they aren’t to be tampered with. They did it anyway and the gods punished them by destroying their ship when they left.
I saw another YouTuber state he had no idea what was going on the entire time. I feel like it’s probably a better experience if you’re familiar with the source material. Or at least have seen Troy and know that this is the army that won trying to come home from that battle
I saw another YouTuber state he had no idea what was going on the entire time. I feel like it’s probably a better experience if you’re familiar with the source material. Or at least have seen Troy and know that this is the army that won trying to come home from that battle
This post was edited on 7/18/26 at 7:11 am
Posted on 7/18/26 at 7:19 am to cfish140
I haven’t read the book since college and even then we only were assigned the well-known books and not the entire epic. But I read a synopsis not long ago to remind me of some of the bigger details. I could see how someone is a little lost at the very start going in with nothing.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 8:59 am to devils1854
quote:
We get a battle scene that I still dont know where it is in the work by Homer. Just a bunch of guys in medieval fantasy armor destroying Odysseus and his men and forcing them to flee. Seriously, where in the Odyssey is this from? I havent read the story in a while, but I dont remember this anywhere
That’s the Laestrygoneans it’s a pretty iconic part of the book. They are giant cannibals. The armor is off like with Agamemnon but they destroyed and killed all of their fleet and men outside of Odysseus’ ship and men.
quote:
Matt Damon is absolutely miscast as Odysseus. He is not a sympathetic character. He is a great warrior that does what is necessary for himself, and yet, we get a soft Matt Damon, playing Matt Damon, in a Matt Damon movie. Jon Bernthal as The Punisher is closer to who Odysseus is that whatever Nolan and Damon decided the character should be for the movie
Yea even before the movie was released people didn’t like the Damon casting. I get it. I didn’t mind him but I get it. 100% disagree that Bernthals character would be a better Odysseus. It’s obviously been a while since you read the book but Odysseus wasn’t famous for being hard and a battle warrior. He was both of those things but Achilles fit that description better and Odysseus was more famous for his wisdom. That’s part of the reason why Athene had affection for him.
quote:
Where is Hermes?
Direct interaction with the Gods is obviously downplayed. You could ask where is Zeus and where is Poseidon too but that’s just not the direction he went.
quote:
One of the most famous parts of the Odyssey is the interaction with Circe, and yet Matt Damon strolls in and after about three lines of dialogue, Circe agrees to turn his men back into humans and everything is good?
Just finished my re-read of The Odyssey last night. He strolled in and in about one line Circe agrees to turn the men back in the poem. It’s pretty much universally agreed that this was a highlight of the film. I can’t help if you if you didn’t like that part.
quote:
Maybe explain why the cows(of Helios) on the island are off limits. Instead its a 5 minute scene that ends with the whole remaining crew being killed. That kind of seems important. Maybe say why.
Ok I’m starting to think you were on your phone while watching this.
quote:
The Page character is there to put a link to Antinous in the third act. It has nothing to do with replacing Achilles.
Agreed. But you’ll never be able to explain this to people that won’t watch the movie.
quote:
This was not a good movie at all.
Disagree but some of your points are certainly valid. I walked out thinking it was incredible but can see why some would not like it.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:29 am to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
That’s the Laestrygoneans it’s a pretty iconic part of the book. They are giant cannibals. The armor is off like with Agamemnon but they destroyed and killed all of their fleet and men outside of Odysseus’ ship and men.
I honestly had that mixed up. I thought after they left Troy, they were successful in raiding the Cicones, and left to the Lotus Eaters, then on to Circe. I understand Nolan didnt want to show Odysseus in a bad light so he left out that whole part. I was thinking those warriors were from that part of the poem since nothing was really explained, and since the Lotus Eaters werent put in the story either and the Lotus flower was merged with Calypso since once again Nolan didnt want to show that Odysseus stayed for 7 years on his own accord. He needed to be a good dude.
quote:
Yea even before the movie was released people didn’t like the Damon casting. I get it. I didn’t mind him but I get it. 100% disagree that Bernthals character would be a better Odysseus. It’s obviously been a while since you read the book but Odysseus wasn’t famous for being hard and a battle warrior. He was both of those things but Achilles fit that description better and Odysseus was more famous for his wisdom. That’s part of the reason why Athene had affection for him.
I was overracting a little, but Damon just looks like a good guy, and not someone thats less black and white. Thats why I said Berenthal, or anyone with a little more of an edge, would have been better....but once again, Nolan had to portray Odysseus as a good guy.
quote:
Just finished my re-read of The Odyssey last night. He strolled in and in about one line Circe agrees to turn the men back in the poem. It’s pretty much universally agreed that this was a highlight of the film. I can’t help if you if you didn’t like that part.
To me this was the biggest misstep. Hermes gives Odysseus a white plant to counter act Circe's magic/herbs, and Circe knows the legend that there will be someone that will show up that she wont be able to change. You put that in the film, and I'll understand the short conversation.
I understand Nolan wanted to downplay the Gods, but if you have Athena in the movie, there should have been room for Hermes, since he did more than just his actions with Circe.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:41 am to devils1854
Genuinely one of the worst Nolan films I’ve seen in the last 15 years, and I’m not exaggerating in any way.
I went in with an open mind and tried to give this movie a chance, but it ultimately ended up being a steaming pile of dogshit. Even when you put the political messages aside, it’s a shockingly bad film. The dialogue and character costumes were absolutely horrendous. It felt like a fan fiction film more than anything else.
The critics and pillow biters on Reddit are praising it for no reason other than to spite right wing movie goers. That’s literally it.
I went in with an open mind and tried to give this movie a chance, but it ultimately ended up being a steaming pile of dogshit. Even when you put the political messages aside, it’s a shockingly bad film. The dialogue and character costumes were absolutely horrendous. It felt like a fan fiction film more than anything else.
The critics and pillow biters on Reddit are praising it for no reason other than to spite right wing movie goers. That’s literally it.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:43 am to devils1854
quote:
Nolan didnt want to show that Odysseus stayed for 7 years on his own accord
Well, no. It actually is much worse that Nolan changed the Calypso arc so much because it is far more tragic than him having amnesia. For 7 years he weeps on the beach essentially nightly longing for a return to his home and Penelope. Eventually the God’s have to intervene to convince Calypso to release him and let him go. Pretty much every interpretation is he is being held against his will, and consistently rebukes her offer for immortality. He is unable to leave her island without her assistance, which she will not give until the gods order her to.
Nolan’s version really steals that agony from Odysseus. Yea he gets a moment of grief when his memories return, but as an audience we are robbed of literally 7 years of agony that he goes through.
He also made Calypso look much better than she really was. Real tragedy is Nolan stripped most of the female characters of their true depth.
This post was edited on 7/18/26 at 12:31 pm
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:56 am to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
The Page character is there to put a link to Antinous in the third act. It has nothing to do with replacing Achilles. Agreed. But you’ll never be able to explain this to people that won’t watch the movie.
Eh, I think there is a bit of truth in both sides because ultimately Page’s character does directly replace Achilles’ ultimate role. It really wasn’t needed either because could have had Achilles main scene and cautionary tale to Odysseus and still have Page’s character’s main scene too. That’s my probably only real gripe with Page’s role, it could have easily been an addition without any subtractions. However since Nolan decided to neuter the calypso arc, which was the direct parallel with Achilles, he just removed him entirely.
This post was edited on 7/18/26 at 11:01 am
Posted on 7/18/26 at 5:11 pm to iwyLSUiwy
40 year-old mentally disturbed woman playing the 15 year-old weak and puny boy
Getting run through by a spear in the opening minutes
I laughed out loud
Other than that, I thought the movie was pretty darn good
Getting run through by a spear in the opening minutes
I laughed out loud
Other than that, I thought the movie was pretty darn good
Posted on 7/18/26 at 5:13 pm to Old Sarge
quote:
I laughed out loud
I definitely smiled. I was like well this is certainly the only fitting role for her. Just a useless sacrifice.
quote:
Other than that, I thought the movie was pretty darn good
Definitely solid.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 5:39 pm to iwyLSUiwy
Just got back from seeing it. The theater experience wasn't the best. We originally wanted IMAX but other than the first two rows, it was sold out all weekend. The wife wanted to see it today so we bought tickets for a standard screen. During previews a storm passed through and knocked out power. When the projector restarted it was audio only. So we finished listening to the coming attractions and heard the first 10 mins of the movie with a black screen.
I thought the movie was good. I wouldn't anoint it as the greatest movie ever as some have done but I enjoyed it. 7/10
Edit: I woke up this morning and felt that I rated the movie too high. Should someone ask me if the movie was good, I'd have to shrug my shoulders and say "Eh, it was alright." Revised rating 6/10 (rounded up).
I thought the movie was good. I wouldn't anoint it as the greatest movie ever as some have done but I enjoyed it. 7/10
Edit: I woke up this morning and felt that I rated the movie too high. Should someone ask me if the movie was good, I'd have to shrug my shoulders and say "Eh, it was alright." Revised rating 6/10 (rounded up).
This post was edited on 7/19/26 at 4:57 am
Posted on 7/18/26 at 5:45 pm to Adajax
Just got out saw it a Cinemark with the massive XD sound system. Picture is no IMAX, but the audio was something. Movie was pretty entertaining throughout, I'm no Damon fan, so still not thrilled about his casting. But he was pretty solid.
Would definitely recommend on the big screen, audio was better than most Nolan movies. Generally no mumbling
Would definitely recommend on the big screen, audio was better than most Nolan movies. Generally no mumbling
Posted on 7/18/26 at 5:48 pm to JasonDBlaha
Yep, I’d say 4/10. There’s about a half hour of what were parts of a good movie. It’s bottom 3 for Nolan.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 9:13 pm to Adajax
quote:
When the projector restarted it was audio only. So we finished listening to the coming attractions and heard the first 10 mins of the movie with a black screen.
Dang that stinks. I guess the only saving grace is the first ten minutes might be the worst part of the movie.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:26 pm to iwyLSUiwy
Movie was hovering around a 4/5 for me until the final act. The way the crowd quiets down when the “plate licker” strings the bow and then Odysseus plucking the string made me well up with chills. Epic. That whole fight sequence is great with the flashes of lightning in the background. All those beats made it a 5/5.
I was lucky enough to grab tickets for the IMAX showing at the Bullock in Austin.
I was lucky enough to grab tickets for the IMAX showing at the Bullock in Austin.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:45 pm to iwyLSUiwy
Agamemnon when they opened the gates of Troy:
Dude was hella aura farming.
Dude was hella aura farming.
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:51 pm to Napoleon
Good flick. First 15-20 minutes felt odd. Just weird pacing. Overall loved it. Top Nolan film for me but will revisit in a week.
2nd best odyssey behind O Brother where art thou
2nd best odyssey behind O Brother where art thou
Posted on 7/18/26 at 10:52 pm to iwyLSUiwy
Wouldn't call his death useless considering it had a narrative impact for Odysseus
Posted on 7/18/26 at 11:18 pm to NighthawkDawg
Yea that’s fair. Just meant more of a “yea this person isn’t putting up any defense” useless.
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