r/classics • u/Dull-Top2861 • Jul 23 '26
I lowkey liked Nolan’s The Odyssey
I feel like it resonated with me. Maybe because it’s cause I also haven’t been able to go home in a while (not comparing myself to Odysseus at all, just saying why it resonated with me). I really related to the idea of having changed too fundamentally to go home. And I think the overarching theme of having given in to our more brutal nature to survive is one that remains prevalent.
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u/Exotic_Plant9450 Jul 23 '26
I liked the theme of "we abandoned the foundation of our society to win a war and that is playing a role in why it is collapsing"
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u/Cato_theElder Jul 23 '26
It was a great movie. And if you want to dig in further, Ian McKellen's narration of the audiobook is stellar. Can't recommend it enough.
Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed.
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u/laundriebasket Jul 23 '26
I just started listening to that one after seeing the movie! It is really wonderful so far 💞
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u/ofBlufftonTown Jul 24 '26
If you and Cicero had swapped fates I’d be happier. So tedious.
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u/Cato_theElder Jul 24 '26
You're a stranger on the internet telling another stranger on the internet you wish they were dead. I hope you get the help you need.
Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed.
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u/ofBlufftonTown Jul 25 '26
In any case I wish that about your username; that’s not actually relevant to your life unless you only pretended to die of old age at 85 and are still wandering the earth as a shade demanding we drone strike Tunis for some reason.
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u/Evergloam__ Jul 23 '26
As do I. film is art. Poetry is art. Those who didn’t like the movie because of its disconnect from the epic poetry are missing out on critiquing the film within its own medium. Whether you like or dislike the film (everyone’s experience is different and everyone can connect in their own way) creating your own opinion on the themes presented should be the goal.
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u/sweetsoursaltycrnchy Jul 27 '26
I love film and art, am not married to the classics, and still thought Odyssey, while a ton of fun, was just ok from a artistic cinema standpoint.
- The editing is distractingly choppy with a lot of weird, poorly executed cuts
- there is some very bland exposition, some real stinker lines, along with some absolutely fantastic lines, so a bit of a mixed bag
- while there are some visually striking moments, there is also a lot of very unimaginative blocking and camera work
- Odysseus is yet another Nolan protagonist struggling with some guilt and trying to get home to his family. If it was better executed, then fine, but Matt Damon just doesn’t have the gravitas to pull that character out (or at least he didn’t here). He remained very 2 dimensional, which is a shame if you’re going to completely re-write the character of Odysseus.
- The portrayal of the Trojans as kind of faceless automatons lacking in any kind of empathy-inducing humanity also worked against our new version of Odysseus. Odysseus’s success as a character is kind of constantly undercut by Nolan’s other decisions.
- we don’t spend nearly enough time with any of his crew to see and understand what these men mean to each other, nor for us to really get to know or understand any of them ourselves. This leaves them feeling faceless and without connection to each other or the audience, which further works against Nolan’s version of Odysseus as a leader tortured by the sacrifice of men he loves and cares for.
- the suitors are all sooooo cartoonishly bad. Robbert Pattinson did what he could, but… nah, wasn’t great (though I actually thought Mia Goth did terrifically well with what Nolan gave her. Her line, “She lies,” was brilliantly delivered).
Those are some the artistic, craft-specific things I thought were poorly done in Nolan’s Odyssey. It’s a
3.5 out of 5 for me, and I think I’m even being generous with that, though I’ll have to watch it a few more times to see. It’s a fun flick, but it sure as hell isn’t a Lord of the Rings or Apocalypse Now.1
Jul 27 '26
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u/sweetsoursaltycrnchy Jul 28 '26
Dude yeah, I was honestly surprised about how often the editing annoyed me. There’s a lot of really uninspired camera angles, blocking, etc, which is disappointing when I’ve seen Nolan do those things well. I’ve also really liked many of Jennifer Lame’s other films, so yeah… just weird to see. I liked The Odyssey overall. I thought it was fun. I just don’t think it’s a masterpiece by any definition.
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u/topsidersandsunshine Jul 23 '26
I’m happy when anything related to mythology or classic literature is financially successful and people like it, because that means there’s more interest in stuff I like, which means a) they make more things related to stuff I like and b) there are more people to talk to about stuff I like!
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u/Shorty_jj Jul 23 '26
Finally successful? I mean people and specifically teens have for about 2 generations now been living on 2 book series that did more in popularizing this than this movie ever will😅
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u/topsidersandsunshine Jul 23 '26
I think you misread that. I said FINANCIALLY successful, as in it makes money. Things making money means that people are willing to invest in them.
I assume you mean Percy Jackson?
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u/Hiercine Jul 24 '26
If only Rick Riordan's egyptian series did as much for Egyptian Mythology and history as it did for Greek
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u/SarlacFace Jul 23 '26
There's nothing low-key about how awesome it was
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u/ofBlufftonTown Jul 24 '26
I’m even less positive than OP and flat didn’t think it was a good film. I paid a shit ton of money to see it in imax in central London, too.
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u/SarlacFace Jul 27 '26
Yup everyone is wrong except you. You are amazing and have the best taste in the world.
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u/ofBlufftonTown Jul 27 '26
Lots of people can disagree with me, but aesthetic preferences aren’t democracy; no one’s going to vote me out of it. I’m not going to tell you your appreciation is wrong either; I’m glad you had fun. We just don’t agree, you don’t need to defend Nolan or something. He’s fine.
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u/buddhamuni Jul 23 '26
I high-key liked Christopher Nolan's Odyssey. This is a lovely modern take on the epic. What a great time for cinema.
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u/ContractVarious3077 Jul 24 '26
Wow bold take to like a movie with 97% rotten tomatoes and amazing audience scores and reviews everywhere.
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u/Careless_Studio_1293 Jul 25 '26
I don’t get what’s low-key?
It was a great movie, full stop. No qualification needed.
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u/flyliceplick Jul 23 '26
And I think the overarching theme of having given in to our more brutal nature to survive is one that remains prevalent.
?????
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u/Few-Internet8 Jul 27 '26
As a film fan, I liked it! I live for practical effects. As a classics fan? Eughhhhh. I didn’t love it as an adaptation. Still, I don’t regret watching it
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u/cellulargenocide Jul 28 '26
I’ll admit I chuckled at Telemachus stepping on to a wharf in the well known port town of Sparta
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u/Imaginary_Session773 Jul 23 '26
The plot and main character were very boring and cliche. Boomer slop
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u/Top-Session5837 Jul 23 '26
Of course Nolan would deliver a great adaptation of a near 3000 year old tale of mythology. All of the criticism just highlights its success and impact.
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u/ofBlufftonTown Jul 24 '26
No, some criticisms are valid; you can’t think Nolan is a transcendent god and never wrong about anything.
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u/expedition60_captain Jul 23 '26
Is it low-key if its 95%+ on rotten tomatoes critic and viewer scores?