A Geeky Guy's Guide to The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX
Let me get this out of the way, I am no Christopher Nolan Stan. Although I he has made some of my favorite movies including Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception. He has also made seem that I think are wildly overrated including Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet and Oppenheimer. In fact, the last two movies he made left me thinking "what a pretentious douche bag". In Tenet, he purposely made the audio difficult to understand and lamented that people wouldn't go to the theater during a deadly pandemic. Yeah buddy your movie is more important that the health care workers working overtime to save peoples' lives. Let's give them more to do just so people can see your precious movie in a crowded theater. And then there was the desperate call for everyone to see Oppenheimer in 70mm. I could have watched Oppenheimer on my phone and had the exact same experience. I really felt like I was sold a bill of goods there.
But The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX really lived up to his hype. As much as it hurts me to feed this guy's ego, he made a masterpiece. Aside from skipping a few fun details from Homer's Odyssey, I honestly can not say a negative thing about this movie. Although I am not an expert on the Odyssey, my teenage daughter is. I also read it many years ago and have helped kids write essays on it for about 25 years so I know the story well enough. Anything I forgot, my daughter reminded me of. Even 173 minutes is not enough time to tell the full story of a 500 page Odyssey. As a result, Nolan needed to cut some things that I personally would have loved remaining in the story. A few of the big ones are Odysseus' battle of wits with the Cyclops, the inclusion of the gods who appear in the original epic, and the bag of wind that goes to show you never count your chickens before they hatch.
But what Nolan did keep is simply dazzling. Please don't go into this movie thinking you are going to get a popcorn war or adventure movie. It's a dramatic tragedy and it is done incredibly well. that does not mean it is devoid of excitement. There are enough battles to break up the story. In addition, Nolan uses music masterfully to create tension and suspense. I was never bored for one second during the film. I did know that at the one hour and forty five minute mark I should run to the bathroom after Eurylochus asks Odysseus, "What else did Tiresias tell you?" but that was out of necessity not boredom. There is a reason this is the story that has been told the most times. Its incredibly exciting and filled with intrigued. Nolan honored the original by not straying too far from Homer's intention.
Nolan wanted to make a point by filming this entirely with IMAX cameras... and he more than made that point. It is simply amazing. Due to the nature of the story, there are plenty of opportunities for some incredibly land(and sea)scape shots. Seeing those views and the battles on an 8 story tall screen is breathtaking. This was not another Oppenheimer where there was only one scene worthy of a special trip to see the film in 70mm. Every minute of the film is made better by the grand scale.
Perhaps one of Nolan's greatest triumphs was the casting. It was simply perfect. I am guessing Nolan wanted to work with actors whom he trusted from previous projects. He needed everyone's acting to be perfect and it was. Although I was skeptical of Matt Damon playing Odysseus, I very quickly forgot I was watching the same guy who I worried might accidentally say, "How about them apples" to a Although I don't want to go into every single performance, Trojan warrior. He did a fine job in a modern telling of a 3,000 year old story that has become timeless. Anne Hathaway as Penelope was another pleasant surprise. I'm not sure why I was surprised considering she is always good in everything I see her in, but I just wasn't sure how she would do as the Queen. Honestly, I could go down the list of every actor and sing their praises but even I have my word limits.
Although I don't want to get to deep into the weeds of every excellent performance, I do want to give a special shout out to a few. First, although she is only in the movie for less than 5 minutes, I loved Lupita Nyong'o as Helen and her twin sister Clytemnestra. Hopefully none of you fell for the fake pictures circulating where people photo-shopped a picture of Nyong'o from 12 Years a Slave onto a beach in Ancient Athens. First of all, Nyong'o looked incredibly beautiful in this movie. Second, The Odyssey has nothing to do with Athens. So for anyone worried about Helen, she was just fine... very fine. The other big one is Elliot Page as Sinon. Again I hope you did not fall for the trolls who predicted Page would be playing Achilles. First, Achilles was barely in Homer's Odyssey and is therefore not even in the film. This is not a remake of Troy. It is the actual epic. Second, Sinon is the youngest and smallest of the crew. So it makes sense that Nolan cast someone with a slight build and youthful appearance. I'm also guessing that Nolan trusted Page to carry out this small but essential role from their work on Inception. Page nailed it! The role calls for desperation, resentment and anger. Page brings those emotions to life on the 8 story screen! Casting Travis Scott as the Bard is perhaps my favorite choice of Nolan. The Odyssey is supposed to be universal. Sadly, it can apply to any kingdom/country/culture at any time in history. Since this one is being told in the 21st century, it was a great call to cast a rapper as the "Singer" of the Song (poem) that is the Odyssey. It was very clever and it was not missed by me.
There was an added bonus with the one and only trailer shown in 70mm IMAX. I actually thought it might be the beginning of the movie. I thought Nolan was trying to make the point that this story could be told anywhere in any point in history... even the future. The preview is for Dune 3 and involves (space)ships filled with soldiers landing on the coast to attack their enemy. Sound familiar? I am guessing this pairing was done on purpose to remind people that The Odyssey does not belong to any one time period or culture. It is a story for all human kind. It is a truly tragic tale. Hopefully, someday, humans will learn the lessons the Odyssey is trying to teach.
Absolute cinematic pleasure and mayhem! I so much love how the king took back his throne.It was a delight to watch.
Of course, we remember that during the time of Corona, everything was closed, but here, the way you have told this film, it was most important to save the lives of the people who worked for the company, and especially during Corona, we were seeing that the health workers played an important role in our lives,
I like that your review was honest. You didn't praise the movie just because it's Christopher Nolan. Your comparison with the original story made it more interesting, and now I'm curious to watch the film.
Those legendary films are my favorites, although you're right that they leave out some scenes that are important for both character development and the story itself. The Odyssey, for what it tells us, is undoubtedly a cinematic masterpiece that we deserve to see, and of course, we should also read the book beforehand to learn a little more about what we're going to see.
This is a great movie. it's a cinematic experience. The Odyssey looks like one of Nolan's most ambitious films yet. Storytelling come beautifully
An epic film based on Homer's Odyssey about King Odysseus's return journey is undoubtedly one of the best films of 2026. It tells the story of his journey home after the Trojan War with an incredible cast, so I hope to see it as soon as possible.