A Grand Epoch in IMAX

            Christopher Nolan loves to make stories in grand skill, and historically, one of the most well-known epochs is The Odyssey. To make this film, Nolan and the cast spanned countries and they used miles worth of film. It was all filmed on a special IMAX camera for the first time ever, so seeing this in a premium format is highly recommended. This is important not only for the grand visuals, but also for the sound, which at times makes your chest vibrate. The hype around The Odyssey was immense, and if anyone can live up to the hype, it is Nolan.

            The Odyssey starts with Telemachus and Penelope at the castle in Ithica. They have been awaiting Odysseus’s return for 20 years. He went to fight in the war with Troy, and although others returned, he had not, and many suspected his death. So his castle was flooded with suitors to take Penelope’s hand in marriage. So far, she had resisted this, even 20 years later, she was deeply in love with Odysseus and did not want to move on, and Telemachus believed his father would return as well.

            Odysseus on the other hand has been stranded on an island with Calypso. He has been there for eight years under the power of the lotus flower, and once he stops taking it, he remembers how he got to that point, and he starts to recount his story to Calypso. It starts with the Trojan War, and when he came up with the idea for the trojan horse, and they broke into Troy and took over the impenetrable fortress. Of course, there are many other side quests that he went on as well, and slowly, he lost all his men despite his best efforts to keep them alive. Then he ended up stranded on Calypso’s island.  

            The third act of the movie revolves around Odysseus’s return. He comes to terms with all the loss that he faced, and he makes a raft and heads home. He is in disguise, so no one recognizes him initially, and there are so many suitors, that he needs to wait to reveal himself, otherwise he would be killed on the spot.

            Penelope proposes a challenge for her hand in marriage, if anyone can string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axes, then he is worthy of Penelope’s hand. No one was able to do it, and then Odysseus disguised as a beggar says he wants a chance to try it, and he does it, and then everyone realizes he has returned, and the final battle ensues.

            In preparation for the movie, I did read the book. I got a beautiful copy of it at Barnes and Noble. It had a blue cover with gold accents, and the edges of the page were gold as well, but sadly I did not think the story was as beautiful as the book. It was a slog to get through. It has its interesting moments, do not get me wrong, but it took like 70 pages before Odysseus is even brought into it, and it feels like some of the big events are just a page long. Then the last hundred pages are once Odysseus is home, and it takes forever to get to the final conflict.

            As far as the adaptation from the book to the movie goes, Nolan did a good job. There are some differences, but nothing overly stood out to me as a blatant disregard for this epic tale, but again, I did not have any real reverence for the story. The one difference that I did find to be huge was the end. At the end of the book, Odysseus is told to walk with an oar until he comes across people who do not know what the oar is, so he tells his wife sorry, I have to go again to regain the favor of the gods, but in the movie, he takes his wife with him to go and show respect for his fallen men that he did not properly burry. So it is a little more of a happy ending in the movie.

            Nolan’s did instill a different theme. I felt like in the book, it was about preserving and making it home no matter what, but Nolan brought in a more ethical view to the story. In his version of the story, Odysseus was deeply struggling with the loss of his men, and with the death and destruction that he wrought along the way. It started with the sacking of Troy and the death of many innocents. The laws of Zeus had fallen, and Odysseus was at fault, and he felt the weight of it. The one thing that I found odd about the whole moral was that he realized he was wrong, but he still went and killed everyone in his house. It feels like a point of no return. They tricked Troy and overlooked societal rules so that they could win, and once this happens, it is too late to turn back. His men continued to be savages.

            There are so many incredible scenes in this movie, but the one that sticks out to me the most is the taking of Troy. The score is incredible, and the tension is palpable. Everyone knows that they take Troy, but it still is so close a call that I could not help but be on the edge of my seat. They showed this scene before the start of Avatar Fire and Ash, and I was beyond disappointed that I had to wait over half a year to see the full film, and now that I have seen it, I am a little disappointed that they showed the best scene as an extended preview.

            Other creations in this story were incredible as well. The cyclops scene also creates a feeling of dread, but what is incredible about it, is that the cyclops is a 60-foot puppet because Nolan is against using CGI, and he will do whatever it takes to limit its use. This felt like a scene from a horror movie, but it was not the only scene that felt like a horror movie. The scene with Cerce was also horrific. She turns Odysseus’s men into pigs, and the morphing of the men into pigs was quite disturbing.

            The cast was also immense and incredible. At some point, it felt like every week a new star was cast in this film. Personally, my favorite performance was Himesh Patel. He played a second in command to Odysseus on his boat, and his attitude and mannerism really made his performance. I hope to see him in more roles. Anne Hathaway also carried her scenes as the troubled wife. Her sadness was palpable, and her presence is always felt in the castle. Finally, I must mention Robert Pattinson. He did not have a ton of lines, but he was so mischievous as one of the suiters, that it was delightful to root for his demise.

            Overall, this is an incredible movie. It is long, but it does not necessarily feel that long. It has moments where it lulls some, but the whole time it looks incredible, so even if the story is not the most interesting at that moment, there is plenty to look at. Nolan does a great job of creating tension in various moments throughout the film, and he successfully creates emotion. They use a dog as a small plot point, like it takes up a few minutes over the course of the massive movie, and it still almost made me cry. Seeing this in IMAX is a must for the sound and visuals. I give this four stars, and I could see it going higher on a rewatch, and I might revisit it this weekend again. Go see it in IMAX!