In a cast stacked with as much A-list talent as there are stars in the sky, who would you place a wager on to be the first to appear on screen in “The Odyssey?”
Would it be Matt Damon, the main character, Odysseus, whose journey spurs this epic tale? No, it takes a little bit of time for him to show up.
What about Anne Hathaway, an Oscar winner who plays Penelope, queen to the missing king? No, not her either.
What about any of the combinations of big names like Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, or Zendaya? Nope, and now we’re getting colder in our search.
The answer is actually Travis Scott, the rapper, continuing his odd partnership with writer/director Christopher Nolan after supplying an original song for “Tenet.” Here, he recites a thunderous poem about Odysseus’ bravery at the Battle of Troy, a small moment where this very familiar feeling film zigs instead of zags.
Stories like these are the only things the people of Ithaca have to remember their lost king. Some say he’s dead, others say he’s in prison, and those without hope say the gods have exiled him to wander the earth forever. For the successive prince Telemachus (Tom Holland) and queen Penelope, faith has become too slippery to continue blindly grasping at. A man does what he chooses, which is why Telemachus sets sail on a last-ditch rescue mission. A woman does what she can, with Penelope occupying the empty throne as she’s pursued by power-hungry suitors, most notably the sniveling Antinous (Robert Pattinson). Captured in ultra-shallow focus with darkly lit banquet halls, this palace is a snake pit with danger looming in every corner.
For ten years, Odysseus was on the beaches of Troy fighting Agamemnon’s war for Helen and the securitization of trade routes for his vast empire. His idea for the Trojan horse is what breaks the stalemate, soldiers packed like sardines for days as they wait to spring the trap. But like Robert Oppenheimer, Odysseus witnesses the price of his genius not being measured in honor, but in blood. A decade of empty bellies and pent-up rage is unleashed on the city’s citizens in a single night, the only sights and sounds being the blaze atop each home and pleading screams just before the fall of a sword. To the gods, there are no victors.
Within the four walls of the cinema, Nolan is our god. He can be quite vengeful, striking our senses with blistering fury. Odysseus and his men meet the wrath of Poseidon and Zeus during their arduous journey home. Lightning cracks and waves crash without any regard for audience safety, the volume cranked so loud that even Ludwig Göransson’s booming score is drowned out. Truly, I have never felt a film brute force its way through my entire body, the full effect of the IMAX experience clenching down like a vice grip. Warnings for those with predisposed medical conditions should be printed on each ticket.
Despite favor eventually being granted to us, none is allowed for Odysseus. Sightings of land initially promise food and shelter, only to end up being fool’s gold. A cyclops traps the men in a cave and eats them one by one, a magical forest twists the pine trees into an endless maze as they’re slaughtered by giant soldiers, and a witch’s hospitality turns into a curse. As is new with Nolan, this is all depicted with a surprising amount of horror and fear, the same feeling that creeps down to the bone while also beckoning you to never look away. The answer is never who has the bigger sword, with wit and bravery being the driving force for survival.
It’s that clinical ingenuity that has made Nolan into the most famous filmmaker of his generation. While praised for his original ideas, many of his films are based on well-known stories with preconceived outcomes. Batman was always going to win in the “Dark Knight” trilogy, the Allied forces were always going to get off the beach in “Dunkirk,” and Robert was always going to complete the atomic bomb in “Oppenheimer.” With Nolan, it’s always about the journey as much as the destination. And what better story to apply this logic to than the most epic one of them all?
Odysseus is blessed and cursed with the foresight of the gods. He can see the path of downfall for others, yet can’t stop them from still willingly going down it. Heavy is this crown of knowledge, unlocking survivor’s guilt, exponentially amplified with the weight of responsibility as a leader. Damon is sheerly outstanding, perpetually instilling a layer of intimacy within the unparalleled grandness. There are no weak links within this cast, each member matching the wieldy expectations placed upon them. Standouts also include Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, the second-in-command; John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, the blind pig farmer of Ithaca; and Samantha Morton as the witch.
“Oppenheimer” was Nolan’s magnum opus, capturing lightning in a bottle at every level to deliver something that will likely never be replicated, both critically and commercially. Even with its expanded scope and scale, “The Odyssey” feels like a lateral move rather than the anticipated leveling up. Then again, how much higher can one go once they’ve already ascended to the top of their craft? Homer’s epic has transcended oceans of time to be here today, and I believe this definitive retelling of it will endure for just as long.
Universal Pictures will release “The Odyssey” in theaters nationwide on July 17th
