Mini Film Review – The Odyssey

I have just seen The Odyssey; and it was pretty good! Directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Himesh Patel, and based on the ancient Greek poem The Odyssey by Homer; The Odyssey is an epic fantasy action film, following Odysseus‘s ill fated voyage back home to Ithaca from the Trojan War! Personally my favourite adaptation of The Odyssey was the one performed on the radio by The Penny Dreadfuls in 2015. The Odyssey is a pretty interesting film, which does not hold back in the effects department, as it treats it’s audience to a spectacular spectacle of creatures, disasters, and magic. Whilst all that is going on, the film also tells the story of what is happening in Ithaca whilst Odysseus is away, and how his wife’s many suitors are treating both her and her son. It is a long experience, but it does provide a lot of story, with quite a lot to enjoy. But I wouldn’t call it captivating. When the story is focussed on Odysseus, it’s brilliant. You are told an epic story of a doomed voyage, which features the most amazing spectacles, with sudden suprises, enticing mysteries, brutal battles, and the occassional monster for good measure. Plus all these scenes feature the film’s best characters. But when the narrative returns to either Ithaca, Telemachus, or Penelope; it’s just really borring! The film takes too long setting up their stories before Odysseus is even a presence. And when it returns to Ithaca’s stories again and again, it’s just so dull! Even towards the end, when the focus is heavily on it, it just drags on, and grinds down your interest by the minute. It’s a real shame in a way, as it feels like these scenes are a virus, purging away at what stands out most about this film, and killing off the interest as it goes. Yes, I enjoyed the film, but it has a dark second heart, that works hard to undo all that is good about it!