I finally saw "The Odyssey"

I've been so busy this summer that this is my first movie in almost a month, and my first movie blog in almost three months! In case you were curious, I've been focused on my memoir and sketch comedy projects.

People have been asking me about this movie for weeks, okay maybe two people asked, and I finally got the chance to see it last night with Samantha.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to review The Odyssey or Spider-Man, but I felt like I had slightly more to say about this one.

I've unfortunately gotten less and less intrigued by Marvel movies as I've gotten older, which honestly sucks because I used to be a huge Marvel nerd.

I also have a general rule of thumb: if I don't want to write a movie review or blog post about a film, I just don't do it. Why would I spend time doing something I didn't want to do? That's just preposterous.

The Story

So, like about half the people I've polled, I read The Odyssey in high school as required reading. If my memory serves me correctly, I'm pretty sure we read an abbreviated version. Actually, I'm positive we did, because I didn't remember half the stuff that was in this movie.

For some reason, I had absolutely no recollection of Circe. I thought the Sirens had a much bigger role, and I had completely forgotten that Odysseus spent seven years on Calypso's island. Either my high school teacher skipped some chapters, or we read them on the days that I brought some of my dad's red wine in a tumbler to school (if you're reading this, sorry Mom!)

The Movie

The movie itself was just... very fun to watch. Obviously, it's Christopher Nolan, so we all knew this was going to be epic. (haha... you get it. Because it's an epic poem.)

I liked how diverse the cast was. It didn't feel forced, but instead it just felt like a beautiful culmination of all different types of people.

I genuinely wasn't bored at any point, which is fantastic for a three-hour movie. I did check my phone once, but only because my friend Justice called me, immediately looked at my location, and then texted me, "omg The Odyssey??"

Yes indeed, Justice.

Favorite Performances

Matt Damon

I was kind of "eh" when I first saw he was playing Odysseus, but... he kind of killed it. I loved his performance. The only thing I didn't love was his haircut throughout the movie. It just didn't feel like it fit the vibe. He almost looked too good, if that makes sense. Not disheveled enough for a man who hasn't been home in 20 years.

John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo honestly surprised me by eating in this role. He played the elderly blind man incredibly well and brought a lot more emotion than I expected.

Elliot Page

Another surprise. I've never really gone out of my way to watch a lot of Elliot Page's work, but I thought he absolutely stole the show at certain points. His performance felt incredibly passionate and committed.

Robert Pattinson

By far my favorite performance in the entire movie. He played such a good asshole that he was genuinely pissing me off, which is exactly what the role needed. Every time he showed up on screen, I was locked in.

Least Favorite Performances

Tom Holland

Kind of weak, kind of mid.

I love Tom Holland, but this performance just felt very bland. It almost felt like I was watching a community theater production where he got cast because they ran out of boys to audition.

Anne Hathaway

This is probably my hottest take. I really don't think she was that good. I've been more down bad over guys I've met at bars than it felt like Penelope was over Odysseus. As someone who has yearned, it just didn't feel like Anne Hathaway had yearning down. I needed more furious passion. More desperation. More longing. I wanted to feel twenty years of waiting.

But then again, maybe that's the point. Maybe after twenty years, you're just exhausted. Maybe the strength wasn't in dramatic displays of emotion, but in the simple fact that she stayed faithful for that long.

Maybe she was just playing a really strong woman.

Either way, it didn't quite work for me. I just wanted more.

Benny Safdie

Choosing Benny Safdie as Agamemnon was... an interesting decision. I find Benny Safdie to be, quite frankly, not intimidating. So the moment I realized it was him under the armor, I kind of giggled, which is definitely not the reaction Agamemnon is supposed to inspire.

Final Thoughts

Anyways, I'm tired, and I kind of cranked this review out. My friend and I were talking afterward about what we thought the movie was trying to say. My takeaway was, "Don't let your pride get in the way."

Obviously, Zeus' law of hospitality was brought up over and over throughout the film, and I actually thought that was a beautiful principle. Yes, the story also shows that people will absolutely take advantage of kindness, but I still think it's a lovely way to approach the world.

Maybe the story is ultimately about pride. Maybe it's about perseverance. Maybe it's just about genuinely trying to be a good person, even when the world gives you every reason not to.

Whatever the case, I walked away wanting to try a little harder trying to be better.