The Critical Flaw of ‘The Odyssey’

Christopher Nolan’s latest adaptation may be his most impressive yet, but its biggest pitfall was also its most avoidable

I’m not sure why we’ve collectively decided that this still frame of Agamemnon is the one that officially represents ‘The Odyssey.’ He’s in it for a grand total of like 45 seconds. But I refuse to go against the grain any more than this piece requires, damnit! / Universal Pictures

It’s no fun to address a film without being able to speak to its faults. As much as I would have preferred for The Odyssey to warrant beginning-to-end gushing in this review, that would quickly grow dull for readers. To simply hop aboard the bandwagon and label it a masterpiece without covering its most obvious shortcoming would also be dishonest.

Prior to The Odyssey’s release, my social media feed was so overrun with praise of Nolan’s upcoming film that it was easy to conclude that it would be his magnum opus, if not one of the crowning cinematic achievements of the century. (I’m not here to deny that it’s spectacular.)

What it gets right it gets so astonishingly correct that it leaves almost no room for criticism. It creates an awe-inspiring sense of scope, its practical effects are second to none, and the sweeping landscapes effectively drive home what it is to be small beings in a world ruled by capricious gods. It strikes a delicate balance between taking those older beliefs seriously, yet not portraying them with such a strict adherence to the source material that it makes his adaptation feel hokey or inaccessible to modern…