Christopher Nolan writes and directs possibly the last adaptation of Homer's epic poem.
Matt Damon - Odysseus
Tom Holland - Telemachus
Anne Hathaway - Penelope
Robert Pattinson - Antinous
Lupita Nyong'o - Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra
Samantha Morton - Circe
John Leguizamo - Eumaeus
Zendaya - Athena
Charlize Theron - Calypso
Benny Safdie - Agamemnon
Jon Bernthal - Menelaus
Himesh Patel - Eurylochus
Corey Hawkins - Polybus
Mia Goth - Melantho
Logan Marshall-Green - Melanthius
Elliot Page - Sinon
James Remar - Tiresias
Summary
Telemachus embarks on a perilous journey to find his father Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, as they both must defy the gods (kinda), monsters and treachery along the way.
Casting
Nyong'o and Page as Helen of Troy and Achilles¹ respectively understandably raised eyebrows.
¹However, speculation turned out to be incorrect, as Sinon is reimagined as Odysseus's cousin. He was a warrior from the Trojan War, but wasn't mentioned in source material.
Whatever, they suck, but at least we only have to suffer them combined for about 10 minutes.
The rest are a bunch of mismatched Hollywood A-listers.
Trojan horse
Rather than left outside the gates of Troy, it is discovered half buried in sand and dragged up on the beach.
Yes I note reference to Planet of the Apes, but redesign left me wheely confused.
Accents and dialogue
Contemporary colloquialisms and British outfit as Americans was off-putting.
Damon yelling "Let's gooooo!" as he leads his men into battle didn't sit well and "Ten years on this fucking beach" in flashback after the fall of Troy is already a meme.
Draken Harald Harfagre
Odyssesus's boat is a modern reconstruction of a Viking longship.
Cool. But film is set around 1200 BC, approximately 2000 years before transport existed (about 800 AD).
Costumes
Most look like Vikings, but why is Agamemnon's matte black armour Batman-esque?
Honour the dead
Three-hour journey on land and sea is an impressive piece of cinema, providing accuracy of Greek mythology is ignored.
Sequence of Circe whispering chilling incantations and turning soldiers into pigs was awesome, especially how witch caresses and strokes heads.
Final act of Odyssesus putting Antinous to the sword kicked ass, but the sheer scale of Cyclops Polyphemus (even though he doesn't talk), is worth the admission fee alone.
I grew up with the genius of Ray Harryhausen, and 60-foot tall mechanical puppet (in collaboration with Bill Irwin), is the ultimate tribute to the great man.
Also, how fallen soldiers emerge from the ground, subsequently driving Odysseus and his men from Hades basically recreates the skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts.
(Nods head in appreciation).
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