Ep 525 The Odyssey (2026) Spoiler Review

In this episode the FilmBros discuss Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What up, everybody? I'm your host, JP, and this is my co-host Josh. Hey everybody. And welcome back to another episode of the Film Bros Podcast. Alright, Josh. So today we have a movie review and a crazy one at that. Oh my god, I couldn't wait for this review. I feel like I feel like there's a lot to discuss here. I feel like there's a lot to dig into. There's a lot of meat. Okay. Um if anybody knows this director, we know him as not only as like a God-tiered director, as like somebody who's, you know, whose name will sell tickets in it itself, right? But just, you know, a director that causes controversy as well, right? Even though his movies are great, they do cause a lot of chatter. Um, from casting choices to decisions in the movie. I mean, I heard one person on a on a what is those bike machines, the gym ones uh saying talking about one of his movies as well, saying she didn't really understand it. Give me my my time back or whatever. Uh this director, we love him, and I'm gonna love talking about this movie and with the utmost respect, and yeah, Josh. Yeah. Okay. Sure, man. Sure. Let him know what we're talking about today, Josh, so we can get into this review.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

We're talking about Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey 2026. Tell me what you remember.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

A wife.

unknown 1:56

We won the war.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yes, Josh. The odd is see. Now, unfortunately, and it's I you know it's my failure to report that we were not able, well, at least me. I don't know about Josh, I'm pretty sure he didn't either, but we did not get to see it in this uh what 70 millimeter uh that's only reserved for Sinners still. Sinners has the top spot, the best movie going experience that we've had so far is since I guess the 2020s, right? Um, but I still was able to watch it in IMAX. Were you able to watch it in IMAX? Yes. At least, at least in you know, if Nolan was like, oh, this is like what I wish you would watch it on, we're right in the middle where he's like, okay, you're a little poor. And we but we at least made it, you know. At least we don't have the two black lines covering up 60% of the film, according to to Twitter and whatnot. I don't know if it's true, but I've been seeing a lot of side by sides, and I wonder if it's actually true, like the aspect ratio and how much it actually cuts off and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

I'm pretty sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

For the 70 millimeter, yes, but like from regular IMAX to like regular screens, like I don't I wouldn't think it would be it would just look cleaner.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

That's always been the thing. It would it just looks smoother.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

So like everyone making the comparison to 70 millimeter, yeah. You're that's a it's frame ratio, it's not quality, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Right, right. You just see more of the screen, you're just able to see more of the screen. Um, so it's really it's still really nice though. I mean, I still I still remember centers. I wound up watching centers at home as well. You know, it's just an experience, I feel. I feel like that's just you know, if I die today, I experience centers, and that's you know, and it's 70 millimeter, and that's fine with me, you know. Yeah, strike me down, Zeus. Oh my gosh, strike me down. Um, so yeah, uh so the Odyssey has been doing really well. Um, the Odyssey has surpassed 700 million, and just after 12 days in the theater, uh people have been loving it. It was breaking records since the moment it's been released. People are still chattering about it. Um, you know, good, bad, all in between. Um, but I know a lot of this, you know, a lot of this buildup for this movie, Josh, and this is like right before we start getting into this review, there was a lot of hate, right? There was a lot of people that was, you know, saying the casting was bad, and obviously we're gonna talk about the cast in our review and all that stuff. They were saying that, you know, Nolan is going woke and all this stuff. Um, like they basically try to Rachel Zegler him, they try to Amanda Listenberg him, and obviously, you know, I'm not saying he's bigger than the machine, but he is quite big enough to challenge said machine. I don't think he'll win, but he will put up a good fight, in my opinion. Um, but I mean, do you kind of heard all this controversy? Did that kind of affect your viewing walking in? Were you able to kind of look at it objectively still? I mean, I I'm hoping the internet did not rot your brain.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Oh, fuck no, dude. I have a I went in there and I was watching it to the best of my ability. No, ain't nobody stopping me from enjoying anything. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

That's true, but you know, there was Millie Alcock a second ago who really made you not want to see a movie. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 5:37

I mean, I still saw it, and I mean the fact that she ended up being the best part is it's insane, but like that's the thing. Only actors have that power to make me iffy, you know what I mean? Right, right, right. It's their movie, so of course I take their what they're saying or how they're acting in the media a little differently than like normal people that are like, oh, we won't how dare they be black, you know? Like that's crazy, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Right, right, right. Okay, okay. Um, and I mean, obviously, this is some a big, I guess, a get a real big point that we kind of need to talk about before we get into it. Because I mean, I don't think it uh it affected my viewing too, before we, you know, we get to that point, but I don't it I don't believe it affected my viewing. I think for the most part, I was just like, you know, there was one actor in that movie that I was just like kind of word seeing it, um, and I can't wait to talk about him because I feel like we're gonna be on the same page when it comes to said actor, so it's gonna be really fun to get around to that. Um, but it did not affect my viewing, at least on my part. So, Josh, I do think that, you know, I think a good point that we gotta kind of bring up as well. Um, is did you watch The Odyssey? Right? Or I mean, did you have you read The Odyssey? I mean, the Odyssey is kind of a big thing, right? It's a 200-year-old story, it's been adapted in many different ways. People take their interpretations from it. We've had actual uh, you know, one-for-one adaptations in the past, you know, bringing the Odyssey in 2026. I mean, do you have knowledge of the Odyssey? I know some people were cracking open the history books.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah, yeah, no. I did. I had it prior, and I immediately was like, oh shit, I can't wait for this to be adapted, and all the people that didn't read the book not to understand the lick of what was happening.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

It's unfortunate that it seems either the director bamboozled us to the point where it was like if you watched it Where you know, I mean, if you know about the Odyssey, he basically was like, Look, either I didn't read it all the way or I mean I read it in a different way, and you're gonna get it the way I envisioned it. And I do I do like that um that Nolan is one of those people that he'll kind of take what it what the source material is and kind of moves moves it that way. Cause I've read I've not only seen the movie, like there's a couple movies out there, but I've seen like the I think I forgot what year it was, but there's a movie out there that has a good chunk of that I believe is a little bit more at least a good faithful to what they were trying to do. But like I said, this this Odyssey book has been adapted in many different ways, right? And it's always gonna be modernized as time goes on, especially with you know a 200-year-old story. So, I mean, for those that read it, good on you. It's always good to know what the Odyssey is, but you know, I think this is one of those ones where you didn't have to read the source material before walking into it, and we we'll talk about more of what we mean in a second. Josh, the Odyssey, right? 94% on the tomato meter, 97% on the popcorn meter, certified fresh. It is in the 90s for both. Every a good only like 3% did not like the film, but like I mean, what do we think about the numbers?

SPEAKER_01 9:12

I'm down. I am down for this. I I we have our own gripes, but to say that this movie isn't sound and almost damn near perfect is pretty insane. Um so I'm down for both sides.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Okay, I understand it too. I know this this is not gonna be for everybody. Um I'm happy that the split is not as big because I would have been a little bit more worried because it would have been like I would have felt the chatter would have worked if this score was lowered. You know what I'm saying? I would have felt like the the whole internet chatter about you know the whole woke stuff, I would have felt like it would have worked a little bit if this score was low. But it it's really good. And I the little bit that disliked it, I think we can kind of see that. Like you said, this movie is not perfect, but as I, you know, it can be as near perfect as it can be, right? Um, the Odyssey, Josh, spoilers up ahead. We're gonna talk about the Odyssey. Um obviously you guys know that there will be spoilers, but Josh, break down the story a little bit, and then we're gonna go down the cast, the world building, all the good stuff that we usually uh discuss.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Okay. The Odyssey, the story of Matt Damon. Um this is the thing. If you don't, if you if you know the story, you know it's just about Odysseus, his battle with Troy, and his trials and tribulations of trying to get home while his kingdom is under siege of potential suitors, his his uh queen slash wife trying to hold everybody off, so Telemachus can probably be of age or soon to be of age to take the throne. Odysseus loses his man at the scene, eventually he makes it home. You know, that it's a pretty cut and dry the story, which leaves a lot of room for eventful things to happen. And that's hopefully you know ball. And if you don't know ball, then I'm sorry. Like that's it, like that's all of it.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Yes, so pretty cut and dry. Josh is right. I do think that that's basically the gist of it, which is I mean, it's really nice, uh, but it just makes it a little bit worse with certain aspects because we all know in the original Odyssey it's meant to be mythical, right? We have Zeus, Poseidon, Hermes is involved at one point, Athena. Um, so we have all these different, you know, obviously the gods that were there, even in the movie, they say that they're trying to please and whatnot, Zeus's law. Um, and you know, we it's uh it's not something that we get in this movie, unfortunately. Um, but that's something that's big on that side, which we're gonna have to discuss a little bit more down the road. But um, you know, we're gonna have to go down this. We're gonna have to go down this uh this this review to really dig deep into this because there's a lot to talk about for sure. So, Josh, we're gonna start where we usually start with the characters, and we're gonna go one by one. Let's try not to jump too ahead of ourselves. I think it's hilarious what Travis Scott's like, you know, every actor has a what is it called? One of those standard shots that they're supposed to have to basically sell themselves. Interesting, and it's not a spoiler, Travis Scott is in the movie, he was in a trailer, and everybody was going crazy about it. I think that was another reason why people were going crazy, right? Because Travis Scott was in the movie, they're like, Christopher Nolan casting Travis Scott is crazy. Um, so like I said, Christopher Nolan did direct the film, written by Christopher Nolan. He also credits Homer. Interestingly enough.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as uh Telemachus, and Hathaway as Penelope, Travis Scott as Bard, Robert Pattison as damn. I'm gonna butcher some of these names, and Antinis? Antinis? Antinus, Antinus, Corey Hawkins as Polybus, um, Elliot Page as Sinon, uh Shiloh Fernandes, so on and so forth. We do have little a good little four-minute cameo from what is it, Benny Safety, uh John Lugasmo, Lugazmo? I'm probably butchering his name as well. Legwizamo.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

He deserves more shit.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Legwizamo, sorry, I'm I'm not good with names. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. John Lugazamo, as say the name, because I'm gonna butcher it again.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Uh Eumaeus? Yeah, Umaeus.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Who did uh Benny Safety play? He was um the It was the soldier, the main one leading them. I can't even see here. Um Agamemnon. Yeah, Agamemnon. There you go. He's Agamemnon. I'm looking at it on Letterboxd and like have the lit have the people on here they have like the full cast, and then yeah, like to get to the people that are like damn near not even in the movie for that long, or like way at the bottom. But it's a long ass list. And he essentially was was way at the bottom. Like I had to press show more type shit.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Yeah, and and I think that's why you know I want to go through some of these casts, but most the more prominent ones I know they're just like little ones that weren't really advertised or talked about. So when I was watching the movie, I was like, Oh, that's cool to see them in here, you know what I mean? It was kind of like a little, a bit of a cameo fest in a way, but you know, with actors, you know what I'm saying? So it was pretty cool. But character-wise, Josh, how did we feel about obviously Matt Damon? He was like the lead, Tom Holland as well. Um, I I want to say they were mostly the two leads, right? And then I mean, obviously, we get a little bit of a performance from Elliot Page and Hathaway as well. So, I mean, what do we think about the characters?

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Man, I think everybody in this movie acted their ass off. Do I still have a problem with Matt Damon being as old as he is? Now that I've seen the movie, no. But I know that was a big concern of mine in the fucking in the beginning of all this stuff. Um I I have like I don't think I have any notes on like characters and actors because I think like I said, I think everybody did their thing. I I don't have a problem with like anybody.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Okay. Um, I see, so we're not on the same page, and I'm kind of worried about this review that we're gonna be talking about here because there was one person one that I could say right now. Everybody did exactly what you said, everybody did their thing. I honestly believe even Tom Holland. I will say, I I told you this off uh off the pod too, but I will say that I do think Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland should have maybe switched, but I really like the difference that we've had with Robert Pattinson in the you know the gear change when it comes down to his acting choices. It always seems like he's always like the the nice, suave, handsome, you know, guy who basically at the end of the day still gets what he wants. You know, he's not really played as a like a really bad, nasty villain, you know what I mean? And I really loved the kind of performance he brought. But like I said, I would have kind of liked to see him in Tom Holland's role. I when I was watching the movie, for some reason I was just like, damn, if they would have just switched, I feel like I would have been in like heaven. But I really loved regardless of like everybody's performance, everybody did good with, but I hated seeing John Berthal in there as John Berthal. Let me just be honest with you, okay? Uh I was so afraid that we were actually gonna get that let me tell you something moment. I'm happy that we did not. But John Berthal is the only one who walked in as himself. He walked on set, said, I'm I am me. Just shave my head, put a ball cap on him. I don't think he actually shaved his head. But he's the only one in this movie that I was just like, dude, you ri like you did not even change. Like you who put you in a ball cap and said, Hey, I if anybody, there's two people that took me out of the immersion. I gotta say, Elliot Page is one of those that kind of was doing a number on the immersion in the beginning, but it at I got into it towards the middle of the movie because it was just I was kind of immersed. There was no point in getting unimmersed at that point. So I it was kind of a good thing with in my opinion, when Nolan did kind of opening the movie up with Elliot Page there to kind of get the shell shock out of the way. So that was, I guess, kind of nice, but I gotta say, John Berthalt is the only one where I was like, as an actor, dude, you're in a Nolan fucking film, bro, and you literally just acted like the punisher. You acted like yourself. He didn't, there's no gear change. He was like Ben Diesel being in a different movie, he's like Dwayne DeRock Johnson being in a different movie. He's the same guy.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Well, I mean, that's just Menelaus, bro. That's just how we how it works.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

He's just the Punisher, bro. He's just John Berthold, bro. He's just literally just saying he wasn't taking naps. That's why he wound up getting home first. Literally, bro.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

That's that's the thing. That's the thing because like Menelaus is kind of like those one of those guys because he comes back from war and he's living like the fruits of his labor. He's the only one. Yeah, that that's about it. Like, so I mean, it makes sense. I understand what you're saying, but it but it makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

As an actor not giving us any other gear besides the one that he's used to makes sense. Him playing safely in a Nolan film makes sense. I don't know. Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah, I mean, yeah, if you know the character, and I mean you've known the characters.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

Why didn't we get like a like a you know, like a little bit of an accent, like a little bit of a you know, a different kind of tone, a little, you know, why was it John Berth all just in a ball cap, dude? Like it's just that's just me.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Because you don't need all that stuff, man. None of these other guys spoke in an accent. You don't need that.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Well, no, not anybody like spoke in an accent, but like I said, Robert Patterson gave us a different gear. Matt Damon, in my opinion, gave us like a a gear shift. I never even thought he would be able to do in this film. I thought he was really, really good. Tom Holland, I didn't even think I didn't even think he could do this. This man was Spider-Man. I like I know that he had a show where he was getting like stuff rammed up as booty or something. I don't know. But like we gotta bring y'all that up. I'm just saying, like, that wasn't that wasn't I didn't see that either. I don't know. He was just Spider-Man to me. So like the fact that we actually got something out of him, it was actually insane. Um the uh Corey Hawkins, I've seen him in a couple of things, and he's only been like a detective and and he was Dr. Dre at one point. So it's like you know, you see him in different things and all that stuff, and the fact that he was actually able to give us like a that performance way where he had with Tom Holland, where he like he had him at knife point, and it was like I was just like, okay, this is really cool. Everybody gave an immersive performance, even like I said, my problems with Elliot Page, she even gave a good performance towards the middle of the movie when she popped back up again, and I was like, oh, cool. Um but like out of everybody, John Berthold was like, hey man, dude, you shouldn't have you shouldn't have done that, bro.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, you're the only one with the problem. I understand what you're saying. I just I I'm okay with it, bro.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Oh my gosh. I'm okay with it. World building.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

I like John Berthall. I think uh I think I I he can do no wrong.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

So I mean I I like John Berthall too, but I don't want John Berthall in the Odyssey. What the fuck? You just rammed the Punisher in Homer's like epic, like you're just like, hmm, where where does the Punisher fit in this thing? Like, no. He was probably thinking, hey man, we're gonna get a good performance. I wonder if like in the middle of acting, Nolan was just like, damn, he's not giving me what everybody else was. Holy shit. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

That's why he's in the movie list, but yeah. World building, world building, right? That's where we're at.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Yeah, world building. How did we feel about the world building? of this film.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

I thought it was I thought it was good. I think because we're not applying it, so I and I don't want to hit the nail too hard, but I do think for what the movie is, what the movie does, how they explain said such things, it does a good job. I think it's okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

Okay. Yes. The world building was good, but I do think again it though missing the the gods in this film, I do feel kind of leads to a you know what's the best way to put it? I you know I think it does have to kind of go hand in hand with like plot but also like the cinematography um when it comes down to the world building because I think with what Christopher Nolan did with this world obviously he deterred from the Homer you know the Homer original that was originally made or not basically moved on from that. I would like to say he modernized this film for like modern audiences and the what the you know the messaging and everything that was basically put into this film to you know for the audience. I do feel it it's a modern take so I am going to kind of leave it kind of labeled as that. So a lot of this stuff kind of ties into that right so maybe in his modern take and especially you know you know him even when he did Batman it was like grounded gods don't live or actually rule or have domain on earth it's just you know another you know like calling for Jesus or something you know what I mean it's it's one of those things.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

Which is just like oh the weather changes and you're like oh it's someone Zeus is mad or some shit like that. So like they don't manifest but that's the thing. That this was a problem that I had this was another problem I had when we were talking about it up until release I think that was a problem too I I was like he's not gonna do the gods like how I'm thinking they should be done and that's a problem. I think that's a huge problem because the book has gods and they're not just hurling lightning bolts like no you actually see a manifestation of them at some point in the book. So yeah that that was that's one of them and like is it all really is it all one and are we just touching up on everything then um kind of yeah I would say so because I do think that it is kind of like bundled up so I mean plot wise just so we can kind of hurdle through it and then we can kind of talk about it as a whole okay plot wise I mean to say that this movie doesn't have plot would be a lie.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

This movie is drenched deep with like just like I said the messaging and the coding that Christopher Nolan wanted to basically you know the story he wanted to tell basically right like I said I I do think you know there is Homer and you know his Odyssey right and then there's Christopher Nolan and his Odyssey and I do think that you know the plot for what it is because the fact that they do the in the original Odyssey it's just the the voyage home right and dealing with the gods and the elements and trying to actually make it home um obviously we had you know Anne Hathaway's Penelope in there and all that stuff and but you know in this one the plot kind of takes it to a to uh you know a PTSD and you know to um you know the the trials of tribulations are more inward than outward right um it's to believe to be outward but a lot of it's inward and I do think you know the plot I like it for what it is right I do like what we get from this movie. Is it what we're used to?

SPEAKER_01 26:23

No yeah but I do like what we get from this film when it comes to the plot so yeah having seen it and knowing like what goes on now the tagline defy the gods makes sense because I in the book he's not trying to defy them on purpose he's just like he's just like everything up until the Cyclops he he's just doing out of you know survival and like but now you know in the movie it's completely different he's actively trying to defy the gods and get home and like I mean that's a nice way to twist it I guess but it's just not what happens. So you understand that yes this is very much Nolan's interpretation of the Odyssey and then and we know slight dig to the knolster but he didn't read the book so yeah or maybe he read the ending or got the cliff notes to the ending and just continue going.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

The plot's cool I think he got the cliff notes he definitely hit everything all the popular stuff on the on the head he was like we'll just he he was probably just like we'll fantasize the gods the best we can but everything else we're gonna do real and so you can love that he does everything real but when it comes to the to the the swirl pool the monster that does the swirl pool and um I think Scylla like cool that you got to do it real but I'm looking for a six-headed like serpent lady not whatever the fuck was chilling on the side of the rock you know what I mean right right which it's gonna go to my cons um certain things um because like I said near perfect film we're gonna talk about you know obvious I'm gonna have to bring up some of the bad but I do want to get some of the good out of the way and that's gonna lead to like the cinematography as well the immersion that you get from you know like I said the the the plot the cinematography and even the world building tying together into Nolan's vision creates an immersive experience that I haven't had in you know I wouldn't say in years but that like the immersive experience I got from this film with all that tied together was amazing. I I really I really can't even deny that it like it really had me hooked and I got captured because it didn't feel like anything was on green screen yeah there was CGI but and maybe a little bit of VFX but like for the most part everything felt real nothing felt like it was fake I I you know that's something that we've talked about a lot in like superhero movies and whatnot like you know punches land but they don't feel like they hurt you know things break but it looks like what like it's just bouncing off like it's rubber it is what it is but like the way that Nolan films it just brings it just brings you into the film in a way that I'm just like damn like you Christopher Nolan's the goat man I can't even be upset about it.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

That's the thing like technic technically this like much like Matt Reeves Batman movie perfect like almost perfect I can't say I can't say perfect almost perfect but like it is good you look at the like you said the the effects it's good the storytelling they do their best and they're good they they do what they can it it boils down to like what you know and how knowledgeable you are of the original stuff um and like I don't know I like I don't have I don't have a problem with the cast and stuff I already said that I think I have a problem with like how he starts the story.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

I told you this off the pod too like I wouldn't start at the end you know what I mean like that's not where I would start I would if I'm telling the Odyssey I'm starting where the book starts basically inside the Trojan horse and that doesn't mean I'm Odysseus talking to Athena or Circe about the or Athena and Calypso sorry about where I was in the in the Trojan horse and like no I'm starting inside that motherfucker all the way till I get home and like that's my big gripe because I feel a lot of that is just exposition like they show us they show us a lot but before we get to the scenes where they start showing us he expositions himself a lot right that was something that I you know I kind of took issue with as well um I that's you know starting off at the end of the book which you know the the big the beginning of that journey can be a story in itself but there needs to be there had to be more than just what was given to us I believe right because like I said even though it was immersive you know we wanted to see some of those elements that you know the Odyssey basically bring like you know the actual Trojan were to have seen that through Nolan's eyes would have been pretty cool but as we know what was his name again um Agamemnon you know practically speaking I don't think he'd be able to do battle in that shit right um the world building the way that Nolan go goes about it I feel like even down to the the outfits that they he uses I know some people were clowning um you know like some of the clothing like oh it just looks like they're they're normal clothes or whatever but like Agamemnon Agamemnon's armor like that never looks like something that would you know be used practically in my opinion right it looks like something that was like meant to just be shown off and not necessarily be used in a in a warrior sense or anything like that. Obviously not like Matt Damon's outfit his armor and all that stuff that looked like you know he's a grunt or he's gonna actually do something even though he was like top general he looks like he was ready to do battle in that era not really you know Agamemnon and stuff like that but those things do play a part in my opinion because it's you know those those moments were like you see the the you know the statue of Athena getting it getting its head blown off and all that the boats like all that just feels purposeful right like everything just feels like there's a reason behind it. I don't know if there's actually a reason behind it but everything just feels like there's a reason behind the choices that are made within this film. It doesn't seem random it doesn't seem like it's just thrown together it seems like it's a deliberate hand that Nolan wants to kind of paint this picture for you guys. Maybe I gotta rewatch the movie to get a little bit more in depth detail but I because that's another thing I got to talk about Nolan writing a film I'm sorry bro the it and everybody's right when they clown him for like Tom Holland saying dad and the other guy saying father and you know this guy talking like this and this guy talking like that. You know when we get like when we had the Odyssey back in the day everybody that were in that group they talked the same you had the people that were high up they talked a certain way like there was always like you know there's levels to the way that people speak to each other and like it just felt like everybody was kind of doing their own thing when it came down to like delivering certain certain lines.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

I I understand that but I don't know that's the thing I if I mean if that were the case they'd all be speaking like Greek right and like no one wants to see that.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

You know what I mean like I mean like you don't have to dub it but I mean it's you know well yeah Greek. I mean so some you know a lot of people like to do the whole what is it like British it's usually like British or you know that's usually kingdom stuff right like Brits and yeah so it's like I um to me it's we could have went a certain way you're you're thinking and could have had it in line.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

Yeah you're thinking like um like uh it could have been Australian no no no like oh my god I I can't even picture that it sounds so bad no it's um you're thinking like um is it Robert like Robert Eggers you know what I mean like he picks an area and they talk like that like that yeah yeah that oh yeah that's perfect like kind of like what we got with nosferatu like nobody was all like yo dad what's hadn't in like that that's just that would have been out of out of the blues in Nosferatu's time you know what I mean right like what's hadn't in nosferatu yeah um but I can understand that like I said I can understand that and like if they were all talking I guess kind of like classical and fancy and all that or like from where they're from because I mean if they're traveling the seas there has to be like you know not a not a major spoiler but you know kind of like Athena right like she could have had a certain language or something that could have kind of threw us off you know what I mean that would have gave us a better sense of what you know of the goddess that she's supposed to be but you know it was just Zendaya being Zendaya. Oh yeah but I mean I or I the gods get a get a pass in that kind of aspect though because it they're meant to speak to everybody so they're gonna choose the native tongue I guess oh shit I gotta I gotta be honest too I don't think Zenday gave us a different gear in this movie either he didn't she played the same thing. He didn't even I'm saying Zendaya yeah shut up um he wa uh no um it's I think she did great I think her facial expressions carry a lot in this movie like especially like towards the end of the facial she looked the same no towards the ending and all that stuff I'm not trying to spoil it too heavy but towards the ending and stuff I think she's okay that's different but like that's different but like she does she isn't Athena isn't like heavy and that's the problem the fucking gods again right but um yeah oh yeah totally not Zende is acting totally not Zenday no no no it's it's Nolan's choice and writing of not Nolan can Nolan can write he has a problem with like I don't know action because I think he also did I think he also wrote for Tenant right and for me that wasn't the best one either didn't he also yeah but he also did like he wrote the Batman trilogy didn't he no yeah he did write tenant did write tenant um uh Batman begins I don't think he wrote these movies that ad tried to get me no see David as Goyer Bob Kane Nolan Nolan was a part of it but I'm pretty sure David as Goyer was like a heavier hand.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Right but he I mean he did help he yeah okay okay that's different than just being the sole guy and then just wanting to be like okay Homer kind of helped he also man of steel man I I don't know that like I said tenant was another movie to me that I realized that he wrote to and it wasn't the best writing and the fact that he wrote this one as well what like I said and this is another thing too maybe this comes with the immersion as well I don't know it kind of took me out a little bit but you know the writing is kind of inconsistent like the like the movie as well and it's just because you know it's just because that's just how like he interpreted the movie. So it's just how it is. So the inconsistency matches up with the consistent movie so it makes it a hole you know what I'm saying it's like if you take the puzzle out it'd be weird but you put the puzzle in it it fits fine. Mm-hmm okay but I would still say the writing is probably like the weakest part of this movie I gotta say a good chunk of the writing is the weakest part of the movie I gotta say the dialogue the the the fact that you know don't get me wrong I understand it's supposed to be modern but last time I remember Anne Hathaway's Penelope giving a speech that way she wasn't allowed to speak the way that she spoke to Tom Holland's character. Last time I checked Tom Holland's character threw her in the in the jail cell for talking the way that she did and that that's basically what what happened but she she had a whole spiel about you know how she you know she had to hold it down and though I respect it because it's modern I'm more like back in the day that wouldn't have happened. That wouldn't have happened. She's still queen she's still his mother so I mean it makes sense but the but let's be honest back in the day the man's rule would have through that that would have that wouldn't have happened we I mean sure but I even then it's not his throne so and she's saying what I know I'm just saying what I know I'm just saying what I know she's the one that issues the challenge in the book they when did when do they throw her in the prison are we sure that's correct yeah there's a there's okay think about this there's multiple interpretations of the Homer's Odyssey right right it was made 200 years ago so there's a there's a version of it where there's a version of a book of that Odyssey where she gets out of line he throws her in jail and that she basically stays in jail to rethink her whatever she was supposed to do and he makes her find a suitor and then that's when she does the the axe thing and everything that sounds terrible. Yeah see but that's what I'm saying like there's different interpretations and that's why I'm saying like this interpretation it fits perfectly because it is you know it's for a modern audience and that's something that you know modern audiences would have you know I believe would resonate with more modern audiences than being like shut your ass up take her ass to jail like imagine if Tom Holland was just like just like keeping his pimp hand strong on his mama that'd be crazy. You can't do that can't do that in a modern movie nowadays.

SPEAKER_01 41:12

And Hathaway bro having not seen her I mean I I I didn't see the Devil Wars product 2. Okay. So so this is like my first time seeing her back in like her bag she does great her and Matt Damon really put this bitch on their back because holy fuck it was great. I gotta say she does really good yeah she does really good I like they her and Matt Damon's like scene together towards the end really almost made me tear up because I was like holy shit they are fucking doing wonders right now okay we're gl we're glazing but I gotta go back to giving some some bad points here.

SPEAKER_00 41:54

So one of the other things too and this has to go with the whole the we're going back to the whole no gods thing right how can we have the cyclops in the movie but no Poseidon how can we have a cyclops in the movie but no gods like no actual gods I feel like for me if we would have had the gods or at least I mean obviously not show Poseidon Poseidon you don't have to but if there was a little bit more emphasis that they're real lightning something like that like there was actual mythological creatures but not the gods so to me that's just like why why would we have those things happening the witch turning the animals and all that turning the the soldiers into animals and stuff it's like why do we have stuff like that but not those things why because you just need the spectacle for the movie fine fair but you can't take certain out like that that's not I don't think that's how it works you just took out his old daddy you just that was his old daddy and you took him out he wanted he wanted the realism so bad but he was also just like fuck I can't leave out the keynotes of this movie because then people are gonna be like what the fuck is this so that is that is I didn't even think about that but that is a problem yeah yeah that was like I said I like seeing them yeah but how much better would it have been if they went into the cave or whatever of Scylla and she's this big fucking serpent eel looking thing or whatever and she's just wiping out the six men that she needs before they come back on the outside and we you know they start arguing with each other or whatever. No but we couldn't go into the cave we actually just had to just do it was a it was a drive by you know we had the sirens too which we couldn't see them to have seen we would have actually loved to have seen sirens or something like that. That would have been cool but like nothing like that happened. So that I do feel like you can't have your cake and eat it too with certain things like that because you know it's more it goes Hand in hand, you have to have it, but again, that's where like that inconsistency to the whole bigger picture kind of like it just makes it work for some reason, but like I do, I do that is a noticeable absent for me. Um yeah, I there wasn't a lot of fight scenes in this movie either. Which I mean, granted, I mean, I talked to you about this off pod as well, but like you know, I I'm not a fan of Nolan's clunky fighting. Like, I always feel like that's you know, that's his style too, where like his fighting is a little bit more slower than what we you know than what I guess as a modern audience is used to, you know, hand-to-hand combats are usually a lot more quicker when it comes down to Nolan films, they're a lot more slower, a little bit more clunky, you know, movements are a little bit uh a little bit more aggressive, but you could tell that they're I don't want to say they're staged, but you know, you could tell like they're preparing for something else and stuff like that. So um I was hoping to see a little bit of gladiator of Nolan's gladiator vision, and uh, we didn't get none of that shit. So I was kind of like fuck.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

Yeah. I mean if I had a favorite, it's obviously the ending, but I did enjoy the fucking the land of the giants when they were just fucking everyone up. I thought that shit was cool. Okay, but yeah, you're right. I don't think he unfortunately just can't do it. And like it's like movie, it's like what you expect a real human fight to get happen, but that's that's again, that's another downfall.

SPEAKER_00 45:35

He wants realism so bad, he lets it all go, and it's just like uh, and you know, maybe the realism is the part of the movie that we're supposed to pay attention to. I don't know. I don't know. Um, yeah. Um don't want to touch on that. No, I think that's basically it. I think that's basically all my gripes when I have to this movie. Um, I know some people were like, oh, the characters, you know. I I don't and I don't endorse this, but this is why I was, you know, I was I was seeing, you know, people were saying like Zendaya makes that face all the time. That's her face. I swear to God, you know. Um, you know, people were saying things about the actors, you know. I was even worried about Travis Scott. Okay, I was worried about Travis Scott. Uh but everybody, you know, he wasn't even half bad. I in the beginning, I do feel like he was kind of reading off a script, but then he got a little bit better as like the the movie kept going on. That's what I'm saying. I feel like Nolan actually picked a good time to drop Elliott Page to make sure to drop Travis Scott. You know, it's kind of in the beginning when you're getting used to the film and getting into that immersion. So it's nice that he put all those things in the beginning just to basically get it out the way. Let's get this shit out the way. You know, understand that, yeah, it's weird to you, but you're gonna fucking love them in this movie. And I gotta be honest, it worked. It worked. It worked. Um, Josh, if that's about it, give us your final take on this film. Your rating from one to ten, ten being the best, one being the worst, five being in the middle.

SPEAKER_01 47:18

Um so Christopher Nolan's Odyssey is something that I was looking forward to, although reluctant in certain areas, because if you know his style, you know what you're getting into. But on paper, this is this should work, and this all should be sound, and you should applaud him for the things that he does with the 70 millimeter cameras. I mean, I he I think he said he destroyed like two of them. Um and then like what he does practically and all that stuff, and like yes, praise him, but don't praise him for the bad stuff, like not reading the book, only taking the cliff notes. John Liguzamo apparently is the only one on the fucking in that whole movie on the set that read the book. And I unfortunately that is just that's just something you don't want to hear. You know what I mean? If this was if this was comic book stuff, you'd be very upset about the motherfuckers not reading comics, you know what I mean? Right. So he doesn't get a pass for that, unfortunately. I mean, I like it. I'd watch it again. I'd I think I'd give it like eight out of ten.

SPEAKER_00 48:21

Okay, okay. Okay. Um, I I gotta say, I agree with you. I agree with you. I think that's just my biggest gripe with this. Uh, when I walked into the Odyssey, I was expecting the Odyssey, not, you know, Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, right? Um, and that was just my that was just my gripe with this whole film. I do enjoy the film. I love the film. I think the film is great. I think he does a great job behind the camera. I think the actors do an amazing job, Matt Damon. I think they make this movie, and the like I said, the best way to put it is that there's the Odyssey, and then there's Christopher Nolan's The Modern Odyssey, right? Um, and you know, a lot of the stuff that they touch on in the Modern Odyssey is a lot of the things that I would assume, you know, my generation, maybe like the younger generation, are you know very much more excited to see than what you know the previous generation was excited to see, right? Because back then, um, you know, it was all about the glory. Nowadays it's all about the you know, yeah, have the glory, but remember all the trauma that you basically went through on top of that, right? Um, so it's it's a good take. I do like the film, it's it's well put together, but again, it's not comics accurate, and it does not get a pass. It does not, it's unfortunate. It does not. I give it an 8.5. Um, I don't give it, I give it that 0.5 only because, like I said, the actors knock it out the fucking park. Except for John Berthall. I don't want to say fuck you, but I don't want to say fuck you, John Berthall, but you better make it up to me. That is crazy that you you got put in Nolan's movie and you decide to act like yourself. Do better. Do better than that. But other than that, um, like I said, the Nolan's refusal to actually put uh gods in the movie, John Berthal's performance, and I have to say the inaccuracies to the to the book has to hurt the film uh for me, but everything else has to be as oh Hannah's writing. And should I make it an 8? No, 8.5. I won't say his writing's uh atrocious, but geez, get it get somebody to look over your paper, please, at least. Um oh one more thing really quick, and this is just out of curiosity on my part before we wrap this up, Josh. Uh when you were watching the Odyssey, did like did you get like you know, did you get jump scared a few times with the with the audio? Like I felt like there was like parts where when they were speaking, it was really like you had to pay attention because the audio was kind of low, but then when like the the speakers boomed, it was like right after, like you're hearing them talk, it's a little, it's not like super loud, it's kind of like in the room, kind of like, yeah, you can hear, you just gotta really pay attention. And then, like, as soon as the next scene comes in, it's like a splash of water and like the boat, and then there's like it's a like I don't know if you felt that in the theater.

SPEAKER_01 51:33

But it was loud, you can very much tell, like, some audio mixing needed to be redone, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 51:39

Okay, yeah, all right. So, not just me, but yeah, it did get me a couple times because I was like, Fuck, dude. I was over there just trying up a little bit because I'm just like, what are they saying, bro? Like, they're saying they're talking, they're saying a lot, but I'm like, I could, you know, you gotta really focus. And so I started focusing, and then when I start focusing, that's when big old shits are happening. I'm just like, dude, come on, man. No, no, I know better. I know he's not in the movie, you know. Yeah, uh, but let us know what you guys think. Check out the Odyssey if you haven't, and if you have, let us know your thoughts on the movie. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Uh, do you would you want a sequel to this whole idea? Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Part 2. I don't know. I just yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:29

I mean what you guys think sequel would be a prequel. They need to do the Iliad now.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

Huh? They could. They could, they could. That means we would have to get a whole Elliot Page movie then.

SPEAKER_01 52:42

Oh, yeah, that would be about that, huh? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know about that one. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 52:49

Can he immerse us that much? We'll have to wait to see. We'll have to wait to see Josh. Let him know where they can tell us about topics that we should be talking about, movies that they want us to review, TV shows. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 53:03

Twitter, TikTok, Instagram at filmballs podcast, post on episodes where up. You can hit us up there for any news or movies you want us to cover, but's probably in the social side. Be part of the conversation, twitch at filmbus podcast, and we saw send down and subscribe to YouTube at film or podcast.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

And with that being said, we'll talk to you guys on the next one.

SPEAKER_01 53:28

Talk to you guys later. Perfect.