I have finally watched The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan, and I am totally awed by the experience. The Odyssey is not your typical Nolan film; this time, he completely flipped his style. When he decided to make this film, he was faced with his greatest challenge: telling a story that is already known across the world while reimagining it in his own style—the Nolan style—without compromising the story. And you know what? Nolan may be the only person who could pull it off. He proved it once again.
Nolan is a very original filmmaker. He doesn't compromise on the quality of his films, and he does the same with The Odyssey, except this time he became obsessed (who am I kidding—way too obsessed) with creating an experience. The ensemble cast and their performances are phenomenal, the screenplay and writing are solid, but the sound and visuals are what leave you spellbound. They are beyond anything I have seen or heard. He slowly draws you into the world of Odysseus. The IMAX cameras were used in the best possible way to capture phenomenal shots, and the sound felt like I was experiencing an opera. (Ludwig Göransson is phenomenal—check out the Odyssey OST.)
The Odyssey is a well-known story, and it came with so many limitations, but somehow Nolan worked his magic within that narrow horizon by reimagining the entire epic. The most interesting part is that, despite The Odyssey being a mythological story, Nolan surprisingly focused on realism rather than CGI-heavy spectacle. If you look back at any mythology or fantasy film, there is usually a line distinguishing imagination from reality, but Nolan has somehow managed to erase that line with his gripping realism. We all know how much Nolan hates CGI; he goes to great lengths to avoid it.
I consider The Odyssey to be the most technically difficult movie ever made. In a contemporary world where films are filled with the superfluous use of CGI, Nolan refuses to yield and instead creates a masterful work the old-school way. To create such gripping realism in a mythology film takes guts, and I hold Chris Nolan in the utmost reverence for this feat.
And to those throwing baseless criticism, you are watching The Odyssey through the wrong lens. Change your lens. Question the making of every shot you see, and you'll truly witness the unprecedented work unfolding in front of your eyes.
If you want to truly experience it and at least understand it without getting lost, please do some homework on Greek mythology and the epic itself. Personally, thanks to the Percy Jackson books I've read and the movie Troy that I watched, I had no problem following the characters.
Do your homework—here's a quick image on who's who.
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