The Odyssey leaves more questions than it answers

As a history teacher and lifelong avid mythology and hiytory enthusiast I really looked forward for Nolan to make this movie. However, I was a bit taken aback by the first glimpses into the movie, seeing the art choices etc. After watching the trailers and seeing the hype I decided to watch for myself soI can makle up my mind about the movie.. Altough I can see why a lot of people enjoyed it, there were some issues I encountered which leave me with somewhat of a mixed feeling.

I will ignore anything with costumes, art etc. as this is quite subjective. I also won't go into historic authenticity, it has been debated to death.

The GOOD:

I actually enjoyed the pacing. There were very few scenes which dragged a bit, other than that the movie felt like smooth sailing despite its length. It has the most important parts of Odysseus' journey and managed to condense them so it fits the movie, e.g. the cyclops bit. I didn't mind the missing "I am nobody" exclamation, even tough I do think it would add weight to Odysseus' character as a cunning liar (which he is not at all in Nolan's interpretation). Circe, Calypso, the Hades, the monsters etc. were in and not blown out of proportion in relation to the other plot elements. So, well done.

The idea with the Greeks being the real Sea Peoples was a very good tie-in of actual history to the mythology and the poem. This I enjoyed the most actually. Its a fresh twist to the original story and actually not too far off. I could see Homer being influenced by their legend, as is evident in many parts of his original poem(s).

The acting of most actors was spot-on. Especially Pattinson as Antinous and Hathaway as Penelope stand out. Matt Damon is good, too, as well as Eumaeus (Leguizamo). Only Zendaya falls off in my opinion, but then again, she didn't have a lot to go from.

The theme: Breaking Zeus' Law (Xenia) leads to the downfall of our civilization. Also, a fresh take on the OG Odyssey and one which makes sense from a moral psoition. Yes, obviously, our society is made up of written and unwritten rules and moral axioms which, if broken, destroy said society. It's a nice mirror for the viewers to re-evaluate our behaviour and ideally, better ourselves. Here's to hoping...

The Bad:

Stealing The Trojan Horse:

For me, the most irritating was that the Trojan Horse, and therefore Odysseus, being the original culprit of breaking Zeus' Law. Ehm...no? I'm aware that this relates to the wider theme of Odysseus wanting to fight fairly, his bow-strumming etc. BUT: The Trojans themselves decided to haul the thing inside their walls. Not even Sinon tries to convince them to do so in the movie. So the whole premise for Odysseus' guilt-tripping himself is faulty at best. One could argue that it was divine punishment that befell the Trojans for wanting to have the gift intended for Athena as their personal trophy.

Calypso is the lamest lover:

She mentions that she's in love with Odysseus. Either I was blind or Charlize Theron is a bad actress. Neither of which is true, btw. But inside the movie, nothing hints at her infatuation. She rather comes across as someone who enjoyed Odysseus company (for 7 years!) and then, all of a sudden, tells him to keep his hand off the lotus fruit and go home. ???? Paint me irritated. There is no development at all. Did she finally want to hear his story in full (again: after 7 long years? This Odysseus dude must be a heck of a lover)?

The Sea Peoples in plain sight:

I already said that including the Sea Peoples was great. But then Nolan goes and basically states that Odysseus and his crew ARE the Sea Peoples in....minute 5. Bummer. Can't you build up the suspense? This severely weakens Odysseus' big revealing monologue at the end because we already know that. Every mention of them from then on feels like a recurring inside joke.

"We thought you were the peoples from the sea"

"No, good Sir, we are Greeks."

Maybe the Sea Peoples are the friends we made along the way.

Circe hates men:

...and she can have good and valid reasons to do so. But the implementation of her "arc" was as sloppy as Ithacan eating habits for my taste. Eurylochos comes and asks nicely and gently for food. Every other crew member follows her orders, there is no agression. They behave perfectly polite. But apparently that's enough for them to be turned into pigs. I see how that fits with their past behaviour and general theme, no issue there. But come on, this was sloppy. How about changing their first encounter to Eurylochos and friends being the very "seapeople-y" marauders she fears. Her ability to master the situation and turns these agressive raiders into pigs would make her character far stronger and more cunning than what Nolan did. The stakes would also be higher for Odysseus when he comes around to save them. Also: the whole crew saw the overgrown, discarded armor from 50+ people in her backyard - yet no one cares? Come on. These are war veterans, not Helen Kellers.

Odysseus Ultimate Smackdown:

The fight scene is just over the top. You're telling me that in a room full of suitors (50+) in their prime, it occurs to no one to bumrush this Odysseus beggar and his ranged weapon? Instead, they come, mostly one after the other, to get their fair share of poky red holes from a revitalized houseowner. Also, only Antinous has the self-preservation sense of hiding behing a solid object. Bonus: Also announcing, every 3 seconds, which weapons were donated by the rich patrons of Ithacas Hunger Games.

The End of the Bronze Age as we know it:

At the end of the movie, Nolan really came at me swinging. I barely recovered from Odysseus impression of Batman: Arkham Knight minutes before when I heard that he's preeeeeeetty sure the "Bronze Age" is collapsing. First of all? How do you know its THE bronze age? A term coind in the 20th century? Also, where are all those bronze weapons and tools in the movie? The soldiers use iron already!

He also mentions that writing will disappear, almost in passing. Have I missed something? The writing aspect wasn't mentioned throughout the whole movie, not even allusions to it. This was absolutely unnecessary. One could've written a better "civilization is doomed" monologue without breaking immersion.

[[ The UGLY:

The dialogues.

There are at times good, even awesome (monologues), but mostly they are forgettable and immersion-breaking. I know writing is not Nolans strong suit, but he can do better.

Return of the Bomb-Man:

The whole theme of the movie feels like Oppenheimer 2.0. While Oppenheimer was a phenomenal movie, we don't need to watch it again set in Bronze Age Greece. Odysseus doesn't need to have PTSD. Maybe make a movie about a man who suffers from his own hybris, and is therefore punished by the gods? ]]

There are more logical flaws in the movie, but I think that was more than enough to drive the point across. In the end, it's a good concept of a movie that is -at times- deserving better.

Still a 6.5/10 in my opinion, but I suspect my love for Nolan movies does the heavy lifting here.