PRAISE: Last year i watched The Return which is also based on The Odyssey but it was minus all of the mythology and I still thought it was very good. This version by Director Christopher Nolan has all of the bells and whistles. Nolan knows he has to take a well known story thats been translated to movies and a TV mini series and make it seem knew and I think he does it to a T in his 2026 film. From the Trojan Horse to an encounter with a cyclops he makes it a harrowing experience putting his own spin on well known portions of the story and i was pulled in by the changes and experiences. The cast a who's who of Hollywood: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal and Zendaya do a great job for the most part, displaying a lot of raw emotion, anger and frustration. Casting complaints are much ado about nothing. The choices were really not that distracting. One of the joys were the unexpected happening and how it would play out in this version. Theres a few horrific moments and the way they are shot was so close up that it actually made me wince and cringe in my seat. There are all the right amounts of tension especially with the suitors laying in wait for Penelope the loyal and loving wife of Odysseus. I thought the moments of regret, longing and some PTSD worked well in the film. I was in high anticipation for the comeuppance moments because sinister characters were portrayed really well. I was locked in for the most part and its really good filmmaking here that was very involving.
PROBLEMS: Some of the use of modern dialogue felt clunky at times. Its funny to see actors and actresses do so much worldwide press for a movie and they are barely in it. Some of the performances were kind of vacant as if the actors said: Hey im just here to read these lines and move on with my life and i can say i was in a Nolan movie.
Scale of 1 to 10 an 8½
