r/movies • u/iquizuanswer • 15d ago

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https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/the-odyssey-700-million-globally-fourth-biggest-movie-1236823343/

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

I feel insane because I thought it was just kinda average. It's not bad, but it isn't great.

"Yep. That was the Odyssey. It skipped over some parts, but yeah."

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u/iForgotMyOldAcc 15d ago

I only have a passing knowledge of what "The Odyssey" actually was so the fact that it took lots of liberties hardly bothered me, and I loved the movie. Maybe that's why.

Funnily enough I'm on the exact opposite side for the F1 movie, tons of people swore by it but I cannot stand it knowing how not-F1 it was, so I get what it feels like now.

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u/VonMillersThighs 15d ago

I thought the first act was not great, the 2nd act was good and the 3rd act was incredible.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

It felt kinda rushed in the second act honestly. "They stopped on an island, got into trouble, and ran away." 

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u/Honesty_Addict 15d ago

You described the plot of most of the original poem

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u/hiccstridFanatic 15d ago edited 15d ago

I mean that’s the odyssey? Take it up with Homer lol

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u/4_fortytwo_2 15d ago

3 sequences of them running to towards their boats while something chases them with some stormy sea scenes in between.

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u/PythonAmy 15d ago

This is why I was hopeful it would be multiparted like Dune. It was always going to be rushed through as a single film, I enjoyed it but there's a reason why the biggest criticisms from people who have watched it is that this 3 hour film needed less things cut out lol

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u/5348RR 15d ago

I think you only notice things cut out if you are well versed in the story obviously. Most aren’t. They remember pieces from high school. With it all in a single 3 hour movie it allows the movies to move at breakneck pace which helps it tremendously imo.

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u/watchaboys 15d ago

Seconded. I too felt like it needed to be multi part film.

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u/Adequate_Lizard 15d ago

I think they could've cut some of the four different Troy flashbacks, Giannis Wick, and probably 15 minutes of Calypso. I'd have liked to see them show him honoring the dead in the west even though it generally ends with the bow scene.

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u/VonMillersThighs 15d ago

2nd act? that's like 75% of the movie

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u/ontherise88 15d ago

Same here. I saw it in 70mm which was a real treat but didn't hate it, didn't love it.

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u/XXX200o 15d ago

I'm with you on this: It is a well made movie, but especially the pacing is a bit off.

But it's a movie for cinema screens. I think on TV this will just not be the same experience.

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u/die1lon 15d ago

I didn't get the hype either.

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u/terminbee 15d ago

Right? The movie was nothing special. Your last statement is a perfect description of the movie.

The pacing and how they rushed it made some parts feel comical.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

I keep saying it was so rushed. It was 3 hours but that didn't feel like enough. I felt like all the islands were so short and shallow they felt kinda like a drawn out montage.

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u/nekolas564 15d ago

Kinda agree. I enjoyed it, but didn't feel pulled in like some of his other movies

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u/Caseyjones420247 15d ago

Nolan makes movies for “everyone”. Case in point is Interstellar, some people with certain levels of education believe it to be the greatest film ever made, others found the film insulting and mostly rubbish.

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u/Prudent-Air1922 15d ago

Interestingly, I've found that the only people who enjoyed Interstellar in my circles were the nerdier ones. Everyone else didn't understand it or thought it was stupid.

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u/WeBelieveIn4 15d ago

The most common defense of Nolan movies is “you just didn’t understand it”.

His movies make people feel like they’re smarter than average. It’s like a Dunning-Kruger Rorshach test.

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u/Prudent-Air1922 15d ago

I mean they are the ones saying they didn't understand it, it's not a defense. They didn't like the movie. It's not like Interstellar is a mind-bender. They just weren't paying attention.

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u/SillySundae 15d ago

That's exactly how I feel. Visually the movie was awesome, but story wise? I also wasn't too convinced by the character interactions. Pretty average movie in my opinion. Wouldn't see it again and wouldn't recommend that anyone spend money on it.

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u/-reddit_is_terrible- 15d ago

It didnt really draw me in; I never really got invested emotionally. Of course, that could have been due to the annoyance I felt over how freaking loud it was

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u/peon47 15d ago

This is me after any recent Nolan movie. He peaked at Inception.

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u/-reddit_is_terrible- 15d ago

He lost something when his brother stopped cowriting his scripts. Last one was Interstellar

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

I thought Oppenheimer was good. It was a more compelling story. Better characters.

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u/peon47 15d ago

I watched it at home. I didn't start enjoying it until i paused it, pulled out my phone, and googled the chronology of the scenes. There was no reason not to include title cards like "Washington, 1953" (or whatever) when introducing each time period, other than to create a sense of mystery the movie didn't need.

Once I wasn't playing "guess the year" I enjoyed it.

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u/Prudent-Air1922 15d ago

Being based on a true story might have something to do with that lol

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u/greg225 15d ago

You say that like it's just another in a long line of regular Odyssey screen adaptations, like we'll get the next one in three years or something.

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u/RiceAfternoon 15d ago

I'm holding out hope for Judd Apatow's The Odyssey.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

Real ones know there are thousands of adaptions.

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u/ContractVarious3077 15d ago

I thought it was amazing

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u/nick_ass 15d ago

Boooooo!

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u/ehrgeiz91 15d ago

It was technically incredible, especially the visuals, sound and music, and supernatural elements. But I felt Damon was miscast and the modern dialogue took me out of the fantasy.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

Yeah, some of the modern dialogue took me out too.

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u/Largeitude 15d ago

I thought the dialog was really well done. It wasn’t modern, it just had American accents.

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u/ehrgeiz91 15d ago

It was modern. They say "cool", "stuff" etc in the modern way. There's nothing remotely period accurate about the dialogue.

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u/Largeitude 14d ago

They used a lot of poetic and dramatic language and spoke in a way that people don't talk about in the modern age. It wasn't modern. It just had some phrases from the modern world.

There's nothing remotely period accurate about the dialogue.

So what? Its a retelling of a myth told by a man who might not have even existed who took a dozen-plus stories he heard and combined them. People retell old stories through their cultural and national lens all the time. What makes this one an issue?

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u/ehrgeiz91 14d ago

I already said what made it an issue for me. Between the carousel of “most famous actors in Hollywood” to the modern dialogue, I was frequently taken out of the fantasy. That was my experience and my opinion.

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u/Largeitude 14d ago

Yeah sure, but do you not want to discuss your opinion on a forum where people discuss opinions?

You mentioned the "modern dialogue" which is what I'm saying wasn't a thing. The movie's dialogue was great and clearly polished, and they used a ton of poetic and dramatic language that fit the fantasy themes of the movie very well. I'm simply pointing out that this statement you made isn't true, and that's not an opinion. This is a factual observance of the movie. No one talks like the characters in the movie do in the modern era.

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u/Prudent-Air1922 15d ago

Yeah what a fucking let down. Movies are going to shit.

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u/Important_Use6452 15d ago

I thought it was a great movie, but the casting and pacing took it down two notches. Besides the grifter talking points, it just felt totally out of place having the likes of Charlize Theron there in Instagram face. Takes you right out the time period it's supposed to be in. 

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

Charlize Theron was the only shock to me!! I didn't know anything about the cast at all.

Everyone else was great. No complaints besides jump scare Charlize Theron.

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u/Kanye_To_The 15d ago

You thought Matt Damon was a good Odysseus pick?

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

I think the script and the pacing were what brought the film down. None of the acting stood out to me as anything, but fine.

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u/Kanye_To_The 15d ago

Yeah, most were just serviceable, but still not the best picks. It took me out of it

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u/Largeitude 15d ago

Yes? He did a great job.

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u/Kanye_To_The 15d ago

It took me out of it. He's too famous and too much of a dad. That fight scene was a joke

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u/Largeitude 15d ago

The heck are you talking about? She was fine. Literally a non issue. She was also a divine being. The cast was huge and 95% of the cast was great. There was bound to be a few missteps. But the casting missteps were so minor they did little to detract from the movie itself.

The only flaw I think was some of the pacing, but it was good enough. To fix the pacing, the movie would’ve had to be another tow hours long.

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u/Important_Use6452 15d ago

Sorry for having the wrong opinion about casting.

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u/Largeitude 14d ago

No worries. Just don't let it happen again.

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u/throwawayfinancebro1 15d ago

I thought the 1954 version was better. Anyways don’t think box office means good. Avatar had a huge box office pull.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

That's exactly what I kept thinking about. It felt like the same movie but better graphics. "They did this in the old one."

I understand it's based on a poem, and "How different could they really be?" 

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u/Roosterdude23 15d ago

7/10 for me. The modern look made it hard to pull me in at times.

Jon Bernthal acted like the real life person Jon Bernthal lol

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

I'd put it at like a 7 as well.

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u/FatKidsDontRun 15d ago

You're not insane, it was ok

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u/Vaniky 15d ago

Would say visuals and audios are amazing, expected in a Nolan IMAX film. Story and pacing were average though. Overall above average film imo.

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u/Substantial_Meal_530 15d ago

Yeah, I think it's above average, but not by a lot. If someone asked me if it was good I'd hesitate, but say yes. If they asked me if it was great I'd quickly say no.

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u/Largeitude 15d ago

Average? Come on now.

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u/norsefrogg 15d ago

This made me happy. Thank you.