Video summary
The reviewer discusses Christopher Nolan's film *Oppenheimer*, noting its historical accuracy despite being a Greek myth about Odysseus. The movie explores themes of guilt and consequence through the protagonist's long journey home, drawing parallels to previous works like *Oppenheimer*. While some critics argue it lacks historical precision or focus on casting choices, the reviewer believes Nolan successfully adds nuance to this ancient story by highlighting moral complexities often overlooked in traditional retellings.
The film features an ensemble cast with standout performances from Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, though Tom Holland is considered slightly weaker due to competing against such strong talent. Memorable moments involving sirens and other mythological elements are highlighted as particularly relevant today, proving that these ancient tales remain engaging for modern audiences. The reviewer praises Nolan's ability to blend cosmic horror into the narrative, especially in scenes like his encounter with a witch-like figure who becomes one of their favorite sequences.
Technical aspects receive significant attention, with special emphasis on how 70mm IMAX enhances both visual scale and sound design, particularly during intense encounters like facing the Cyclops. Practical effects using mirrors create an awkward but impressive illusion that adds depth to certain scenes despite occasional clunkiness in execution. The reviewer commends Nolan for completing such a large-scale production within schedule constraints without needing reshoots, showcasing exceptional management skills rarely seen even among seasoned filmmakers working on television projects or other major films.
Ultimately, the film receives a rating of six out of seven stars as it stands above many others released this year but falls short compared to *Oppenheimer* in terms of pacing consistency and overall impact. While not personally ranked highest by the reviewer due to occasional narrative jumps dragging momentum slightly forward at times, he acknowledges its status among Nolan's greatest achievements while encouraging theater attendance for optimal experience rather than home viewing on phones or smaller screens where full immersion gets lost entirely away from big cinema environments designed specifically around immersive storytelling techniques employed throughout entire runtime spanning three hours total duration across multiple interconnected storylines woven together seamlessly into cohesive whole piece work resulting final product worthy admiration regardless personal preferences regarding specific directorial styles within broader context of contemporary filmmaking landscape today.
Read the full video transcript
Hey, so yeah, better late than ever, I
guess.
That's a hot mug, guy.
>> Apologies for taking so long to get
around to this movie. I actually did see
it opening night and then I saw it again
that Sunday. Both of those times were in
70 mm IMAX. Incredible experiences.
Oddly enough, the kind of the back and
forth about this movie has been
interesting. Whether you go from people
who are talking about it not being
historically accurate despite the fact
that it is a Greek myth are the people
who are getting buttth hurt about the
casting and being woke go broke and go
pulse constantly being moved in terms of
this film being a prophet. Odyssey is
something that has always been in the
back of my mind like whether it was
wishbone or uh watching these kid
versions of it. Obviously, everyone
always talks about Helen of Troy and the
battle of Troy and the Trojan horse, but
no one has talked as much about
Adysius's journey of him taking the
very, very, very, very long way home. I
feel that Nolan took a story that we
have been told thousands and thousands
and thousands of times and was able to
give a little bit of a nuance to it,
kind of emerging some of the what have I
done aspects that were so prevalent in
Oppenheimer and he's able to throw that
into Adysius's journey with everyone
doing pretty much a great job. Tom
Holland, I would almost say, is probably
one of the weaker ones, but that's
because he's working against fantastic
actors and everyone. Obviously, Matt
Damon, Anne Hathaway, and then Robert
Patson stealing the show. The memes from
this movie alone is nuts. As much as I
hate that this footage is everywhere
because, you know, it's been people like
using a phone. Get these beggars out of
here. the sirens. All of these moments
are showing just how memeable
and relevant and relatable some of these
uh parts of the story are because these
are ancient stories that Homer talked
about. The Odyssey is a com composition
of different stories put together into
one main narrative. Of course, there are
some elements that are very very much
different. Odysius isn't uh laying with
people and then having kids with them
like uh the witch, which by the way,
that scene in particular is probably my
favorite scene in the entire movie. The
fact that Nolan was able to meld into
some cosmic horror was pretty wild. I
actually think that's probably some of
the best he's done. The sound design and
everything else of the aspects of the
movie really are emulated by the 70 mm.
Not only just for the scale and the
size, but also for the sound. Hearing
the Cyclops was a an experience. Uh what
a wild sound design for him. But not to
say that there aren't some clunky
elements to this movie. I would almost
say coming back to the Cyclops scene,
obviously because they tried to do it
with practical and mirrors and all this
other stuff. You'll find out who that is
in a second. The Cyclops bit kind of
comes off a little awkward in some cases
because you can kind of feel like it's a
giant contraption that they're trying to
avoid.
Well, actually, you know what? Let's
spoil it now. Uh, yeah, we got a puppy.
This is Skye. Uh, once she gets a little
bigger, she might become a mascot, but
yeah, that's who you're going to be
hearing probably in videos from now on.
We're still trying to potty train her.
All right. All right. All right. All
right. All right.
Fool. Good jump. Something that Nolan
has proven is that he tries to do as
much as he can in camera. And you got to
give him credit because he keeps making
these movies on time. And having worked
on a bunch of television shows and a
bunch of projects, I've never seen
someone as good as Nolan in terms of
being able to finish his products. Like
the fact that he was able to do
Oppenheimer in the time that he had is
an amazement to me. A three-hour long
movie and he kept to the schedule. Like
they didn't have to do re-shoots. that
expertise of management and conveying
the story that he wants to tell is in
Odyssey. Of course, there are a couple
of those elements where Nolan's
inability to decipher sound from speech
is prevalent. Not tenant bad. I don't
think anything would ever be ten and
bad, but there are a few bits on the
boat where watching it the second time I
was like, "Nope, I still can't
understand a single word that was said
there." When it comes down to the brass
tax of it, Nolan made a movie that's
made for theaters. Like that's something
that I think we all can agree on. He's
done that with pretty much every movie.
Ex even Oppenheimer, which is a talking
movie, was a film that vastly benefited
from you seeing in the theaters. I love
watching my 4K copy of it, but it's
still not the same. And the Odyssey is
absolutely one that you should see in
theaters. It wouldn't be the same if you
watch it at home. Ted Santos can go [ __ ]
himself if he even dares to say that
watching The Odyssey on your phone would
be the same experience. As a film
itself, I think the Odyssey is
definitely one of Nolan's bigger
achievements. I think he's taken a lot
of the lessons that he's learned from
varying movies like Oenheimer to
Prestige to The Dark Knight Rises and
he's melding all those into this one
film. And while not everything is as
solid as it can be, there are a few bits
where the narrative jumps are where it
kind of drags and then also some of the
camera work, which I'm going to have to
say I can't fault anyone on the camera
design. The fact that they were able to
make the IMAX camera more usable by but
at the same time putting a giant box
around it and and like making it even
heavier than it already was. fan
phenomenal and again time. You only have
three minutes of film in each role for
the IMAX camera and he was able to keep
everything on time. I keep thinking
about the movie and while it's not my
favorite movie of the year, there are
still a few that are above it. It's a
film that I constantly keep thinking
about wondering how they did that and
how well they were able to articulate
this different version mode.
Particularly when the movie does come to
its end, I was like, "Wow." Actually, I
I can't say any other narrative that
I've seen that has that opinion or that
process of what have we done that The
Odyssey has, and I really appreciated
that. In the end, I'm going to give The
Odyssey a 6 out of seven, but I think
that was kind of a foregone conclusion.
I know some people have said it's their
favorite movie of the year, and I can
understand that. For me personally, it's
not. It's not even my favorite Nolan
movie. I still feel that Oppenheimer is
a much more solid film. That movie is
three hours long, but every minute of
that film is usable and needed, and the
pacing is fantastic, whereas Odyssey has
pretty decent pacing, but it does like
in a few moments here and there. Those
are my thoughts. Apologies again for
taking so damn long to get to this, but
I hope you guys enjoyed the video. If
you did, leave a like and if you're
interested more, subscribe. And until
then, I hope to be able to do more
videos quicker. But we're almost at the
end now of the height of my season and I
have been enjoying using the new camera.
It's just more so the setup and
everything else that takes the time. But
sorry again for taking so long, but I
hope you guys enjoyed this video and I
will see you guys next time.