Review 787: The Odyssey

Of all the auteur directors still working today, it's hard to find one that defies filmmaking conventions and takes my breath away more than Christopher Nolan. There's something about his films that while outwardly cold and detached, have a very humanist emotional centre that 

The story of Odysseus is one that  It is, essentially, the OG heroes journey. 

This is an epic fantasy film of overwhelming ambition, an Odyssey if you will (pun intended) of 

There's an almost post-modern feel to it in the way    and an almost David Lean influence that can be felt in the way Nolan stages the opening scenes. 

Throughout his journey, Odysseus has a couple  that function as almost angels on his shoulders and his conscious, they are his second-in-command Eurylochus (Hamish Patel) and the Goddess Athena (Zendaya). 

Once again, Nolan shows how adept he is at direction ensemble casts. Dear Gods, this film has a stacked cast including but not limited to, here we go: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson (at his most unpleasant), Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'O, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Hamish Patel, Samantha Morton, Will Yun Lee, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Jesse Garcia, Andrew Howard, Nick E. Tarabay, Elyes Gabel, Corey Hawkins, James Remar. Rather awesome.