Film Review: "The Odyssey"

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is a gutsy reimagining of Homer’s epic poems. His shaggy god story also samples Virgil’s tales of brave Ulysses. You’ll see the Cyclops, the Trojan Horse, Circe, Scylla and Charybdis. Scary monsters! Angry gods! Sweaty Greeks! Step right up! 

But Nolan’s movie isn’t a clip show of Homer’s greatest hits. Odysseus’ return voyage to Ithaca fuses the episodes into a story. Homecoming was the spine of Homer's original story, natch. In Nolan’s retelling, the story now builds. It's now character-based storytelling. And not just Odysseus’s character. 

The movie’s crowded with unique individuals. They all change, not always for the better. Odysseus changes most of all. He’s not just coming home and taking back what’s his. He’s reclaiming his own humanity after perpetrating war crimes. See what the director/screenwriter did there? 

Nolan’s pulled a clever bait-and-switch.

“The Odyssey” starts out as a homecoming saga.

Presto-chango! 

It's an anti-war parable. 

“Zeus Law” is the secret of Nolan's switcheroo. It’s based on “xenia” — the sacred hospitality ancient Greeks owde strangers in a strange land. A good host should welcome them, feed them, clothe them, and above all, don’t kill them. They might be gods in disguise. The flip side? Guests shouldn’t pig out, abuse their welcome, double-dip, or kill their hosts. 

That's a valid Homeric concept. Zeus was the protector of strangers and guests. So, it’s his law. Nolan just gave it a name — and hoped the audience would miss his sleight of hand.

Magic aside, the movie’s themes are simple:

Be kind to strangers in your homeland.

Don’t kill strangers in their homelands.

These are Nolan’s themes, not Homer and Virgil’s. It's not his only change.

Homeric culture wasn’t Woodstock. It was a warrior culture. Hierachical, patriarchial, sexist, violent, nasty, poor, brutish and short. Genocide was something to sing about. Peace love and understanding wasn’t the Greek way. 

"Zeus' Law"  was fine print. "Kill them all, let the gods sort it out" was the main commandment. Homer’s Odysseus was a cocky, boastful bastard from start to finish. He's the better killer — and proud of it. Nolan's Odysseus repents. The sack of Troy fills him with guilt. Unlike Homer's hero, he learns his lesson. Fine by me.

Nolan’s “Odyssey” is multicultural. So what? Peter Brook’s "Mahabarata," was too. I’m cool with that. And all his other changes.

Homer's epic is bulletproof. It survives endless reinvention. It's a sacred homecoming story — and it launched a thousand stories. James Joyce's "Ulysees" made it the tale of a cuckolded Jewish ad salesman. "O Brother Where Art Thou?" turned it into a redneck odyssey. Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" blasted it into outer space, infinity and beyond. Nolan's earthbound "Odyssey" makes a lot of strange changes. That's not my beef.

The movie's too damn long. It's just that simple.

Nolan's film clocks in at 2 hours and 52 minutes. The scenes are spectacular. But they go on and on and on. The pacing drags. The flashbacks have flashbacks. The story wanders, meanders, goes off course. Enough already! Get on with it!

Don't get me wrong ...

Nolan's "Odyssey" is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.  His long, strange trip is well worth taking. 

But it's just too damn long.