Christopher Nolan don drop im new film, The Odyssey, wey dey burst cinemas with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Holland. But one thing wey never cross my mind before I see am: dat Trojan horse bin dey smell bad inside. Nolan no leave any detail small, and im action big well-well. Dis film na epic, full scope and ambition.
You fit think say Homer‘s old poem na just corner stone for Western literature, or na school wahala wey you dread. But Nolan im adaptation na pure action-adventure blockbuster, no be classics lesson. And na the purest Christopher Nolan wey we sabi. Odysseus join im line of heroes wey get moral wahala, from Batman wey dey fight for justice to Oppenheimer wey get conscience for atom bomb.
Homer im digressions fit Nolan taste for clear, non-linear story. The Odyssey dey loop back and forth for time as e dey tell how Odysseus spend nearly ten years to return to im kingdom of Ithaca after winning Trojan War. The build-up to dis film long like Odysseus journey – you remember when tickets bin dey sell one year before? Nolan remember.
Whoever Matt Damon play, you always see say im characters dey think. And for here, e dey im action, reflective Jason Bourne best as Odysseus, a mortal wey dey interact with gods and monsters, and sometimes act like god. A warrior wey no dey hesitate to put sword for enemy, e eventually face consequences of godlike choices wey determine fate of im men. E no dey above lying. And for journey wey take am to hell and back, for underworld of Hades, prophet Tiresias tell am to choose between sailing to whirlpool Charybdis where all im men go die, or monster Scylla wey go kill only six. E secretly choose for dem.
Damon carry action and moral weight of film, and e dey mesmerising through all turns. For one explosive set piece after another, Nolan use im IMAX cameras to show scale of Odysseus journey and how powerless mortals be next to gods. Plenty of film happen for sapphire-blue sea, with wide horizon and big cliffs wey dwarf boat wey carry Odysseus and im men. Film dey so immersive wey we feel like we dey inside boat with dem.
Big action scenes dey just as immersive – each sword, spear and arrow perfectly choreographed. Dem sequences even more impressive because Nolan rely on practical effects, with small CGI. Battle of Troy show for two episodes: first when Odysseus and im men drop out of horse. For one stunning scene near end, e recall battle for all im fury as we see buildings collapse and violence wey e call ‘fires, anarchy and pain’. Filmed for real cave, sequence where giant Cyclops bite off soldiers head dey harrowing. And like all action scenes, e get point: to show Odysseus cleverness for plotting dem escape.
Nolan stock cast with leading actors wey dey willing to take small parts for am. Next to Odysseus, all na small roles, but dem deliver with passion. Anne Hathaway stand out as im wife, Penelope, no patient shrinking violet here. A savvy queen wey suitors surround for throne, she get irate outbursts about her perilous situation. Her intimate conversation with husband before e leave her and dem infant son for war na the kind of stirring emotional scene wey film fit use more.
Tom Holland role as dem coming-of-age son, Telemachus, dey underwritten. But John Leguizamo dey touching as blind swineherd loyal to Odysseus. Robert Pattinson make Penelope main suitor, Antinous, arrogant and wily, and Samantha Morton dey chilling as witch Circe. Zendaya serenely flit in and out as empathetic goddess Athena. Even stars wey appear for small time get some meaty scenes, like Lupita Nyong’o, beautiful and angry as devastated Helen of Troy and her murderous sister, Clytemnestra.
For Nolan swirling narrative, flashbacks dey spun out of memories and second-hand stories until nature of history and reality demself seem uncertain. And after small slow start with some clunky exposition for dialogue, pacing never flag and rest of three-hour run-time fly by. And for end, e get resonant moral for story. Zeus law, wey adapt to modern age as golden rule to treat others as you wish dem treat you, na major theme. Violating rule come back to haunt Odysseus, wey Nolan use to make film relatable. Film pointedly echo anxieties about world today as Odysseus look around and talk about civilisation for ruins wey must repair itself and remember say heroes suppose be honest as well as brave.
Almost. E easy to get caught up in sheer astounding immensity of spectacle. But e also true say action often mute emotional impact, wey be too little and become powerful too late. Oppenheimer, with im singular focus, still na Nolan most perfectly wrought film. But even with im flaws, The Odyssey so rich, so full of magic and humanity, wey I dey eager to see dis epic again. The Odyssey release for cinemas worldwide on 17 July.
