Unbowed

Hades is real and eerie, Polyphemus was scary but childlike, Circe is nearly justified and perform an incredible body-horror scene, the Laestrygonians were ruthless, and Calypso is warned through lighting and thunder to let Odysseus go. This is all text in the film (Nolan is rightly criticized for being one of the most unsubtle directors there is), so I don’t know how people see all of this and think Zendaya’s Athena was ambiguous or up for imagination lol Hell, the film even lets you believe that Poseidon punishes them personally.

There are aspects of the film that I did not particularly rate (mainly Calypso, and Nolan’s still not great at directing hand to hand combat), but the choice to tie the narrative with the Trojan war, the hospitality and treatment of strangers that held a society together, and how war and deceit corrupts that very thin fabric and leads so many to their demise is so inspired. Troy is like an “original sin”, the fundamental monstrous deceit, and everything comes back to it. A rare take. A mirror to Oppenheimer.

Also, I think this was a very compassionate portrayal of Helen, I don’t remember this type of perspective of her in any adaptation.

For all we complain abt Nolan’s incapability to portray women as fully people, I think his perspective here on women in societies that rage war uncaringly is interesting and poignant. No gratuitous scene of anything but he makes you understand Circe, a feat.

Also, Nolan does not fool me, I see that he tried to ignore the Iliad as much as he could, but I see Aeneid all over it old man!

Good adaptation, interesting perspectives, and a clear vision of what he wanted to convey. Clearly modern takes, makes the epic very actual.

Not sure if this is my favorite from him yet, but is up there.