:-)

I knew it was rated R but holy fuck did it get violent and grotesque, and I'm not at all saying this is a negative - I think it helped make some of the more fantastical elements work in a modern film because it leaned into the primal fear around these scenes. The Polyphemus scene is actually going to give me nightmares lol. And when Odysseus and/or the crew make bad choices it's convincingly out of desperation from what they endured.

The locations, the scenic shots, the practical effects, the soundtrack, the budget - everything that was done to build the atmosphere and mood was actually phenomenal. It felt very thoughtfully put together and the story felt grand. The necromancy scene in particular was so stunning and so cool.

For a long film with a lot of content to cover, I definitely felt the pacing was good. I don't think you needed to know the events of The Iliad or have a background knowledge of Greek mythology in order to watch this movie. I think a change that source material purists will have gripe with (and fairly so) is Calypso's portrayal. Nolan mainly used her as a way to frame the story with Odysseus recounting what he remembered of the voyage, but the time on Ogygia or how he was able to ultimately leave was not covered.

I think the cast overall did a very good job. Matt Damon as the lead was my biggest concern going into this but I ended up liking him! He definitely got out-acted by a lot of the supporting cast (Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, etc.), but I don't think Odysseus is a role where he should be out-acting anyone if that makes sense? He's more of a vessel for the lessons of the story and the characters he meets are the ones that deliver emotion and power. And I think he carried the story-telling aspect well.

I liked the way that they portrayed the mysticism in the film. Athena is there almost to act as Odysseus' conscience, and the rest of the gods' intervention is up for interpretation of if they were actually involved or if the crew's defaulted to their superstitions when their fortitude was tested. It was done in a way that didn't feel forced but still this feeling of immense consequence was felt throughout. Athena taking the form of the priestess girl that Odysseus watched get beheaded in Troy as a result of his actions was such a heart-wrenching touch.

I really enjoyed Nolan's interpretation of the main message of the Odyssey overall - that the real sin wasn't just betraying the laws of the gods, but betraying the laws of the gods involving hospitality and honor was ultimately betraying the trust we have in each other as fellow humans. The fact that the Trojan Horse was only brought in because Troy wanted to respect their enemy's offering to the gods only to betray their good faith. And it was in fact Agamemnon's army (and Odysseus himself) that were the "people from the sea" who raped and pillaged and were prophesized to be the fall of civilization. Him recognizing that guilt and seeking to break the cycle felt more powerful than the "gods mad" lesson.