Christopher Nolan has  made mind-bending movies that push the limits of modern filmmaking and storytelling. His most recent endeavor was adapting Homer’s “Odyssey,” a tale of human resilience against the impossible barriers of The gods, with one simple alteration: The gods are gone. This is one of several changes that diminished the stakes and impact of Nolan’s version of the 3,000-year-old story, leaving the only “epic” piece to be the filmmaking itself — as though that would be enough to make Nolan’s “The Odyssey” an epic in its own right.

Putting the adaptation’s accuracy aside, it is remarkable that Nolan and his team built real set pieces and shot on-location for some of the most famous scenes of Homer’s epic. The ocean shots were some of the most dramatic, as Nolan could have simply filmed in a soundstage and edited in the ocean later. Instead, many of the scenes of Odysseus and his men on the ocean were real. Even the towering Trojan Horse, though designed with strange flaws, warrants the word “epic.”

 The most impressive in-camera effects were when Circe turns Odysseus’ men into pigs. The creative teams designed a sequence so grotesque it is hard to look away. As Circe distorts the soldiers’ features, she mashes their faces into form, an effect that was achieved with masks and makeup being actually moulded on set. Besides the series of cuts that make the scene feel jumpy, the transformation from men to pigs looks impossibly real.

The most emotionally resonant moment in the entire three hours was when Argos, Odysseus’ dog, died. The death of this dog that the audience sees beaten by the suitors as it waited for Odysseus to come home, was crushing. It was also one of Odysseus’ most human moments, as he stood and pondered whether to reach out to the dog or continue hiding his identity. Even if you knew Argos was going to die, Nolan emphasizing his mistreatment at the hands of the suitors made the audience hate the suitors more and want Odysseus to put them in their place.

There were also some notable performances mixed in with the visual marvels. Matt Damon, who played Odysseus, was the actor who dissolved into his character the most, which was important in such a celebrity-filled cast. This version of Odysseus’ progression, from the overconfident warrior who unnecessarily shoots Polyphemus to the slower, older, more thoughtful fighter at the end, is a believable arc because of Damon’s performance. Robert Pattinson, who played Antinous, was also particularly captivating — you had to hate him. Himesh Patel and John Leguizamo were also two of my favorite actors to watch throughout the movie. Finally, Lupita Nyong’o, although not in most of the runtime, used her few minutes very well. When she pulls Telemachus aside to whisper an apology, there is an electric feeling of understanding that not only did Helen of Troy not want the destruction of Troy, but also that the guilt of all of the dead Greeks and Trojans weigh heavily on her. Helen’s added depth was a pleasant surprise.

Hidden underneath the pretty camera work of Nolan’s “Odyssey,” however, is a whirlpool of issues.

Nolan’s “Odyssey” strays far from Homer’s epic. Even ignoring the differences, however, the film leaves room for improvement. Let’s start with the sound mixing:in every format “The Odyssey” is presented in, the rumbling of the music and environment is deafening; in many cases, the sounds could be heard through the walls of the theater. The worst part is how muddled the dialogue becomes. During my second watch, there were sentences I realized I had completely missed during my first viewing and other phrases I only caught because I had seen the movie once before. Audiences should not have to strain their ears to hear the whispers under Nolan’s cacophony. 

The film’s dialogue was also underwhelming. Pattinson goading Tom Holland’s Telemachus lost a lot of strength as soon as Pattinson said, “You’re pining for a daddy you didn’t even know.” The audience is rudely ripped out of the scene by questioning why a soldier would say “daddy” over “father” or “dad.” The issue is not that the dialogue is in modern English, but that the characters' conversations do not fit the context of the scenes.

Then, there’s the general casting of the film. There were a distracting number of celebrities in Nolan’s “Odyssey,” and most of them did not seem suited for their roles. Anne Hathaway’s performance as Penelope had one memorable moment, during her monologue about “the empty throne,” but beyond that, Penelope was uncharacteristically bland. This was especially noticeable after listening to Emily Wilson’s translation, where Penelope’s scheme of undoing her weaving and her tests to make sure Odysseus is truly back show how she matched wits with him. Meanwhile, in the film, Hathaway is just sad and there is little evidence of how her strength and intelligence drew Odysseus to her, to the point where it is questionable why Odysseus fights so hard to return to her.

 Zendaya’s portrayal of Athena was a waste of her skill, mostly because the character of Athena does so little in this version of the story. In Nolan’s vision, Athena is a manifestation of Odysseus’ guilt for what happened at Troy. Although this is an interesting way to view Odysseus’ communication with the goddess, Nolan’s version of Athena is reduced to a lot of head shakes and frowns, instead of the influential force that kickstarts Odysseus’ return home and Telemachus’ search for information. It could have been interesting to see Nolan play with Athena’s use of possession or time manipulation — instead, he had Zendaya be an emotionless spectre. 

Nolan’s “The Odyssey” cut more gods than just Athena. Hermes, the secondary player to Athena in the original text, is completely missing. Hermes is the god who gets Calypso to release Odysseus in the first place. Speaking of Calypso, she is another character who is completely changed in Nolan’s “The Odyssey” for no clear reason. Beyond the fishnet shirt that immediately makes her feel out of place, Calypso is hard to watch. Calypso in the text is much more manipulative and intelligent than Calypso in the film. In Wilson’s translation, Calypso has a monologue where she angrily tells Hermes that goddesses are scrutinized more than gods. Even if it does not justify her keeping Odysseus on her island for years, there are layers to why she does it. She is not simply caring for some post-traumatic stress disorder-torn veteran; she is stopping a man she loves from leaving because if the gods can do it, why can’t a goddess?

Odysseus is a mixed bag in Nolan’s film. Gone are his wit and wisdom, replaced with a war veteran suffering and a seemingly unstoppable addiction to lotus. The movie mentions how intelligent Odysseus is, but without the clear curse from the gods — why, oh why did Nolan cut the “nobody” scene! — Odysseus’ constant mistakes feel less like an intelligent man fighting against impossible forces and more like a normal guy making a lot of bad choices without his map. In the text, the soldiers fear Odysseus’ curse will stop all of them from getting home, so they revolt; not because they don’t trust his decisions, but because they think the gods are actively sabotaging every choice Odysseus makes. In the movie, their mutiny is spurred on by Odysseus’ bad leadership. The only time Odysseus feels like the most intelligent person in a room is when he chooses not to eat Circe’s soup. Beyond that instance, his survival feels like dumb luck.

This is the overarching problem with Nolan’s version of the epic: the audience is not curious about Odysseus making it back to Ithaca. Everyone knows Odysseus will make it home in the end, so the process to get there has to be enthralling. Homer handled this by having Odysseus be given his raft by the gods, ride it to the island of the Phaeacians and then tell his story. He is worn from years at sea, but sharp and capable nevertheless. The audience wants to know how he survived the gods before going to Ithaca to face the suitors. His relationship with Penelope feels like a strong enough connection to last 20 years. Meanwhile, Nolan has a weakened Odysseus collect his memories, conveniently in chronological order, before shipping off straight to Ithaca. There is nothing to be invested in when learning how Odysseus ended up on Calypso’s island. In Homer’s “Odyssey,” you want Odysseus to make it home because he has been through hell and back. In Nolan’s, you just want him to kill Robert Pattinson.

There are a host of other issues with the movie, such as the design and execution of the Trojan Horse — a concept that, to be fair, does not have much to stand on in the original story — or how the cyclops only mumbles, or how the Lestrygonians happen to go for every boat except for Odysseus’, or how once Odysseus makes it back to Ithaca he can seemingly teleport to another island before Telemachus without gathering a crew or its blunt messaging with a monotonous voice-over monologue at the end — the list goes on.

Unfortunately, what really stands out is how little time Nolan spent making the people feel real. From the costumes to the personalities, many of the characters of Nolan’s “Odyssey” are one-dimensional. I didn’t care about Odysseus and Penelope’s relationship and the layers of Telemachus and Penelope’s relationship were paper-thin. The most dimensional character is Odysseus, but even his key traits — quick thinking and resilience — are stripped down. 

But how can I still give a movie with such a pile of issues a positive rating? Because Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is undeniably impressive, even with its faults. As I wrote this article, people have said these critiques are nitpicky and that they miss the movie’s overall theme. But I argue that the theme of “The Odyssey” is that it is a story of resilience in trying circumstances and that while, yes, it is impressive to see a human complete these feats without the help of otherworldly beings, Homer’s text is not just about how the gods assist Odysseus — it’s about how he defies all odds and overcomes the beings that control the universe. You can humanize Odysseus and make him suffer incredible pain for what happened in Troy through God's anger and punishment. His destruction of the natural order angered the gods. Keep Athena and  Hermes, at least! “The Odyssey” without the gods creating impossible odds is no longer “The Odyssey.”

In short, Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is style over substance. It’s a crazy ride with beautifully shot action and pushes the film industry further into the IMAX environment. But for all its showiness, the characters lacked nuance, which made the story feel flat and unrealistic — and not in the fantasy sense. Nolan tried to make the “Human Odyssey,” where the gods were practically unnecessary, but also tried to include the magic of Greek mythology, a magic that only exists because of the gods. It’s impossible to have it both ways. 

So, should you see “The Odyssey?” Yes, because it is a unifying cultural event in a world where those are few and far between. But don’t expect any life-changing revelations — and definitely do not use it to cheat on your homework; you’ll get a lot of wrong answers and Nolan is to blame. 3.5/5 stars