I saw this movie twice because I needed to be sure my reaction was right; the reviews suggested most people felt differently about The Odyssey. A second viewing just confirmed what I initially thought: it’s a decent film, but definitely not a masterpiece. From a technical standpoint, the filmmaking is impressive and delivers some powerful scenes like the encounter with the cyclops and the battle against the Laestrygonians. There's also something captivating about watching Odysseus and his crew on their ship as they travel—it really feels like you’re standing on the deck yourself. The film frequently excels at visual spectacle, combined with creative sound design, resulting in several memorable moments. However, there’s another portion of the movie where I felt a significant disconnect from the story. A large part of the runtime is dedicated to Penelope and Telemachus dealing with Odysseus' absence, and these sections feel awkward and poorly written, in my opinion. I almost groaned out loud during their final confrontation before the feast. Anne Hathaway’s expressions are exaggerated as she delivers line after line that just aren't good, delivered in a strange rhythm. This happens repeatedly throughout. I thought Tom Holland and John Leguizamo seemed most comfortable and natural when speaking their lines. It wasn't even the modern language that bothered me; it was more about why they assembled such a talented cast only to give them so little to work with in terms of the script. It made it difficult to connect emotionally with these characters. I suspect the dog’s inclusion was meant to elicit some kind of feeling from the audience. A bit more effort could have created some energy and prevented John Bernthal from sounding like Frank Castle wearing a robe. The scenes between Telemachus and the suitors in the dining hall were probably the most consistently engaging, largely thanks to Corey Hawkins and Robert Pattison’s performances rather than the writing itself. Tom Holland also did a good job of portraying anger and making sarcastic remarks at them; they genuinely made me want to jump into the fight. I will say that the Circe scene was one of the few times where the dialogue and acting aligned well. Outside of that, truly memorable lines and interactions were rare. Zendaya, Lupita, and Charlize felt underutilized, and their lack of impact really stood out on a second viewing. Honestly, an average episode of Game Of Thrones is more dramatically compelling. Overall, I acknowledge it’s technically impressive, but there are too many other films released this year that I enjoyed considerably more to place this among them.

Source on TMDB