The Odyssey film review: Christopher Nolan’s epic is an all-action mythical nightmare to behold
THE ODYSSEY
(15) 173mins
★★★★★
NO need for theme parks this summer, this is a film that will leave you feeling as though you have ridden the highest rollercoaster.
Sir Christopher Nolan’s epic is an all-action, mythical nightmare to behold.
It’s a monumental piece of work, which rarely even feels like a film — more a spectacle to be watched in awe and amazement.
The Ancient Greek poem of the same title, written thousands of years ago, has been retold countless times over the centuries. But never to this scale.
The story is of Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his quest to return to his homeland.
He is the King of Ithaca and the mastermind behind the Trojan Horse trick that ended the war.
His long journey back to his kingdom is to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
They have been waiting for his return for 20 years, and Penelope has many more than 100 suitors ready to take up residency in the royal palace.
They spend their evenings eating the food and drinking the wine of their hostess, while plotting what they will do when she marries them.
One is Antinous (Robert Pattinson), a snarly, devious man who can barely hide his contempt for the family but longs for their power.
Stories run alongside this one, showing Odysseus lost on the island of Ogygia, eating lotus flowers with only the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron) for company.
She tries to get his memories from him, and he retells the journey he took to get washed up there.
It includes battles, terrifying gods, curses, hauntings, a witch (Samantha Morton) who loves to feed her prey and Zendaya as Athena.
Each tale feels like a film in itself and alongside adrenalin-spiking action, there is a lot of heart.
The basis of the story is love, protection and the attempt to right wrongs.
Damon is spectacular in a role that must have pushed him to his limits physically. While being part of huge battle sequences, he is able to show a range of emotions on his face.
The standout performance has to be Pattinson, who as the hateful Antinous, manages to curl his lip to perfection.
Don’t let the nearly three-hour run time put you off.
Like any great ride, the moment it is over, you want it to start all over again.
A CLOSE SHAVE
(U) 30mins
★★★★★
IT’S been more than three decades since Nick Park made us all fall for a cheese-loving bachelor and his silent inventor dog.
And to mark the 50th anniversary of Aardman, the world-famous Bristol-based stop-motion and clay animation studios behind Wallace and Gromit, the films have been given national cinema release for a whole new generation to enjoy.
In this tale, from 1995, Wallace (Peter Sallis) and Gromit are running a high-tech window-cleaning service, which introduces them to wool shop owner Wendolene Ramsbottom (Anne Reid) and her evil-genius dog, Preston.
Thanks to his new canine enemy, Gromit is jailed for crimes he didn’t commit. With the help of his clumsy buddy – who is infatuated with Wendolene – he works to clear his name. Film fans will love the parody of prison movies, and there’s an impressive, climactic cheese scene.
Having won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film and introducing the character of Shaun the Sheep – who went on to have his own TV spin-off series – this really is a delight to watch again. Brilliantly funny, with enough jeopardy and action to keep you hooked.
HEARTSTOPPER FOREVER
(15) 114mins
★★☆☆☆
AFTER three series of the incredibly successful coming-of-age Netflix drama, the story of the much-loved schoolboy couple, Nick and Charlie, is coming to an end.
This feature-film finale shows Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) are still very much in love.
In fact, they’re obsessively infatuated. At every party they stare at each other across the dance floor. They take selfies every few minutes and all their friends fawn over how they’re the best couple ever.
But Charlie is off to university soon and newly crowned head boy Nick has another year at school. So this throws their relationship into a very mediocre level of disarray.
They go back and forth over what they’re going to do, with high levels of self-inflicted angst and many moments that feel excruciatingly cringey.
Meanwhile, their tight-knit friendship group seem to chat exclusively about their own complicated sexualities.
Written by Alice Oseman and produced by Brett Thomas, the fondness for this couple feels like it can’t forgive the incredibly lame storyline that offers little to no jeopardy.
One for the superfans.
On Netflix.