The Odyssey: Christopher Nolan’s most recent effort with this classic Homer story is an epic undertaking but well worth the viewing in the largest screen that you can find. I went to the IMAX theatre with bone rattling sound on a Tuesday afternoon which was almost sold out (the only available seats right at the first row). Elsewhere in Toronto, other IMAX showings this week were sold out, so there is plenty of buzz for the over 2.5 hour film. I will say that I deliberately avoided trailers and other reviews before seeing this. I want to go to the theatre with as few pre-conceived ideas as possible and a fresh outlook. Naturally with Nolan for me, I am a fan of his work and I look forward to his releases. This did not disappoint.

This is a story about the life of Odysseus (played by Matt Damon) but introduced through the characters of his son Telemachus (played by Tom Holland) and his wife Penelope (played by Anne Hathaway). Odysseus has been gone from Ithaca for many years, and some believe that he is dead. Penelope is the Queen and she believes in his still being alive but there are many suitors gathered in her castle to look to marry her and rule. So the story begins as then we go back in time as son looks to find any news of his father. Incidentally, Damon for this film is ripped. Nolan chastised Christian Bale in The Dark Knight because Bale was too ripped for that movie.

Within the retelling of the past we hear about the sacking of the city of Troy. Odysseus is Greek with his Greek army and navy, while Troy was a city of Spartans. Many who studied Greek mythology would know about the Trojan Horse which was used to hide troops as the horse was carried into the gates of Troy. Troy of course was also another movie from 2004 with Brad Pitt as the God Achilles telling the story of Helen of Troy who for love of Paris leaves her King and stays held up in Troy. A war ensues. I will note that Homer also wrote The Iliad which pairs with The Odyssey but Troy was more closed tied to Iliad. It focuses on the war, but despite this note that the Odyssey has plenty of war scenes with the sacking of Troy. This movie has a different take for the seige and defeat of Troy, with the consequences that come from it. The victors at Troy look to embark for home but they run into troubles along the way. How the soldiers with their leader manage to voyage through their travels is much of the focus, and using their wits to avoid the perils found within. That is all of the plot that I would share.

This movie is beautifully shot in IMAX and has tremendous sound. It is well acted among the principal actors. Matt Damon has plenty of screen time, and I do like his performance. Ideally I could see a younger Russell Crowe be very good for this role, and maybe now a Michael Fassbender. Damon doesn’t seem to have that harder edge to him that other actors may have brought to the role. But it is still a solid performance. There are a number of parallels between this story and for Gladiator. Much has been made by few who cannot imagine that Nolan has chosen a diverse cast, rather than what they feel should be all whites. It is a ridiculous position in my mind since Homer never made any mention, for example, of the colour of Helen of Troy’s skin. Nolan chose Lupita Nyong’o, without a doubt a beautiful woman but different than Diane Kruger from Troy, to play Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships. It doesn’t seem out of place at all, especially for a myth, to have all sorts of colours and creeds play the parts from that part of the world. For me, I was luke warm on the selection of Elliot Page in the role of Sinon. The casting of Sinon’s older brother Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson was much better. Pattinson has become an excellent character actor with depth and a flair for embracing darkness and complexity in those roles. From Tenet to The Batman and The Lighthouse he shines. Other excellent casting choices take place throughout like John Leguizamo, Charlize Theron, Corey Hawkins, Samantha Morton and Jon Bernthal. The scenes on water with the waves, wind and weather were well done. Each of the various scenes depicting island challenges are each handled so very well and will have the audience taken back to more myths. It is an interesting choice for Nolan to decide on this topic, with three Batman movies in his catalog, along with one of the best space movies (Interstellar) and other time shifting movies Inception, Tenet and Memento. He has claimed that without the success of Oppenheimer that this would not have been green lit. This seems to be a movie that people need to see and get excited about in the theatres in much the same way as Top Gun Maverick did a little over a year ago. Nolan has cemented his place among the film directing greats and this will add to his reputation. There are of course underlying messages within the story that are timeless. Concepts like the frailty and weakness of humans, and how they act despite the fact that they can be told the consequences of those actions. Others like the punishment for mankind generally for betraying the Gods and their laws but along with it the very personal impact to one man and the choices that he has made for himself, and his family. There is also a commentary into the ongoing ancient passing of leadership only from man to son, without taking into account women. All were well delivered and articulated. A movie can show you ancient times but the message delivered can be very relevant to the times that we currently live under. At the end of my viewing, people in the audience were clapping and cheering. I think this is a much better movie than Troy. I never liked the CGI in Gladiator and the images on screen here were universally excellent. There was no scrimping on the graphics to compensate for an over-extended budget like Ridley Scott had to do. I expect to watch this additional times and see what I didn’t catch the first time. This should be at the top of your summer viewing list.

The Sheep Detectives: George Hardy, played by Hugh Jackman, is a farmer in the country who tends to his sheep. He loves his sheep. He has named each of them, and each night he will read murder mysteries to them. George unexpectedly ends up dead, under mysterious circumstances. Enter his sheep who look to solve the murder. This is the premise of the new release on Prime. It is live action, with CGI for the animals involved. The live actors supporting the story include Emma Thompson, Molly Gordon and Nicholas Braun as the daft local police officer who bumbles his way through the case, his first murder case ever. Hardy’s sheep are voiced by various known actors like Bryan Cranston, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Patrick Stewart and Chris O’Dowd. The sheep are all very different from one another and Dreyfuss as Lily is the brains of the operation. Others chip in as well, with others behaving, well like sheep and going along with what the others decide.

This is family viewing, and meant to be that way. There are some family-friendly inside jokes with a live character wanting to take an inventory of Hardy’s sheep and midway through counting them he falls asleep in his car. Lily convinces the other sheep that there was a murder and that there are certain traits that such stories follow. The sheep of course speak to one another but only ever bleat to the live humans in the cast. The sheep do manage to get around, out of their enclosure (it was a significant event for Lily and Mopple to learn from Sebastian how to cross the road off the property (and yes there is a joke inserted here as well). Further they are in the town and listening in to the rambling of Braun and later the lawyer who intervenes and the two children of Hardy (his wife had passed away). Things unfold as they are meant to and the audience is left wondering who the culprit might be. I will admit that my guesses were incorrect as the story unfolds. This was light entertainment with some familiar actors and voices involved. I was surprised to see Comleth Hill (Lord Varys from Game of Thrones) with hair, and playing the local butcher. This was alright, and met with expectations. There were a few smiles and with some decent CGI for the animals. It goes without saying that with talking sheep solving a murder that one’s beliefs need to be checked at the door with the imagination being in full gear.