\n<\/p>\n
This article is part of\u00a0<\/i>Upstream,<\/i><\/a>\u00a0The Daily Wire\u2019s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories \u2014 from our featured writers to you.<\/i><\/p>\n ***<\/i><\/p>\n Forget \u201c<\/span>The Fugitive<\/span>.\u201d Ignore \u201c<\/span>O Brother, Where Art Thou?\u201d<\/span> At long last, in July of this year, \u201c<\/span>The Odyssey<\/span>,\u201d Homer\u2019s epic poem that\u2019s been delighting readers for thousands of years, will make its theatrical debut. And based on the <\/span>new official trailer<\/span><\/a>, it looks like it\u2019ll go over about as well as it did when Odysseus blinded Poseidon\u2019s son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I was initially excited about this film. I\u2019ve read the poem more times than I can count. I once had a betta named Odysseus. I wanted the early critics, those who were upset about filmmaker Christopher Nolan\u2019s casting decisions, to be wrong. Alas, it seems that they were correct, starting with the titular role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Matt Damon has his fans. He\u2019s made some good films. Odysseus he is not. Then there\u2019s his son, Telemachus, portrayed by Tom Holland. Holland has chops, but Telemachus he is not. Similarly, Robert Pattinson as Antinous is a \u201cno\u201d for me, dog. (Side note: Why are both Holland and Pattinson using their American accents? Historical accuracy of the story was always a silly reason to be upset, particularly given we\u2019re talking a story involving a bevy of mythical beings, but an English accent is a bridge too far?)<\/span><\/p>\n Anne Hathaway as Penelope is a solid choice. Charlize Theron as Calypso is fine. Scarlett Johansson as Circe (if the rumors are true) also works. And maybe Tom Holland and Zendaya are some sort of package deal post-\u201c<\/span>Spider-Man<\/span>,\u201d but Athena is a stretch. While Zendaya has many wonderful qualities as an actor, she\u2019s simply not a credible Athena. Theron or Johansson would have been better in that role. While Athena is beautiful and goddesses aren\u2019t known for aging, Athena is also wise. We need a little more experience to bring that role to the big screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is not where the problems end, as it seems Nolan not only didn\u2019t understand the characters when casting the film, but also fundamentally misunderstood the source material. Maybe the trailer is misleading. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time the couple of minutes viewers see ahead of a film\u2019s release advertise a different film. On the other hand, in the first promotional poster for \u201c<\/span>The Odyssey<\/span>,\u201d the <\/span>tagline<\/span><\/a> was \u201cDefy the Gods.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not to spoil the plot for anyone unfamiliar with the story, but \u201cdefy the gods\u201d is completely antithetical to the story\u2019s message. Similarly, the trailer presents a lot of action and fighting and big theatrical touches. And, yes, Odysseus did do some fighting. But as critic Ted Gioia <\/span>has discussed<\/span><\/a>, the magic of \u201c<\/span>The Odyssey\u201d<\/span> is that it was the first major story that wasn\u2019t about war and fighting; it was about a man struggling to get home to his wife and son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s also about hubris, specifically Odysseus\u2019. Our hero is brave and cunning. He is returning from war, but the battle he faces on his journey home is primarily with his less desirable impulses and his rather high opinion of himself. He is not out to defeat the gods; he\u2019s out to get right with them. They will win. They\u2019re the gods! Only through Athena\u2019s protection and counsel and Odysseus\u2019 maturation does he succeed in returning to Troy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The struggles Odysseus faces after the Trojan War arise from his own cravings and not-so-brilliant ideas. He must learn to set aside his pride and humble himself, learning to be gracious and helpful as he travels from land to land. He constantly borders on failure. When he\u2019s warned of the Sirens, he has his men lash him to the mast so as to hear their dangerous song rather than plugging his ears. When Calypso holds him hostage for seven years, he veers dangerously close to getting a little too comfortable as her love slave.<\/p>\n Which is to say, Odysseus is a role model for all of us, even those of us who don\u2019t go into battle armed with a sword and a bow or get trapped as a love slave. To build a solid life and home is to offer humility and generosity, to get right with God, to lead with service and love, and to move past our base desires. If we have to fight a Cyclops in the process, that\u2019s just gravy, even if the one-eyed giant\u2019s father gets a little out of hand, given the fact that his son ate a bunch of our friends and was preparing to eat us prior to our blinding him.<\/span><\/p>\n Does Nolan understand any of that? Again, the full film may prove to be awesome, but given everything we\u2019ve seen so far, it seems he just wanted to make his \u201c<\/span>300\u2033<\/span> or \u201c<\/span>Gladiator\u201d<\/span> and decided to retrofit Homer\u2019s work instead of taking the time to come up with his own characters and basic plot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Which is a shame. \u201c<\/span>The Odyssey\u201d<\/span> is one of the great stories of Western culture. Its themes and messages transcend place and time. It\u2019s appropriate for all ages. It\u2019s also just totally awesome. We could\u2019ve truly had a great summer blockbuster on our hands. Instead, we\u2019ve got Matt Damon rolling across the seas with Zendaya, who at 29 is a little old for Matt, while Robert Pattinson seemingly reads his lines off of cue cards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In \u201c<\/span>The Odyssey<\/span>,\u201d Odysseus says, \u201cBe strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.\u201d When he spoke that, though, he wasn\u2019t watching this abomination of a trailer. For the rest of us, at least we\u2019ll always have \u201c<\/span>The Fugitive\u201d<\/span> and \u201c<\/span>O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/span>,\u201d which are actually bona fide, unlike Nolan\u2019s apparent blasphemy.<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin\u2019 Up a Story<\/a> podcast. Follow him on X @rcromwell4<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n