It is very good. See it in IMAX if you can, though I strongly recommend wearing concert ear plugs (i.e. the kind that let you still hear dialogue clearly). Minor spoilers ahead, if such a thing is even possible with a 10,000 year old epic poem.

The themes of the adaptation/translation are wonderful and poignant. The layers of shame and trauma never, to me, felt forced. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about the fragility of civiliation as solution to the grand collective action problem, the idea that a single betrayal can unravel an entire society and that the “heroic” cenceiver of that betrayal might feel shame, well, that is not without current relevance.

So yes, the film as story is great. But, sitting here now 4 days after viewing it, what I find myself constantly returning to is the sheer, overwhelming competence of the film. The acting, costuming, set and prop design, lighting, sound design, editing, musical scoring. It all just worked. As a champion of practical effects, the texture of the film was transporting. Yes, there is CGI, but it blends in seemlessly, always complementing the practical elements in a way to never let the imagery fall into the uncanny valley. The final product coordinates a vast array of individual and team efforts that, together, create an experience that always felt purposeful, decisive, and real.

Given the small city that must be erected, populated, struck, and moved to create each element of a film like The Odyssey, it’s a great reminder of what can be accomplished when all of the people involved actually and truly know what they are doing. In an age of carnival barkers and con men, there is nothing more epic than grand demonstrations of competence.