I’ve been waiting for this film for what feels like forever. Every cast announcement, every behind-the-scenes photo, every teaser… I’ve been following all of it.
And I’ll be honest…
The day we went to see it, I had butterflies.
Real butterflies.
I know that sounds dramatic, but that’s what great films do to me. Christopher Nolan is one of the very few directors where it genuinely feels like Christmas morning. It’s not just another movie release, it’s an event.
Now before we even get into the movie itself, can I just say how lucky we are in Aotearoa.
We’ve got one of only 41 IMAX 70mm cinemas in the world, right here on Queen Street in Auckland, and that’s where me and Chelle got to watch it.
Honestly… that building brings back so many memories.
If you’re from Tāmaki and grew up in the early 2000s, you’ll remember Planet Hollywood. That place was the vibe. The rocket elevator, the chrome everywhere, giant slices of pizza, Chinese food in the little white takeaway boxes… back then it felt like America. It felt like you’d stepped into a music video.
These days the bottom of the building feels like one of those abandoned malls from a zombie movie, which is actually pretty sad.
But then you head upstairs…
The lights go down…
That IMAX screen lights up…
…and suddenly you’re not in Auckland anymore.
You’re standing in Ancient Greece.
Now I don’t say this lightly…
This isn’t just another sword-and-sandals movie.
Christopher Nolan has somehow taken one of the oldest stories ever told and made it feel completely modern.
If you’ve only ever heard of The Odyssey because of school, or you think it’s just an old Greek bloke sailing around on a boat…
Nah.
It’s about a man trying to get home.
And that’s why it’s survived nearly 3,000 years.
Every culture understands that feeling.
Every culture has stories about journeys.
Every culture has stories about trying to find your way back to your people.
I’ve always been a Greek mythology nerd.
You all know that.
I grew up on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules. Honestly, Xena was probably my first history teacher.
I’ve got Zeus tattooed all the way up my arm because I’ve always been fascinated by these stories, these gods and these ancient civilisations. I love trying to work out where history ends and mythology begins.
Walking into this movie, I was already excited.
But I wasn’t prepared for the craftsmanship.
Christopher Nolan shot the entire film on IMAX 70mm film.
Not just a few sequences.
The whole thing.
That is absolutely wild.
Those cameras are enormous. They’re loud. They weigh a tonne. Every roll of film only lasts a few minutes before someone has to swap it out.
Most directors would’ve just gone digital.
Not Nolan.
He wants the audience to feel like they’re standing there with the actors.
And you can feel it.
There are hardly any obvious green screens.
If there’s an island… they’re on it.
If there’s a cliff… they’re climbing it.
If there’s an ocean… they’re out there getting smashed by real waves.
One of my favourite moments in the whole film wasn’t even a massive action sequence.
There are dolphins swimming alongside the ships.
Most productions would’ve just added them in afterwards.
Nolan didn’t.
The dolphins showed up naturally, and they kept rolling.
That little moment lasts seconds.
But it felt like pure magic.
Those are the moments you can’t plan.
Those are the moments that remind you nature is still the greatest special effect ever created.
And while we’re talking about people who deserve their flowers…
Can we just take a moment for the Director of Photography.
Far out.
What a genius.
Every frame looked like an oil painting.
The way the light hit the water.
The sunsets.
The caves.
The sails against the sky.
There were moments where I genuinely forgot I was watching a movie because it looked so beautiful.
And then there’s Ludwig Göransson.
He’s honestly in my top three composers working today.
The score never felt modern.
It sounded ancient.
The percussion.
The strings.
The horns.
Everything felt like it belonged in that world without ever becoming cliché.
Apparently they leaned heavily into ancient Mediterranean sounds and instruments rather than making it sound like another Hollywood blockbuster, and I think that’s one of the reasons the film feels so authentic.
Nothing about it pulls you out of the experience.
Even the Cyclops.
Far out.
Growing up, Cyclops always looked a bit goofy to me.
Even in Xena they were these big dopey monsters.
Not this one.
This thing was terrifying.
It felt like something out of Attack on Titan.
The scale.
The weight.
The way it moved.
Yuck.
In the best possible way.
The Sirens surprised me too.
Disney kind of teaches us they’re beautiful women singing songs.
Christopher Nolan takes them somewhere much darker.
It’s not really about the singing.
It’s about temptation.
Regret.
Grief.
The things that haunt us.
Then you’ve got Circe…
Turning men into pigs.
Again, I couldn’t help thinking about Māori pūrākau and other indigenous stories.
Different cultures.
Different places.
But so many of the same lessons about pride, mana, respect, temptation and remembering who you are.
That’s probably why The Odyssey still works after nearly three thousand years.
The monsters are exciting…
But they’re never really the point.
The real journey is what’s happening inside Odysseus.
Christopher Nolan has made something that reminds me of those great Hollywood epics like Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia and Cleopatra.
Films that weren’t just movies…
They were events.
And sitting there in Queen Street with Chelle, watching one of the biggest cinema screens on Earth tell one of humanity’s oldest stories…
I honestly felt pretty lucky.
This is why I still go to the movies.
This is why cinema still matters.
Oh…
And before I go…
Lupita Nyong’o playing Helen of Troy…
That’s my Roman Empire.
Take that!! haha
