As everyone in the free world seems to know, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey released in theaters today. It’s an epic adaptation of Homer’s poem, shot entirely on IMAX 70mm. Christopher Nolan is a British-American writer-director known for cerebral, visually ambitious blockbusters that mix big ideas with large-scale spectacle. You either love or hate his movies. Memento was his breakout reverse-chronology thriller (which I put into the hate category). His The Dark Knight trilogy redefined the superhero genre with grounded, morally complex storytelling…Why so serious? My then he was a platinum director who went on to do Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and then his latest summer blockbuster, Oppenheimer. This was the first movie ever shot entirely on IMAX film. The next thing that jumps out at you other than who’s directing the film, is the cast, led by Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen, and Charlize Theron as Calypso.
Last week I got a call for my friend Joe, who is part of the group of us that are going on a cruise in February called Greek Odyssey that will take us through the Greek islands and the Turkish coast. He said he thought we should all plan to go see The Odyssey together. That struck me as a good idea and I agreed but because of my families July vacation with us I told him we’d have to work on scheduling that. Neither of us felt compelled to see it on opening weekend, so we left it as something we would arrange shortly. At the same time I was busy planning our weekend in Los Angeles for this weekend. Since we would be staying in Hollywood and one of the to do’s was to go to the TCL Chinese Theatre, and the walk of stars, we figured we might as well go see a movie. My son-in-law John had his head that he wanted to go to the El Capitan theater across the street from the Chinese theaters. The movie being shown was the new Disney release Moana, starring the Rock, so I booked that for us. As the week unfolded, the movie news was that Moana was a flop, and that all the attention was now on The Odyssey. It suddenly occurred to me that we would be in Hollywood at one of the biggest IMAX theaters on opening night for The Odyssey and perhaps we should reconsider our movie selection. I knew that I would have some explaining to do to Joe, but I figured he would understand given the Hollywood and IMAX coincidence. Also, I’ve never been hesitant to see a good movie a second time even within the first week or two, so I engaged our gang in the discussion. Needless to say it was late to book an opening night blockbuster in Hollywood so the time and seating options became a limiting factor for consideration. It became obvious that the IMAX showings we’re packed, but there were other options, including what I will call IMAX light which consisted of the versions with the motion, generating seats and the old factory/sensation capability when I looked at the seat availability for Moana across the street (where we were booked) It looked like we might have been the only people in the theater for that showing. All that did was reinforce the decision to switch to The Odyssey… but which one? After a great deal of debate, we ended up opting for the 3 PM IMAX with seats reserved in the second row of 1500 person theater. That was the best we could do.
Our Hollywood Odyssey began after dropping off granddaughter Evelyn in Studio City and then driving up Laurel Canyon to Mulholland Drive. We use that to stop at the Hollywood Bowl overlook, to get a glimpse of the Hollywood Sign and then drive to West Observatory trailhead in Griffith Park. After a quick picnic lunch in the park, we started the walk up the mile-long trail to Griffith Observatory. Naturally, it was the hottest part of the day with the temperature searing down on us at 85°. It could’ve been worse, but not by much. I let the kids go on ahead and I charged up the hill using my walking poles for help. There was very little shade on the trail and unfortunately no benches until the very top by the observatory. I made it up to that bench with its scenic overlook of downtown LA and decided that that was where I would turn around and begin my descent. I know that when climbers go up Mount Everest, they talk about the descent being more treacherous than the ascent. Here was my chance to test out that theory on a breathtaking 600 foot vertical climb up a well hoed dirt path. Despite my obvious attempted this was an arduous climb for me and pretty much everyone, but we made it. By the time we got to the car and head hydrated ourselves, we were very happy that we had chosen the 3 PM showing at the IMAX.
As we settled into our seats in row two and watched the other 1500 people also settle in. We wondered how our necks would fare for the three hour show. This is a little bit of a spoiler alert, but I was not overwhelmed by the movie. Given my affinity for Colossal Theatre when I was young, I thought for sure I would enjoy it, but I found the cinematography very dark and jarring to the point of being chaotic. I gave the movie a 4 out of 10, but in fairness, my son-in-law, John, gave it a 10 out of 10. I’ve never been a big IMAX fan so maybe it was the format that put me off. It could also have been the row 2 experience that made the whole thing so rattling. Then again, maybe my Griffith Park hike put me in a unsettled place. This Hollywood Odyssey might’ve been another day in the park for some, but it was a long day for me.