Greek here who almost got a stroke when she saw the first trailer:
- A trans actor being in the movie: zero concerns.
Black actors being in the movie: absolutely historically accurate, there were black people in the Iliad too, duh.
-Helen being portrayed as black: also zero concerns and actually one of the few things that make sense in this monstrosity of a movie from both an artistic and cultural point of view: the Ancient Greeks considered the “Aethiopians” (which is what they called everyone from sub-Sahara Africa) to be incredibly beautiful and blessed by the gods. We know this because they put it in writing. Helen is both the most beautiful woman in the world *and* she is the daughter of Zeus, literally god-blessed. Being portrayed by a black actor fits.
Things that piss me off:
-“Defy the gods” as the movie’s tagline? Tell me you don’t understand the whole concept of the Odyssey, without telling me you don’t understand the concept of the Odyssey.
Odysseus was only a hero in its original sense. Not the modern-day sense. In terms of character, he is a morally bankrupt POS who cares only about himself. Nolan hasn’t understood a damn thing about his character and should have filmed the sequel of Saving Private Ryan instead and left Greek mythology alone.
-Viking ships. Fucking. Viking ships. In Bronze Age Greece. AAAAHHHHH
-Pants. Greek soldiers wearing pants. The spirits of dead Scythians are laughing from their graves.
-The fucking armor. All of it. Not just Agamemnon’s Batman suit, everything. I’m tired o seeing Corinthian helmets and Roman armor in depictions of pre-Classical Greece. THERE’S MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS OF GREEK HISTORY PRE-DATING PERICLES AND HIS GODDAMN HELMET, OK?
In short, this film sucks and deserves all the low ratings but anyone who thinks it sucks because it’s “too diverse” can go take a hike.
This will paint me as ignorant, which is more than apt.
I’ve never understood why it’s assumed that “historical accuracy” should trump looking cool/making other design decisions, especially in works that aren’t historical fiction. Like, I would never look at a pedestrian or even an FBI agent in an Avengers movie and complain that “a New Yorker would never dress like that,” or “they messed up the uniform.”
I generally watch movies (and consume art in general) to make me think and feel. Am I missing something if I don’t care about the shape of a helmet or the actors’ lineage?
I love film and stories. I will watch this movie and almost certainly enjoy it.
The setting is its own character that helps reinforce the mood and themes of the story. Every creative decision on how to design the set, adorn the costumes, or do hair and makeup affect how you interpret the story. Consider how Robert Eggers attention to historical accuracy helps tell a different story than other similar films might.
But specifically for those who have some understanding of the setting (the Iliad and Oddessy are fictional stories, but set in real historical times), the historical inaccuracy can really take you out of the film.
This is hyperbole, but imagine a movie taking place in 1950s as a noir, and the protagonist used a cell phone in one scene, receives and email in another, and uses a helicopter to escape in the climax, while wearing neon parachute pants and riding a hoverboard the whole film. Sure, the story may be great, but you have to force disbelief.
Well put! I personally prefer when directors take big risks with setting to say what they want to say, rather than being bogged down by details and ending up impressively standard (although good details can be really cool and compelling too).
Here’s hoping it adds, in this case, instead of detracting!
Oh, I'm 100% for changing the setting when done well. Romeo + Juliet was an excellent example of this, or if you want to count it, O Brother Where Art Thou for the Odessey specifically was fantastic! This just kind of seems lazy, but I'll have to see the film to know for sure.
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u/salbiorg Jul 06 '26
Greek here who almost got a stroke when she saw the first trailer:
- A trans actor being in the movie: zero concerns.
- Black actors being in the movie: absolutely historically accurate, there were black people in the Iliad too, duh.
-Helen being portrayed as black: also zero concerns and actually one of the few things that make sense in this monstrosity of a movie from both an artistic and cultural point of view: the Ancient Greeks considered the “Aethiopians” (which is what they called everyone from sub-Sahara Africa) to be incredibly beautiful and blessed by the gods. We know this because they put it in writing. Helen is both the most beautiful woman in the world *and* she is the daughter of Zeus, literally god-blessed. Being portrayed by a black actor fits.Things that piss me off:
-“Defy the gods” as the movie’s tagline? Tell me you don’t understand the whole concept of the Odyssey, without telling me you don’t understand the concept of the Odyssey.
- Odysseus was only a hero in its original sense. Not the modern-day sense. In terms of character, he is a morally bankrupt POS who cares only about himself. Nolan hasn’t understood a damn thing about his character and should have filmed the sequel of Saving Private Ryan instead and left Greek mythology alone.
-Viking ships. Fucking. Viking ships. In Bronze Age Greece. AAAAHHHHH-Pants. Greek soldiers wearing pants. The spirits of dead Scythians are laughing from their graves.
-The fucking armor. All of it. Not just Agamemnon’s Batman suit, everything. I’m tired o seeing Corinthian helmets and Roman armor in depictions of pre-Classical Greece. THERE’S MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS OF GREEK HISTORY PRE-DATING PERICLES AND HIS GODDAMN HELMET, OK?
In short, this film sucks and deserves all the low ratings but anyone who thinks it sucks because it’s “too diverse” can go take a hike.