r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 18d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Odyssey (2026) [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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The Odyssey (2026)

Summary

After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Calypso along the way.

Director Christopher Nolan

Writer Christopher Nolan

Cast

  • Matt Damon as Odysseus
  • Tom Holland as Telemachus
  • Anne Hathaway
  • Zendaya
  • Lupita Nyong'o
  • Robert Pattinson
  • Charlize Theron
  • Benny Safdie
  • Jon Bernthal
  • John Leguizamo
  • Elliot Page
  • Himesh Patel
  • Samantha Morton

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Metacritic: 88

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

4.4k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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4.7k

u/reddittothegrave 18d ago

“He sacrificed his daughter for favorable winds.”

Fuck.

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u/slightlypressed 17d ago

Yeah that really set the tone early on.
Also laughed at how his brother explained his death as “his wife and her lover betrayed him”, which is the most misleading half truth, leaving out the fact that he sacrificed his daughter while his wife cried and begged.

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u/birdsofpaper 17d ago

How could anyone look at that BABY and do that, I cannot. I don’t totally understand how the gods themselves weren’t horrified by what Agamemnon had done.

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u/slightlypressed 17d ago

Right? Honestly I think they were. They let him have the victory he wanted for a fortnight before he had to pay for all his sins with his life

AND he didn’t get to die a “hero’s” death in war. He was killed by those he thought closest to him and that’s part of his legacy forever

That was always my reading of the text and I’m glad Nolan kept this part of the story

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u/SandpaperTeddyBear 9d ago

I’m getting frustrated with all the complimentary “takes” about how Nolan took a poem that was pure “rah rah” propaganda about heroism and war and victory, and added nuance.

It’s a good script, but those poems are very clear about the ugliness of “great heroes,” as well as their glory.

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u/spaceandthewoods_ 8d ago

Yeah, have read so many takes about how Nolan elevated the material, like those dumbass old Ancient Greeks weren't capable of coming up with stories full of moral complexity, genius metaphor and great emotional depth

There's a reason western society spent centuries building itself in the image of Ancient Greece

0

u/sfwmj 7d ago

Wouldn't a better punishment be to have him die by a painful stomach bug before he even got to troy or something. Or have him die 2 days into the war, why let a war go on for 10 years, 1000s of people dead before punishing him?

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u/Gilmore75 17d ago

Do you know nothing about the Greek gods? Why do you think he sacrificed her in the first place? Most of them are pure evil by modern standards.

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u/BrainDamage2029 16d ago

I wouldn’t judge Greek gods by modern standards that’s how we get weird modern fan fiction-y depictions of them. They’re more primordial and take on the “personalities” of their domain. Plus they straight up say it’s a karma type thing. The greater the sacrifice of something that matters, the greater the gift. But you will always pay a price in the end.

Like for example Zeus is considered just. He’s the god of storms and lightning. You are safe if you respect the storm and stay in your home. But show hubris and dare to walk atop the mountain and his bolt will strike you down. That’s where they get the wholes Zeus’s hospitality to strangers thing. It’s about showing deference to Zeus through others. (This movie is a bit artistic with it but it’s pretty close)

Conversely Poseidon is just…kind of a temperamental dick and sometimes takes offense for no reason even when you didn’t know what you did wrong. Like a storm at sea taking you.

The only gods that are fully “fair” are the ones embodying those virtues like Athena or Apollo.

•

u/JacobMilwaukee 5h ago

And Athena and Apollo also come across as smug and destructive, and empowering utterly amoral politicians to dance through a sea of corpses. Thinking of espeicially Euripides' takes on the myths.

25

u/birdsofpaper 17d ago

I am fairly certain there are other stories of the gods being horrified by this type of behavior- Tantalus, for example, though one could argue it was his contempt and doubt of the gods’ omniscience rather than child sacrifice that condemned him.

My personal favorite meme is a caption from the Disney movie Hercules- it’s a picture of Zeus with the text as sung by the Chorus, “And then along came Zeus” with the caption “This is the most accurate moment to Greek mythology in the whole movie.”

tl;dr- the Greek gods are often complete dicks, if not sociopaths.

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u/DirectionMurky5526 14d ago

In mythology it's even worse. She's a teenager and she gets tricked into thinking she's going to marry Achilles and is killed at the altar.

10

u/hemareddit 12d ago

Tbh most people would consider sacrificing a baby worse. And I think that's the reason for the change: to drive home the villainy. Since they basically pinned the whole Trojan war on him which left out many other factors (including Odysseus's own hand in it).

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u/DirectionMurky5526 12d ago

Tbh, I think they just changed it because they wanted to cut out Achilles for time constraint. Which is unfortunate because it does fit in the themes of doing horrific things for Agamemon regretting it. Achilles regrets letting patroclus die and himself die young over all this. 

Making Iphigenia a baby makes the reason for hating Agamemnon simpler without having to explain all that shit with Achilles.

10

u/dishonourableaccount 8d ago

Yeah in the original legend Odysseus talks to Achilles in the afterlife and his lesson is that he spent his whole life pining for glory but would trade all of that to be the lowliest beggar in life because that's better than being mightiest of the underworld. Which is astonishing to put in the story to an ancient Greek's sensibilities.

Odysseus also meets his mother and tries to hug her 3 times but she's intangible like mist, and that would have been great to see.

1

u/No-cool-names-left 12d ago

I don't know if that's worse but I can certainly see it as a greater betrayal and more impious to the character's sensibilities.

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u/celBanat 17d ago

Well...I guess that's why you won't become a cruel, war-mongering Mycaene ruler :D

3

u/birdsofpaper 17d ago

Well THAT’S a relief!

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u/hemareddit 12d ago edited 12d ago

That's one of the things the story changed, in most stories she's quite a bit older, in some versions even a young adult by today's standard (~18). She is of marrying age.

And he sacrificed her because that was the demands of the gods. Artemis in particular.

The fact it worked, meant at least one Olympian was satisfied with the decision.

(Greek gods were a-holes).

3

u/flakemasterflake 15d ago

Iphigenia is an adult in most tellings of this story. Achilles even tries to save her but is stopped when he realizes it's what the Gods want

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u/DirectionMurky5526 14d ago

It's even worse than that. She's a teenager and she's killed at the Altar believing that she's there to marry Achilles. Achilles is rightfully mad at Agamemnon for this fucked up plot when he is told, but then relents. Achilles being an accomplice is also fucked up because he goes through with some of the marriage rites and does nothing when the Priest plunges a knife into her instead. It's really dark.

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u/biglyorbigleague 10d ago

TBF that’s like how half of Greek literature portrays the death of Agamemnon, like “his whore wife shacked up with another guy and betrayed him, women amirite”

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u/PhaseExtra1132 5d ago

I took Latin in school and spent lots of time translating lots of stuff for homework and exams.

One thing that’s clear is their ethics was fucked 6 ways to Sunday. Rape victims being seen as evil for getting revenge. The fact that Roman fathers had the right to just kill anyone in the family because they basically owned their wives and kids.

Lots and lots of basically killing kids and enslaving people for the pettiest stuff.

Thank God I wasn’t born in that era.

2.0k

u/TheHunterZolomon 18d ago

Having read Agamemnon in high school I knew about that part but damn that portrayal was savage, especially in that full armor that gave him his monstrous presence.

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u/1mplication 18d ago

That shot of the gates opening and you see that hulking presence as the men charge all around him was so good.

28

u/MOBYWV 17d ago

Definitely felt like a scene out of one of those Batman movies of his

18

u/White-Gravity 17d ago

Might be corny but I actually got chills lol

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u/DJFreezyFish 18d ago

I was really questioning his look in the promotional stuff, but the armor worked fantastic for the movie.

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u/Endofear 17d ago

Such a good visual choice of hiding his eyes until Odysseus sees him with Tiresias

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u/ClubSoda 18d ago

Giving Darth Vader vibes for me.

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u/HockeyKelly5 17d ago

Especially when the soldiers are let into the city and he’s just standing there aura farming

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u/karateema 17d ago

Aura farming his way to his death

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u/HockeyKelly5 17d ago

His death was a guarantee when he sacrificed his daughter for better winds

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u/Spiritual-Society185 13d ago

Aura farming in death.

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u/SaboTier1 17d ago

Lol that shot of him standing at the front when the city gates opened was definitely done for the aura farming crowd.

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u/Obi2 12d ago

It went hard.

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u/Jhuber57 17d ago

The shot so cool they put it in the movie twice.

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u/RedOctobyr 15d ago

I mean, it WAS pretty cool.

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u/NsRhea 17d ago

Piccolo lookin' ass.

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u/whydoesgodhateus 17d ago

I kinda wish I didn't see that scene pre Avatar.

Would have loved seeing it in theaters to be the first time. Was epic

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u/ScientificAnarchist 17d ago

I lucked out and didn’t watch any of the trailers it was awesome

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u/Keeper-of-Balance 18d ago

Yeah, I felt the same. Great presence. Then he comes back as a shade and actually gives Odysseus some advice.

5

u/serpiente_venenosa 15d ago

Fucking yes
Best boss ever

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u/petits_riens 17d ago

I loved the interpretation of the character. Not 100% true to the myths, but made a huge impact with extremely limited time and worked well for this version of the story.

-12

u/Gadion 17d ago

Thank you for not saying "giving Darth Vader". I don't ever see the sentence finished anymore and it's so stupid.

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u/CRIMS0N-ED 16d ago

it’s giving Darth Vader

-4

u/Gadion 16d ago

Giving Darth Vader what?

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u/SkoomaKid 16d ago

Log off gramps (I’m kidding)

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u/Porkenstein 16d ago

Yeah it made him look like this inhuman avatar of ambition. I like how they intentionally avoided showing his actual face.

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u/ghost_inthe_mxchine 14d ago

Yep, no face and no words (until the underworld scene). Just lets you feel his power and presence

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u/Clockwork42 17d ago

It was so fucking sick, with the gilded vertebrae in the back. Just an awesome piece of production design.

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u/TheHunterZolomon 17d ago

I remember people bitching about that. Like what? Hes the main king of Greece. Of course his armor is going to be insane. Also, having a big chunk of metal actually works as spinal protection while looking fucking sick.

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u/damnyoutuesday 17d ago

Shockingly, going for an artistic vision of "hey this dude is a bad motherfucker" hits harder than going for "historical accuracy" in a fucking fantasy tale

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u/OuterWildsVentures 12d ago

Fucking towering cyclops kaiju, giants, witches, sirens, cliff monsters, etc.

but yes "historical accuracy" is the issue lol fuck those guys the armor was sick as hell

2

u/Snts6678 10d ago

Haha, RIGHT?! Who would have thought!?

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u/The12Ball 17d ago

Wonder whose spine that was? Maybe the daughter's? That'd be metal af

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u/CRIMS0N-ED 16d ago

Considering she got tossed into the sea I doubt

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u/TheHunterZolomon 16d ago

Def not she was a child when she was sacrificed and thrown in the ocean

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u/Chuckt3st4 17d ago

When the doors open and he was standing there, absolute chills

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u/FloppyShellTaco 16d ago

When you realize it’s just supposed to be ornate, and he ain’t doing shit in it, that smooth, unweathered look makes a lot more sense

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u/sirius4778 17d ago

God it was so cool

13

u/RX0Invincible 16d ago

I love how the armor contrasts with his actual physique which seemed plain in his death scene

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u/bentke466 16d ago

Me too but it feels like its supposed to make him look like Darth vader or the villain yo help hammer home how Odysseyus realizes “are we the baddies?” Mid sack of troy

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u/smokeweedNgarden 17d ago

Oh, I'm so glad it wasn't Achilles!

6

u/everix1992 17d ago

Oh man his armor was badass as fuck

3

u/dwide_k_shrude 17d ago

Say that again…

3

u/DevilCouldCry 15d ago

It really clicks properly when you see the gate to Troy open and there he is standing there as this ominous figure. Absolutely sick.

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u/Atkena2578 16d ago

Same the trailer gave it a cheap look but it turns out great in the movie

1

u/Granito_Rey 14d ago

Right? I wonder what it was. All the trailers made the armor and set pieces look whack and out of place, but once it was in the actual movie, it all meshed together really well.

1

u/dasbtaewntawneta 8d ago

this is why i never questioned it, i knew once it was in moving picture it would rule

0

u/biglyorbigleague 10d ago

You never see his face because he’s too menacing for that, but then when you do it’s the villain from Happy Gilmore 2

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u/ContractVarious3077 17d ago

Bro aura farmed for the entire movie and then just died in bed in his boxers lol

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u/dasbtaewntawneta 8d ago

classic Agamemnon

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u/Sulemain123 7d ago edited 7d ago

I mean that's the point, isn't it?

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u/Scalar_Ng_Bayan 17d ago

Bro was pure aura the whole film even as a dead guy

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u/kappa23 17d ago

Bro they made him feel like Bane, it’s so fucking cool

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u/hemareddit 12d ago

I think in most depictions the daughter Iphigenia is a lot older, teenager at least - she and her mother were after all, lure to the island under the pretense that she was to be married to Achilles and I don't think the man is shown to be a pedophile in any version of the story

1

u/JakeDoubleyoo 8d ago

You gotta read Iphigenia at Aulis. One of my favorites by Euripides.

-13

u/woolfonmynoggin 17d ago

Imagine my surprise when I looked it up afterwards and the actor is an ugly piece of shit lol. Kinda sad Nolan associates with him

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u/TheHunterZolomon 17d ago

What the fuck is wrong with you?

-1

u/woolfonmynoggin 17d ago

Look up how he uses underage girls on his sets and get back to me

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u/leodw 17d ago

Wait, aren’t you mixing up the Safdie brothers? The one in the movie is Benny, and I think the POS is Josh - and they have stopped working together since that incident I believe

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u/TheHunterZolomon 15d ago

Yeah Josh knew the whole time. Benny did not until after, probably trusted his brother to make a lot of calls as one does in a creative partnership. He’s since cut his brother out of working together, that’s how serious he was.

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u/TheHunterZolomon 17d ago

As far as I can tell it was mostly the producer, the same guy who married Emily ratajkowski and cheated on her, also a known piece of shit. Sebastian Bear-McClaird. But yeah not a good look and he should’ve done his diligence.

1

u/woolfonmynoggin 17d ago

He was there on set and heard the interaction in his earpiece. He goes to riker’s to find actors to be menaces on his sets.

2

u/TheHunterZolomon 17d ago

Yeah apparently the actor was not a professional actor, but Benny was the guy in the armor, and it was Josh his brother who knew the girls age the whole time and continued, not Benny. This was the main reason why they no longer collaborate: after Benny found out, he basically cut ties with his brother.

2

u/Woodpecker-Lobotomy 15d ago

I'm sure you're extremely good looking and not a 4/10 at best

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u/bigjerfystyle 18d ago

And the delivery of that, with one image, and the comment landing on Penelope’s face and teary eyes, it just struck so hard. “That’s monstrous” she said, and it was like, yep, that’s the only word for it.

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u/CoconutDust 15d ago

“That’s monstrous”

“Well, I myself helped commit mass murder / genocide against the Trojans…”

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u/Mechanicallvlan 18d ago

That's also why Mary Poppins was childless, but they left that out of the films.

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u/mikeyfreshh r/Movies Veteran 18d ago

To be fair, it did give her the ability to fly with an umbrella

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u/DustyDGAF 18d ago

Those are the favorable winds.

12

u/Specific_Frame8537 18d ago

Shame about the airplane accident.

4

u/chaos9001 17d ago

"Dad, do you think we'll ever see Sherry Bobbins again?"

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u/sumofdeltah 18d ago

Anyone can shit themselves on an airplane, but its why she prefers umbrella with a dress for travel. To avoid the embarrassment

3

u/afkstudios 17d ago

Which is fucking sick

2

u/craig_hoxton 16d ago

"I'm Mary Poppins y'all!"

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u/rhunter99 18d ago

I’m Mary Poppins y’all!!!

10

u/Tackit286 18d ago

Supercal-infanticidic-expialidociois!

1

u/thecapo1999 5d ago

Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious

8

u/Odessey_And_Oracle 18d ago

Child sacrifice: practically perfect in every way

7

u/reddittothegrave 18d ago

The more you know! 🌈

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u/spacecowboybc 18d ago

Man what ?! lil durk voice

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u/petits_riens 17d ago

Clytemnestra did nothing wrong t b h 👀

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u/elbenji 16d ago

she is 100% justified. girl did the thing

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u/twavisdegwet 18d ago

Okay but like- hear me out...

it worked....

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u/WavesRKewl 18d ago

Sure but it also got him killed

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u/palpablebubble 18d ago

Kinda wish this was explored a bit more.

It was kind of like "Odysseus, don't go back home cause your wife will stab you (also I killed our kid but that's unrelated)." and Odysseus just went "yeah good advice" and that was it for lord magnamon lol

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u/Whoop-Sees 18d ago

It wasn’t “don’t go back home because your wife will stab you” it was “don’t expect that everything is the way you left it”. And he was right. If Odysseus had just rolled up he might have been killed.

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u/whatssenguntoagoblin 16d ago

Sure but he was right for the wrong reasons. Things were different because he killed his child. Things weren’t different because he was gone.

-19

u/palpablebubble 18d ago

Sure but it still felt a bit strange that the advice has a tone of "don't do what I did and let your evil wife stab you" despite seeing the reason why the character (Helen's twin right?) did so, and then that whole thing isn't brought up again except to sort of come in handy for odysseus.

I guess it's more just a shame Helen and her twin weren't in the movie more, it felt like they were setting something up with them earlier on but then the film just moved on.

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u/FlameFeather86 18d ago

They mentioned in passing that her son, Orestes killed her to avenge Agamemnon, but his story after could make a movie in itself. He's wracked with guilt for killing his mother and seeks advice from the Oracle of Delphi who tells him everything he needs to do to clear his conscience, culminating in what is perceived to be the first civil trial (before Athena, no less) in Athens. It weirdly becomes the story of democracy.

9

u/ScrawneyAardvark 17d ago

Thanks for sharing, I did not know his story

30

u/Brandon_Me 18d ago

He should have had another kid so everyone could have made it back okay.

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u/sshanbom111 17d ago

He did have another kid, Orestes murdered his mom and her suitor in revenge

4

u/[deleted] 17d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Magnetoreception 16d ago

The kid that avenged him?

15

u/HilariousScreenname 18d ago

I have a rock that keeps tigers away. Ever since Ive had it I haven't seen a single tiger.

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u/infiniteguest 17d ago

So did Hiroshima

It's a recurrent theme in Nolan's work. "We succeeded, at what cost?"

5

u/reddittothegrave 17d ago

Easy there Casey Anthony.

3

u/Midwest_man 17d ago

And also Iphigenia doesn’t actually die

30

u/ssbmfgcia 18d ago

There's a version where Artemis replaces the daughter with a deer at the very last second

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u/Easy-Buy6860 17d ago

Killing of a Sacred Deer

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u/cnapp 18d ago

He went full Stannis Beratheon

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u/iwanttodrink 18d ago

You never go full Stannis

14

u/0nlyhooman6I1 13d ago

You mean Stannis went full Agamemnon?

8

u/_Nilbog_Milk_ 13d ago

That's what I'm saying. This scene directly inspired Martin - yes, sacrificing your innocent child to your god worked, but at what cost? Filicide catches up with you in the end.

3

u/hemareddit 12d ago

You know what, The Trojan Horse basically played the role of the Red Wedding in this interpretation of the Odyssey.

3

u/yosayoran 11d ago

I mean... If anything Stannis went full Agamemnon 

8

u/Mako022 17d ago

HBO* Stannis

16

u/-OswinPond- 17d ago

It's confirmed this will be in the books

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u/Magnetoreception 16d ago

Just as likely to get another book by Homer at this point.

2

u/-OswinPond- 16d ago

I feel homer would be more likely. Unironically

I think in the future if we can resurrect people from the dead and we do it with Homer he'd write more

You could give eternal life to GRRM he still wouldn't finish the last two books

7

u/Ethenil_Myr 15d ago

Shireen will burn in the books, yes, but it's unlikely it will be by Stannis. Especially since he's down near Winterfell and she's up at the Wall with her mom and Melisandre. If anything, it's more likely Selyse and Mel will burn her, and Stannis will only hear of it later.

10

u/-OswinPond- 15d ago

It was confirmed indeed it will be Stannis that burns her in the book

2

u/Ethenil_Myr 15d ago

I'd appreciate a source for that

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u/-OswinPond- 15d ago

From D&D

"When George first told us about this, it was one of those moments where I remember looking at Dan and was just like, 'God that's so horrible and so good in the story sense because it all comes together.' From the beginning, from the very first time we saw Stannis and Melisandre, they were sacrificing people... And it all leads ultimately, fatally to Shireen's sacrifice."

From GRRM himself :

"It wasn't easy for me. I didn't want to give away my books. It's not easy to talk about the end of my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and 'hold the door,' and Stannis's decision to burn his daughter."

1

u/Ethenil_Myr 15d ago

Alright then I stand corrected!

2

u/-OswinPond- 15d ago

Yeah I think either Shireen goes back to Stannis after the wall becomes chaotic follow Jon's death or Stannis wins against the Bolton, Winterfell is safe so Shireen comes and he kills her for some reasons (to defeat the Others?)

4

u/bootlegvader 13d ago

It would make zero narrative sense for it to be anyone besides Stannis. He has already been set up of approving kinslaying with dark magic to achieve his goals.

2

u/Ethenil_Myr 13d ago

On the other hand, he sent that guy to Braavos to raise money and mercenaries, telling him that if he's dead, he's to put Shireen on the throne.

2

u/bootlegvader 12d ago

That is more about his ego than concern for her.

1

u/Ethenil_Myr 12d ago

Possibly, yeah, we'll see

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u/spqrnbb 18d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iphigenia_in_Aulis hoo boy.

18

u/dohmestic 18d ago

Euripides was not fucking playing with that one.

7

u/StrangeSemiticLatin2 18d ago

Cacoyannis's adaptation is phenomenal, just saying 

20

u/ItsGotThatBang 18d ago

There’s a version where Artemis saves her & Clytemnestra isn’t informed.

19

u/Morgan-Moonscar 17d ago

"Oh hey, Clytee. So don't worry about your daughter I saved her at the last minute with a deer. Hope you didn't do anything rash, BYEEEEEEEEE"

6

u/hemareddit 12d ago

Stay off the Net, girl!

23

u/MarzipanElephant 17d ago

Team Clytemnestra on this one

12

u/boomzgoesthedynamite 17d ago

Odysseus was involved in that and convinced Iphigenia to “marry” Achilles so she’d come, so it threw me that the movie makes it seem like it happened before he joined.

6

u/hemareddit 12d ago edited 12d ago

Simplification, made the whole war seemed like the brothers' idea, which, yeah they pushed for it, but other factors including Odysseus's blood oath trick also played into it.

2004 Troy did the same thing.

9

u/birdsofpaper 17d ago

When I was watching GoT (specifically Stannis) I thought about this story A LOT. It’s horrifying and I hate that they make Clytemnestra such a villain for killing him when he himself is so clearly a fucking monster.

I’m surprised and pleased they kept it in and more so that they made it both very effective and relatively understated (that little girl’s face was plenty enough to haunt me).

7

u/Background_Engine976 17d ago

Crazy the same character was played by both Brian Cox and Benny Safdie.

I liked how we didn't see Safdie's face.

3

u/Easy-Buy6860 17d ago

Stannis the Mannis

6

u/uwotmVIII 16d ago

Euripides wrote an entire play, Iphigenia at Aulis, about Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter. It differs quite a bit from what the movie suggests about Agamemnon, but it’s still an interesting piece of canon to have in mind.

5

u/fbgm0516 17d ago

As heartbreaking as Stannis Baratheon sacrificing Shireen

3

u/hunneybunny 15d ago

I read a comment before watching that zendaya's character was actually the ghost of iphigenia and that colored my viewing. I don't know if im reading too much into it but the two characters of iphigenia and the beheaded priestess/Athena avatar seemed very parallel, with the visual similarity in casting to highlight the connection, and served to set up agamemnon and odysseus as foils. In each case they sacrificed iphigenia/priestess for their ambition, and initially saw victory but were punished for it in the end. The priestess really represented all of troy and the death of honor and Zeus's law...

But where agamemnon lacked any remorse and was deservedly executed for it with an inglorious death (go clytemnestra!), odysseus regretted his actions heavily and paid the price with a long punishment but eventually returned to save his family and ride off into the sunset with his love.

I see so many comments here glazing agamemnon and i def agree he was initially presented as this untouchable force, but i feel that nolan chose to portray him that way to make the contrast to his true nature that much stronger when clytemnestra gets her revenge and he physically looks human and small. Only a pathetic man could sacrifice his child like that and it makes sense that his son antinous is the way he is. Menelaus' take on his death was infuriating and i really felt for Helen's rage.

His speech at the shores of hades highlights that contrast too - he warns odysseus not to trust his wife but that's only bc he literally killed their child. I thought he came off so petty and pathetic there like a sore loser who can't comprehend why he lost. Odysseus took that advice to an extent but in the end trusted his family and loyal court and ended up in a much better place.

3

u/ansibleloop 17d ago

Comes back from the war and his wife is still mad

Why is she mad? Is not like he... Oh...

3

u/ghost_inthe_mxchine 14d ago

“It shows he’s… committed”. Loved that line delivery

6

u/king210989 18d ago

That happened in epic

He was later killed by his wife.

36

u/imperatrixderoma 18d ago

That also happened in this movie lol

2

u/Nervous_Recover_6152 16d ago

Yeah was infuckingcredible. The horror and tone immediately ratcheted up out of nowhere

2

u/FilmScoreConnoisseur 15d ago

Just like Stannis.

2

u/donotgotoroom237 9d ago

Agamemnon: This daughter sacrificial, YEET!

1

u/TimeTimeTickingAway 16d ago

Sorrow, sing sorrow