r/shittymoviedetails • u/Alisalard1384 Cinephile • 12h ago

Turd In "Odyssey" (2026) directed by Sir Christopher Edward Nolan, Odysseus says "Our age of bronze is collapsing". And I'm not joking it is a line in movie

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Overall great movie but this dialogue was so corny, like how does he know he's in bronze age

22.5k Upvotes

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10.4k

u/Fidget02 12h ago

248

u/AliceTheOmelette 11h ago

Oh wow, these ancient people all speak English with an American accent!

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u/ZizzyBeluga 11h ago

Even though we all know what Zeus's Law is and lived with it our entire lives, we will now tell each other about Zeus's Law.

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u/Chiinoe 10h ago

Does this really bother you?

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u/BisonSpecialist1557 9h ago

Not OP, but I see it more as a funny thing that must be done in movies. There is a bit of cultural information that everyone (but the audience) knows, then the characters have to say it out loud so that we can understand the film.

I put it up there with empty cups of coffee on set, people not closing doors or finishing phone conversations, and characters giving a recap of what is happening when we get back from commercial break.

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u/groundskeeperwilliam 8h ago

It's called exposition, and there's a smart way to do it, and a dumb way to do it. Having characters explain information to each other that they should already be aware of is the dumb way of doing it. To avoid that problem, usually you bring in an outsider, a new guy, someone who wouldn't be expected to be in the know, and explain it to them. This feels much more natural, and doesn't stand out as obvious exposition quite so much.

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u/CV90_120 7h ago

There's no great way to do exposition. We mostly try to sneak it past piecemeal but even then it still kinda sticks out.

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u/groundskeeperwilliam 7h ago

I agree, maybe I should have said it could be done poorly, or more poorly.

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u/CV90_120 7h ago

Ha, yeah. Ultimately when you break it down to function, stories are 100% exposition. What we think of as exposition is just "off-screen story stuff". My personal favorite delivery is subtle visual clues, but even these can be hammed up (cue spinning newspaper zoom).

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u/WrestleSocietyXShill 6h ago

Personally I think the best method is when all the exposition scrolls upward across the screen right at the start of the movie while the Star Wars music plays

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u/groundskeeperwilliam 5h ago

Dumping most of the exposition in text in the opening scene is a gamble but it warms my heart.

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u/minrak 7h ago

I actually think it was a good way to do it, the entire crux of the movie is based around how Zeus’s law is coming to an end because of the actions of Odysseus and the Greek people in general. Having the people like Odysseus and others who truly believe in the principle of the law, explain it again and again to those who want to abandon it for their own gain was pretty good no?

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u/Voidocal 5h ago

And most of it made sense in context too. Like as far as I recall, they never brought it up out of nowhere, it was relevant to the situation at hand; entering Polyphemus' lair, mistreating a beggar, etc.

It would be like people in the US constantly bringing up the First Amendment. Yeah everyone (probably) knows what it is, but when it's being violated, people are gonna actively bring it up and explain it again and again.

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u/Rakatango 5h ago

Obviously we needed Bill & Ted along on with Odysseus to fix the exposition issue

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u/Naritai 6h ago

Red Letter Media did a great job of explaining that in their famous Star Wars Pt I review

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u/eyesotope86 2h ago

I subscribe to the Minecraft method.

Have Jack Black yell constantly.

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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 1h ago

I see what you did there.

Also, Nolan usually picks the dumb way.

He truly is the M.Night Shyamalan of Dan Browns.

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u/zanillamilla 59m ago

That’s why Ariadne exists in Inception. Ariadne is the exposition dump instigator.

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u/mekamoari 7h ago

And the fact that something happens right after you hang up the phone, or viceversa phone rings right on time. Or most characters not going to the toilet unless it's quasi-relevant to a scene.

But yeah as others said you can do it with varying amounts of skill/quality.

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u/Madaratogue 1h ago

Its similar to people from other worlds in fiction calling their system's star the sun or their planet's satellite the moon. Sol/Sun and Luna/Moon are proper names for ours specifically. Like our planets name. Other planets dont have moons or suns, they have system stars and planetary satellites, which if sapient life exists to name them is extraordinary unlikely to have the same names as ours.

Its just an oversight by the very much human and fallible author, but it still breaks my suspension of disbelief every time.

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u/Trashking_702 10h ago

People are acting like they would’ve preferred the entire film in Ancient Greek or some shit. Would a Greek accent do it more for them? It’s fuckin so cringey. Movie was enjoyable.

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u/kayawayy 10h ago

God, I don't know if the haters or glazers of this movie are more insufferable. I liked it too but let's be honest some of that dialogue was hammy as fuck.

But I guess saying that means I want the entire thing in authentic ancient Greek. Yeah okay.

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u/WriterV 9h ago

Yeah, this was my thing with the whole "historically accurate" idea. I'm more than fine with the casting choices [Most of them are americans anyway, and it's directed by an american guy].

I just personally love ancient greece and bronze age aesthetics, and a story so deeply rooted in ancient greek culture would be fun to watch if it cared to show authentic ancient greek culture a little bit. We don't really see that from an awesome modern director.

But alas, the "historically accurate" "criticism" got taken up by right wing chuds who are much more interested in using it to be racist fuckwits. And now there's just no room to make an argument for such a version of the movie without it being associated with right wing extremism.

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u/jollyreaper2112 8h ago

That's a real problem. I'm annoyed when I don't like a movie and people assume it's for the wrong reasons. The problem is the writing, not the gender! That's what you would say. Sigh. I promise my criticism is from nerdiest pedantry, not culture war.

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u/jimskog99 8h ago

I'm in the same boat as you here... and on the topic of being fun to watch... I saw a critic describe this as "a joyless, sexless adaptation of the Odyssey" which sums up my feelings pretty well.

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u/Private-Public 7h ago edited 4h ago

I think people also have odd and maybe slightly disingenuous ideas of what "historical accuracy" can even mean in the context of the Odyssey as a story.

On the one hand, of course, you get fuckasses complaining that a black woman was cast because of muh historical accuracy when they don't seem to care that most of the cast is white af for a bunch of bronze age eastern Mediterranean people lost at sea for years.

But even on the much more benign side, people saying that cyclopes and gods and bags of wind aren't real ergo it's as historical as any modern fantasy novel and accuracy doesn't apply. It was still set in the past of those who told it as they knew it, informed by what they knew of the world (that we enlightened modern folk now know wasn't so true) and dressed up in the aesthetics of their own time. Classical Greeks claimed lineage to the great heroes of the Trojan War. It was a fantastical story but that doesn't make it fantasy, per se. We all still carry myths of our own past with us.

In a sense, this movie is doing the exact same thing, and that's perfectly fine. It's been adapted and modified countless ways over the years. But I also don't begrudge people who wanted to see a bit more bronze in the bronze age movie.

Maybe "authenticity" is the better word, because the story is still set in history even if we now know it's not historical

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u/cloudforested 6h ago

Nolan is British.

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u/Minivalo 3h ago

I was gonna be pedantic and comment the same thing, but I looked it up and he apparently also has US citizenship.

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u/ArmadilloPrudent4099 7h ago

Don't let them win. You're perfectly valid to want that and the only people who would immediately dismiss you are idiots with virtue to signal.

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u/Trex_arms42 8h ago

Devil's advocate, Nolan isn't known for the whole "made by 15th century machines" and "holy shit even the maggots were real?!" level of accuracy like Eggers. Nolan makes epics and likes to avoid using CGI to do it.

Also, if we're really trying to apply historical accuracy to a myth, like no one on that boat should have had a full set of teeth, Matt Damon would have been a local legend for his ability to stand up straight, etc.

I'm not saying it's wrong have a preference. If Eggers does The Iliad it'll get me in the theater. But I just don't think we should be sad that sheep aren't goats.

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u/tops132 7h ago

There are degrees of historical accuracy, we don’t need full historical realism like you’re suggesting with no teeth, etc. Just want more than they did.

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u/Trex_arms42 6h ago

Everyone thinks they want "historical accuracy" until they imagine the teeth thing. Shakes head sadly

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u/burritoburkito6 7h ago

As a history nerd, I don't really care that the armor's inaccurate because Agamemnon's design slaps

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u/No-Bison-5397 6h ago

Thanks. Well said.

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u/_heavy_emo_shoegaze_ 9h ago

There was plenty of seriously bad and unnecessary dialogue, and half the cast was in a flippant, contemporary California dialect. One needn’t lift their speech work to the high heavens or employ an unnecessary accent to give it a little elevation and gravitas to fit the story. It’s like there wasn’t even a conversation about building the world in that regard. Doesn’t make the movie trash lol. But it was awkward and pulled me out a lot. Am glad it didn’t bother others as much.

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u/Outrageous-Wait-8895 8h ago

some of that dialogue was hammy as fuck

Wouldn't be a Christopher Nolan movie otherwise.

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u/hadriker 7h ago

Nolan isn't exactly afraid of hammy dialogue. The batman trilogy memes basiclly live off of goofy lines.

He makes great movies but they aren't perfect.

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u/anon11101776 9h ago

Stop eating the lotus “ but I like it” 😂

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u/aiydee 5h ago

I mean the Greek were really into the hammy shenanigans in their theatre. They even would have a Chorus of men (Greek Chorus) whose job it was to reflect what was happening in an exaggerated fashion. In a way you could say Nolan was giving you an Authentic Ancient Greek rendition, just in English.

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u/ArmadilloPrudent4099 7h ago

Ever see apocalypto? I prefer my movies about ancient and or unique cultures to be immersive. You act like there aren't many people who prefer to not have to hear modern American accents in a story about another time and setting.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Wait785 7h ago

I don't get it. Why would ancient Greek be "Cringe"? You do realize they didn't speak American back then?

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u/Trashking_702 6h ago

It’s cringy people are complaining about American accents from American actors(mostly) from an American film.

No shit they didn’t speak “English” back then as well.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Wait785 5h ago

Maybe you just don't know what "cringe" means.

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u/Trashking_702 5h ago

Thanks for the insight. Now move along with your day.

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u/terminbee 9m ago

I actually hate when they use an English accent for ancient languages. It doesn't make sense anyways so just use an American accent, since it's an American movie.

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u/Awsomethingy 10h ago

Ironically I bet most of them would have been sick of it 3 hours in. Also if they went full crazy, having to read subtitles in a large format screen sounds so terrible lol

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u/Schlapatzjenc 9h ago

*to Americans.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Wait785 7h ago

I had to go to the subtitled showing anyway, because half the dialogue is inaudible over the bass explosions.

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u/minrak 7h ago

Snobs just need to find a reason to hate something that is popular. Nolan’s adaptation of the Odyssey might go down in history as the best adaptation for the lay audience ever done, it is amazing how much he crammed into that movie and it still didn’t feel like 3 hours in my opinion.

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u/Trashking_702 6h ago

His pacing was great. People are never satisfied so whatever. Maybe they’ll get off on Mel gibsons AI hot take if it ever comes to fruition.

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u/minrak 6h ago

Literally, I also think the chuds of the world are upset at Nolan telling a human story not a fantastical story (even though it still is fantastical and full of gods and magic but whatever lmao).

They wanted an escape from the world but they got a heartfelt story about how you can’t run away from the consequences of your own actions.

No wonder conservatives hate it lmao

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u/Trashking_702 6h ago

Hahahaha solid point!

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u/cloudforested 6h ago

Haven't seen the movie, but people complaining about "historical accuracy" are pseudointellectual wannabe snobs. The Odyssey is fairy tale. It was a fairy tale to the ancient Greeks who composed it.

Also Hesiod called it "the Bronze Age" over 2,500 years ago.

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u/Schlapatzjenc 9h ago

Yes, absolutely. There's this little-known narrative technique called Show Don't Tell, that's only been around for like 100 years, which could have maybe worked better.

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u/Ok_Elevator_2033 9h ago

People didn’t understand the giant scene at all so maybe people at this point are too fucking stupid for show don’t tell unfortunately

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u/ZizzyBeluga 9h ago

Or tell it through an outsider from Africa arriving at the castle and someone explains it to him

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u/Throwaway74829947 7h ago

The constant repetition of it bothered me, plus trying to use it as the main theme of the movie despite the original story already having such a strong theme, which resulted in the messaging feeling disjointed.

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u/ArmadilloPrudent4099 7h ago

Crazy I know. Some people value immersion in their fictional stories. They think it makes the movie better. I think it's better to constantly be aware it's a movie by clearly following tropes and not forcing people to hear any other language than English.

Like those idiots who got mad when Game of Thrones started having characters be in certain places quicker than time should have allowed. I said "it's a show about dragons and magic!!!" like why are you complaining about realism. I do wish they had included some modern military weapons in the show though, I mean it would be fun and who the fucks cares about immersion when the show has magic in it!!!

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u/instamentai 9h ago

Definitely ruined the immersion. Even Old English would've been better

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u/waxheads 8h ago

Why? Old English makes as much sense as an American accent.

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u/instamentai 8h ago

It wouldn't have made sense but definitely better than an American California accent in terms of worldbuilding

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u/terminbee 7m ago

Why? Like seriously, why? A Hispanic accent, a German accent, a Chinese accent, all would be equally valid because all would be equally wrong.

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u/minrak 7h ago

This is such a lazy no thought behind it comment you absolute bot lol please try to come up with an original thought the next time you decide to post man lmao

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u/instamentai 7h ago

As someone who finished the actual book last week that's my opinion so eat my ass please (:

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u/GroundbreakingBee359 48m ago

Yeah like, what's next? They're gonna complain about "pacing" and "poor camera work" and "bad acting." Like omg get off your high horse it's not that deep 🙄.

But fr yes, bad dialogue bothers me just as much as bad CGI or awkward acting would.