The Odyssey Controversy

[Willie Oleson]

It has not reached the backlash level of Snow White yet, but it's definitely the most talked about film today.
From "most genuine masterpiece in the history of mankind" to "culture-destroying trash", and not much in between.
I'm not the target audience for this kind of fantasy epic, and I'm not familiar with the story therefore I couldn't say what's wrong or right about this latest interpretation.
But there appears to be a determination to get the best film ever made, and if it isn't perfectly agreeable then all hell breaks loose.

But it's all pointless because nobody's ever going to beat The Godfather or The Exorcist. Or Speed, the most exciting blockbuster ever made.
There was no need for controversies, just one great film after another. I'm also not a Spielberg fan but he always delivered what he promised and people loved his films.

But this modern kind of grandiosity, trying to buy a legacy (and beat the 20th century) with billions of dollars - nope, that's not going to work.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yeah, these kinds of controversies now seem to have transitioned into controversy-for-controversy sake, presumably to sell additional tickets on the backs of the outrage (as opposed the heartfelt Helen of Trans-boy hysteria stuff we witnessed up until recently).

Lupita plays a dual role, so I hope that makes sense in the script. Elizabeth Taylor's casting in 1963's CLOPATRA caused controversy too, and some people still don't know The Queen of the Nile wasn't Egyptian (so that's a little different).

I, too, have heard gushing reviews and ghastly ones. I guess I'd have to go see it, or stream it somewhere. But epics nowadays feel so off-putting.

 

[Angela Channing]

I've not seen it yet, I'm going to wait until it comes to streaming.

I think it's daft that some people are quite happy to accept mythical and fantasy animals such as the one-eyed Cyclops, the half-bird/half-woman Sirens, the multi-headed Scylla, and the witch Circe who can transform people into pigs but they can't accept a person of colour or a trans person playing a character in the film.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I sort of agree that it doesn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things, and Matt Damon with his "American Football" face doesn't look Greek at all.
But if you already know what it is supposed to look like in the way the characters are described, then why go out of your way to make it look completely different (or at least questionable)?
Why is convoluted casting better than logical casting?
You could also give the Cyclop two eyes because it's all fantasy so it doesn't matter anyway.

At the same time I find it very unpleasant that certain actors receive so much negative attention because of these controversies. And you can't blame them for accepting the roles in these mega-Hollywood blockbusters. The casting process is not their responsibility.
And if you don't like it then simply don't watch it, don't pay for a seat in the cinema. At the end of the day, they will only listen to money.