Above is Ben Shapiro’s podcast review of the movie conservative commentators and pundits declared woke and offensive long before it was released. Many also circulated false information to support their position, resulting in this Ethics Alarms post from May, which, thanks to a reminder from Ethics Alarms “gotcha!” master Neil Dorr, I returned to yesterday with a correction. All the reviews are out now, and the majority of them are raves, which doesn’t prove anything in my metaphorical book. (“The Crying Game” got raves. “Don’t Look Now!” got raves. “The Substance” got raves.) I do find Shapiro’s review above brave and encouraging, however. He’s a well known conservative activist and commentator and the creator of the Daily Wire, and still pronounced the film to be a) excellent and b) largely conservative in its perspective. Ben gets ethics bonus points for not following the herd.
Tangent: Ben does not get points for his delivery. Cowabunga, how can someone be peddling a podcast without taking the time to learn how to speak distinctly and clearly? Shapiro doesn’t open his mouth sufficiently when he speaks, he places his voice in his sinuses, and he speaks way, way too fast. I could make Ben three times as effective in a two-hour coaching session. Why doesn’t someone tell him? I found listening to his review excruciating.
But I digress. Christopher Nolan is a cult director who is intermittently daring and regarded as an auteur rather than an ideologue. His initially fame flowed from his Batman films, which posed provocative ethics scenarios. Personally, I thought “Dunkirk” was an inexcusable botch of an important historical film topic, and I haven’t forgiven him for it yet. I was still thrilled to learn that he was tackling Homer’s second-best story, however. “The Odyssey” has long been obscured by Virgil’s rip-off starring Odysseus mimic Ulysses along with stop-action films confounding “Odyssey” with the voyages of Sinbad.
Shapiro isn’t the only conservative critic to undermine the Right’s narrative that the movie is more woke propaganda: Christian Toto, the rightish Hollywood critic, also praised the movie. On the other side, several reliably progressive publications have slammed it. TIME’s critic called the movie an “eye-glazing dud of a movie.” The Economist—not that I care what that Eurocentric leftist pseudo-intellectual rag says about anything, called Nolan’s film “a very silly adaptation of “The Odyssey”, and was particularly annoyed by the imposition of modern attitudes and conduct on the story. Anachronisms bother me too, but they are so frequent in period films that I tend to give them a pass unless they are really intrusive.
I now have enough information to make some ethics calls before I see the film. I have only paid money to see three films in a theater since Grace died, a) because I am in cash-flow hell, b) because I hate seeing movies alone and c) because seeing virtue-signaling Northern Virginia audiences wearing masks makes me crazy. I will see “The Odyssey,” however.
Ethics points:
Ethics Alarms 
I’m a fan of the movie. I spent time afterwards trying to figure out how I would do it differently which helped me understand some of the choices that were made. I like the approach and it also leaves room for another future interpretation, should someone desire to take that approach.
I saw this, too. We will see it this week. Three hours;no intermission. Just a heads up. BTW – as you may already know, Nolan read many translations and decided to go with the recent one which was written by a female (supposedly the first female translator of The Odyssey). Might be worth looking into. Also, don’t forget Young Washington which also got a fav review from Shapiro. Sent from my iPhoneOn Jul 20, 2026,
While some of my fellow conservatives pre-poo-pooed the movie because of some silly casting choices, my reservations about seeing the movie are almost entirely because Matt Damon is a tedious and predictable actor.
Yeah – your reservation is not unfounded. I don’t think he did anything unique or interesting with the role. I think they dodged a bullet with that casting choice though because it was a servicable performance.
He got the part because everyone is sick of Leonardo DiCaprio.
“Tangent: Ben does not get points for his delivery. Cowabunga, how can someone be peddling a podcast without taking the time to learn how to speak distinctly and clearly? Shapiro doesn’t open his mouth sufficiently when he speaks, he places his voice in his sinuses, and he speaks way, way too fast. I could make Ben three times as effective in a two-hour coaching session. Why doesn’t someone tell him? I found listening to his review excruciating.”
While I share similar complaints, he commands a huge share of the listening market, so economics would imply his voice and speed of delivery are *not* detrimental to the product he sells.
That’s not a wise conclusion, MW. I’d say his product is sufficiently needed and popular that his terrible delivery doesn’t hurt him as much as it should. It’s unprofessional and sloppy, as well as irresponsible. It’s like a great dentist with bad breath. Sure, you’ll put up with it, but why should anyone have to?
His terrible delivery is a part of his product and why I listen at times. The delivery is his distinctiveness and provides a an aspect of unpolishedness that is “refreshing”.
I’m going to look for a wood-chipper now…
My wife and I will probably watch the movie. However, it has stiff competition with “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” I hope the soundtrack is just as good. Oh, and Holly Hunter is “Penelope” in my book.
Just sayin’.
jvb
I had forgotten that “O Brother, Where Art Thou” was a rather free adaptation of the Odyssey.
Indeed. Some terrific dialog and one of the few movies where George Clooney shines.
“Well ain’t this place a geographic oddity? Two weeks from everywhere!”
——————–
“I won’t get out of prison until I’m 83 years old!”
“Well I’ll only be 82…”
——————–
“You stole from MY kin!”
“Who was fixin to betray us!”
“You didn’t know that at the time!”
“So I was borrowin it until I did know!”
“THAT don’t make NO sense!”
Nothing beats True Grit for dialogue though.
Big Dan Teague: “You don’t say much my friend, but when you do it’s to the point, and I salute you for it“
PWS
“Well, ain’t it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I’m the only one that remains unaffiliated.”
― Ulysses Everett McGill.
Coen Brothers certainly know how to make him act. Same for Burn After Reading.
“Big Dan: Thank you boys for throwin’ in that fricassee. I’m a man of large appetite, and even with lunch under my belt, I was feelin’ a mite peckish.
Ulysses: It’s our pleasure, Big Dan.”
“Pete Hogwallop: Ain’t nobody gonna pick up three filthy, unshaved hitch-hikers, and one of them a know-it-all that can’t keep his trap shut.
Everett: Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don’t intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism.”
Clooney is a very good actor, and as Hollywood liberals go, I’d say he is far more of a gentleman than the crazies like De Niro.