Young Washington is a much better movie than Nolan’s The Odyssey.

You might expect me to say that Young Washington is better because Zendaya is not in it.  Maybe that’s true, I don’t know.  The Indians were always sullen or argumentative, so Zendaya could have been one of them in an uncredited role.

Scientifically, Young Washington is better than Nolan’s The Odyssey.

The two movies can be compared because they are both epic and cover old stories we are familiar with, but forgot the details.

I asked Grok.

Query:  How historically accurate was the movie “Young Washington”?

Grok response:  Quite accurate on the major events and broad timeline of George Washington’s early military career (roughly 1740s–1755, focusing on the French and Indian War), but it takes typical biopic liberties with chronology, personal details, motivations, and some sensitive topics.

Query: How closely did Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” movie match Homer’s Odyssey epic poem?

Grok response:  It follows the broad arc of Homer’s Odyssey reasonably closely as a large-scale cinematic adaptation but makes substantial changes in structure, emphasis, characterizations, and specific episodes for modern audiences, runtime, and Nolan’s thematic interests (war trauma, guilt, memory, family, and cycles of civilization).

You can’t argue with the big brain.  Quite accurate on major events, compared to follows the broad arc reasonably closely with substantial changes.

In Young Washington, casting is barely noticeable because the slaves were the color of Negroes, and the British were the pale color of fish bellies.  Performances are noticed because the heavy hitters, Kelsey Grammer, Ben Kingsley and Andy Serkis do a great job. 

In Nolan’s The Odyssey, nobody looks like they belong because none of them are Greek.  The viewer sees the actors, not the characters.

Young Washington has a plot with character growth.  At the start of the movie, Washington is a young kid with some bad breaks.  He is centered on himself and a desire to be an officer, but with no experience.  By the end, he is a fierce leader dedicated to his men.

In Nolan’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is away from Ithaca, and isn’t eager to get home.  By the end of the movie, he leaves Ithaca forever.  Odysseus was away from Ithaca for 20 years.  When he accidentality  ends up back in Ithaca, it seems like he doesn’t even stay for 20 days.

The Odyssey looks cramped.  The characters are in a cave, fortress cafeteria or boat.  Even when they are outside, they are hemmed in by a tree line or fog.  Very few shots look expansive.

Young Washington has some great wilderness shots that make the land look vast.

The soundtrack for The Odyssey is a guy banging on pie tins.  Young Washington has original instrumental music with some classical music. 

When the Nolan novelty wears off, nobody is going to rewatch The Odyssey.  If your kid has to pick a movie about Greek mythology to watch for homework, you are going to suggest Jason and the Argonauts every time.

When Middle-Aged Washington comes out, many of us are going to rewatch Young Washington as a refresher.

On IMDB, Young Washington has a rating of 7.0 out of 10.  If that is an accurate score, then The Odyssey should have a rating of 5.8 or so.