Musk was one of the leading voices criticizing Nolan’s Odyssey even before it was released. The billionaire took issue with the casting of non-white actors, particularly Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, and the involvement of trans actor Elliot Page, among many other things. Musk swore that Grok Imagine would create a full-length movie adaptation “that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.” Instead of releasing the AI-made film all at once, Grok Imagine posted the first episode on Friday, made with Wonder Studios.
If you didn’t watch the episode, you’re not missing out. The video comes across more like a trailer than the start of an epic movie. The pacing is hurried, with scenes changing quickly and never lingering on any moment. It builds no momentum and shows no human touch or understanding of what makes a movie feel like a movie. Pacing issues aside, Grok told Wired that the video simply “does not meet a strict historical standard.” Visually, Grok said the episode doesn’t match what the landscape would have realistically looked like at the time. “The Odyssey itself is not a historical document, and the production makes no serious attempt at archaeological or linguistic fidelity beyond a general ‘ancient Greek epic’ aesthetic,” the AI assistant said. Grok also said what we already knew—that an adaptation of an epic Greek poem featuring a cyclops, sirens, and sea monsters couldn’t possibly be historically accurate because those creatures aren’t real. Instead, the poem is based on “myth” and “invention,” and “many details are anachronistic or literary,” the AI assistant said. So, the next time Musk uses generative AI to prove a point, he might want to fact-check his work before his own chatbot schools him.
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