Geremy Jasper’s O’Dessa wants to be a grand rock opera, a neon-drenched post-apocalyptic fever dream that blends the mythic with the musical. It’s ambitious, colorful, and suggests plenty of style, but for all its high-concept worldbuilding and musical aspirations, it stumbles hard. This is a film bursting with potential, packed with intricate designs and flashes of brilliance, yet it ultimately collapses under its own weight, never fully realizing the epic it so desperately wants to be.
The film introduces us to Satylite City, one of the last remaining pockets of civilization in a ruined world, ruled by the enigmatic and sinister Plutonovich (Murray Bartlet). Outside its borders, the wasteland sprawls - an arid, beautifully realized hellscape reminiscent of The Last Jedi’s climactic salt planet of Crait or War of the Worlds’ bloody terraformed Earth. The setting is gorgeous, with splashes of red and sprawling deserts, all designed with a clear eye for detail. The world Jasper and his team have built is immersive, filled with inspired visuals - from elaborate vehicles to intricate fashion, right down to the markings on a lighter. The attention to aesthetic is undeniable, making it all the more frustrating that the story itself doesn’t live up to the promise of its production.
At the heart of it all is O’Dessa (Sadie Sink), a young woman with stars in her eyes, a dream in her heart, and a guitar she’s fashioned with her own two hands. She lives on a barren farm with her ailing mother (Bree Elrod), the two struggling to survive since her father’s passing. O’Dessa’s life is bleak, but she dreams of something greater. Like your favorite Disney Princess, she even gets her own classic “I Want” song. But while the musical cues are effective, they’re disappointingly sparse. For something marketed as a rock opera, there is far too much talking and far too little singing.
The film’s first act establishes its heroine well enough, even if it treads predictable ground. When her mother dies, O’Dessa sets off toward Satylite City, drawn by the prospect of something more. Along the way, she encounters a gang led by the enigmatic Father Walt (Mark Boone Junior), who seems to operate under Plutonovich’s thumb. At first, they seem like a new band of allies - until, of course, they rob her blind. It’s here that O’Dessa begins to show its frustrating mix of ambition and inconsistency. The world is fleshed out with rich details, and yet the storytelling feels half-baked. The pacing is erratic, the stakes fluctuate wildly, and for every inspired visual flourish, there’s a baffling narrative choice to undercut it.
And then there’s Regina Hall. Poor, poor Regina Hall. Cast as a villainous enforcer, she is saddled with the film’s most bizarre creative choices, from a ridiculous haircut to some of the most awkward dialogue imaginable. Lines like “Bon voyage, you dipshit” are undeniably entertaining, but it’s hard to tell if the film is in on the joke. She’s even subjected to a bathroom scene at one point, complete with a pee sound effect. What’s going on here? Hall is a phenomenal actress, but this role does her no favors. If this isn’t one of those supposed Hollywood humiliation rituals, then it’s at least a massive miscalculation.
O’Dessa eventually meets Euri (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a fellow musician whose maximalist pop sensibilities contrast with her raw, stripped-down folk sound. Their romance unfolds, but rather than deepening the story, it drags it into a lull. Their love story should be the emotional core of the film, but it’s executed with little energy, causing the narrative to stall. Even when it remembers it’s a musical and things finally get lively with “Feelin’ Free,” the film has already lost momentum. And then, in a sequence that feels both contrived and infuriating, the couple get caught because they suddenly decide to throw caution to the wind and be openly affectionate in public. It’s lazy storytelling that undermines the chemistry the leads have built.
For all its missteps, O’Dessa does have its moments. Jasper’s background in music videos shines in sequences like Euri’s introduction, which is visually dynamic and musically engaging. The final musical number is appropriately grand, offering a glimpse of what the film could have been if it had leaned fully into its rock opera roots. Sink (Stranger Things, The Whale), at the very least, proves to be an arresting lead, her voice carrying the film when the screenplay cannot.
But it’s simply not enough. O’Dessa boasts a remarkable production design, an eye-catching color palette, and a clear love for rock musicals, yet it fails to deliver where it matters most. For all its extravagant visuals, shattering of gender norms, and high-concept ambitions, it never commits fully to the genre it so desperately wants to be a part of. Where are the soaring anthems? The full-throated emotional arcs told through song? Instead, we get long stretches of dialogue punctuated by occasional, frustratingly brief musical interludes. A rock opera without enough rock or enough opera.
This is a film that understands the aesthetic appeal of what it’s trying to be but not its soul. True rock operas, from Jesus Christ Superstar to Hedwig and the Angry Inch to American Idiot, thrive on their commitment to storytelling through music. Even cinematic oddities like Repo! The Genetic Opera manage to stay true to their genre, no matter how they may be perceived. And that’s without even touching the many actual rock bands that have successfully told ambitious musical stories, from Pink Floyd to Coheed & Cambria to Alice Cooper to My Chemical Romance. O’Dessa wants to belong in this lineage, but it just isn’t there. It’s too scattered, too unfocused, too afraid to fully embrace the power of its own premise.
In the end, O’Dessa is a mess - a fascinating, beautifully crafted, but deeply flawed mess. It’s not a complete failure, but it is a massive disappointment, especially for those who adore the genre it so desperately tries to join. More music might have saved it. More confidence in its own storytelling could have helped. Instead, what we get is a film that teases greatness but never achieves it. And that, more than anything, is what makes it so frustrating.
'O'Dessa' is now streaming on Hulu.
