Film Reviews

July 17, 2026

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is big. Really big. Sometimes too big.

But then, of course it is. Homer's original Greek poem was also huge (give or take 12,000 lines), and a lot happens in it, and probably too much for any one film to depict without feeling overwhelming. This is likely why previous TV adaptations of this legendary story were broken up into at least two episodes (one was as many as eight).

And yet, as much as Nolan's version packs in, and as pressing as it sometimes feels, it never goes overboard, or at least not for very long, and it certainly doesn't go underboard. Some of it is redundant and melodramatic, yes—I suppose we should expect as much from a Greek mythology epic—but overall, it's measured, superbly crafted, and enveloping. Watching "The Odyssey," it's hard to escape its clutches.

It's also hard to not be immediately aware that this a Christopher Nolan film, which may not entice all viewers. Indeed, it possesses the writer-director's signature and often imposing stylistic choices, with one of the most dominating being an incessant, almost techno-like rhythm. Nolan employed a similar strategy as early as "Batman Begins" (2005) and continued it through his "Dark Knight" films, "Inception," and "Oppenheimer." And just like those movies, "The Odyssey" is never not rumbling underneath. Ludwig Göransson's impelling score, featuring bronze gongs and synthesizers, and Jennifer Lame's dynamic editing lend the film a constant sense of urgency, although we wouldn't have minded if the film had slowed down and caught its breath from time to time.

After all, this is the story of Odysseus and his 20-year journey, the first 10 of which he and his army spent fighting in the gruesome Trojan War and the latter 10 circumnavigating the Mediterranean and other various mystical places trying to make their way back home. For a film about such a long voyage, which Lame manages to keep under three hours, it allows little time for pauses and quiet reflection. In fact, "The Odyssey" feels like it's aways in a hurry. Maybe that's because there's so much to get through.

To list all the events, developments, conflicts, colorful characters, monsters, creatures, witches, etc. that Odysseus and his men experience and encounter on their tumultuous expedition would not be time well spent, not only because so many aspects of Homer's classic tale have become ingrained in our collective consciousness, and so odds are you’re already aware of them, but because it would lead to spoilers. Plus, frankly, there are just too many to name. And even for those familiar with this story, including me, who was first introduced to Greek mythology back in junior high school, going into this "Odyssey" with some distance from the underlying material makes it that much more impactful. It also triggers a greater sense of nostalgia as we recall fond memories of getting swept up in larger-than-life, fantastical sagas such as this, the kind we mostly watched when we were young, a time when we allowed imaginative stories to take us away with cheerful abandon.

The core of the narrative follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the brave and stalwart king of the Ithaca, as he and his men do battle in the Trojan War (during which they devise the brilliant scheme of hiding in the famous Trojan Horse), and then, for reasons I won't reveal, except to say it involves a cyclops, get diverted off course on their way home. In classic Greek mythology fashion, their decades-long ordeal is full of battles, storms, monsters, sea nymphs, Sirens, kidnappings, tests of loyalty, and other chimerical misadventures.

Meanwhile, in the story’s other major plot thread, Odysseus' beloved wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and their one son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), endure their own struggles back on Ithaca. As the years of Odysseus’ absence go by, Penelope, frustrated, and lonely, doesn't want to believe her husband has perished and she continues to wait and stay faithful, all as would-be suitors, including the conniving Antinous (Robert Pattinson) and Polybus (Corey Hawkins), seek to take over Odysseus' reign, erring on the side that their redoubtable king is dead. Greed and lust for power are the suitors' primary motivations as they gather nightly in the palace banquet hall, eating meat and drinking wine, and putting up a veneer of toughness, although none of these men is likely powerful enough to string Odysseus' signature bow.

What I’ve summarized is just the tip of the iceberg though, not only in terms of Odysseus' story but also Nolan's film, which is enormous in scope and presentation (it beckons the question of whether Nolan will ever make a "small" movie again). From its first frame and the subtitle, "In a time of apparent magic...", the film engages us on two main levels: 1) a visually and aurally rich fantasy with all the cinematic trimmings; 2) a cultural phenomenon and event picture, which, like "The Dark Knight" and "Oppenheimer," all but demands to be seen in theaters. Nolan and his frequent cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema, true to their form, shot it all on 65mm film stock, and the movie’s sharpness and beauty speak to it.

Presentation-wise, the studio and filmmakers have spared no expense. "The Odyssey" contains the usual but still impressively constructed assortment of war, stunt, and action sequences; superb costume and production design; and special effects that convincingly recreate the era and lore of the Bronze Age.

With so much to gaze upon on-screen, it's no wonder the drama and acting get somewhat overshadowed by the production. Although the film tries to convey raw human emotions—anger, fear, sadness, love—it succeeds on this front only mildly. We're not relating or responding to the characters' feelings and inner turmoil as much as we're looking at all the nooks and crannies of the spectacle that surrounds them. This is where those pauses and quiet reflections would have come in handy, but the film is just too busy.

On a related note, not all of the casting works. Hathaway is especially melodramatic and one-dimensional as Penelope. To her defense, Nolan's screenplay mostly has her crying and longing for her husband, delivering similar lines and expressing the same set of emotions repeatedly, which doesn't make her all that interesting. I also found it hard to get behind Tom Holland, who presents too clean and innocent; he comes across as an actor playing dress-up rather than embodying a character. The film also makes it too obvious that Telemachus, who's been sword training with Mentor (Ryan Hurst), will get his day when it comes to making his first kill.

Damon, on the other hand, fits into the Odysseus role naturally and effectively, encapsulating a man who's neither too brainy nor too brawny. He finds the right balance of strength and vulnerability that lets us believe Odysseus can both dish out violence and stop to think about why he’s doing it. Likewise, John Leguizamo stands out as the blind Eumaeus, the loyal advisor to Telemachus, and Samantha Morton as Circe, who has just a few scenes but creepily sells her character's unique abilities. They're among a list of who's who of Hollywood talent (Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, James Remar, Elliot Page, et al.), all of whom no doubt jumped at the chance to be in the next Christopher Nolan movie. Their celebrity is noticeable at first but becomes less distracting the more "The Odyssey" plays out.

Even though it's probably mostly loyal to Homer's poem, Nolan does push some rather easy emotional buttons when it comes to the heroes' victories and the villains' comeuppances, and there are sections of "The Odyssey" that lack an essential excitement, which I think are due to Nolan giving the audience too much of what it wants to see rather than challenging us by taking creative liberty with the source. This is especially true of the climax, when we can see what's coming, and when it does, our expectations are simply met instead of exceeded. I mention this grievance because the director is Nolan, and we know from his other works just how compelling his films can be, but "The Odyssey," despite being riveting on paper, often lacks that spark that makes us giddy and puts us on the edge of our seat. We're absorbed by this film for sure but we're not exactly thrilled by it.

All that said, it's hard to deny the power and value of "The Odyssey" and the great lengths the filmmakers have gone toward producing such a mesmerizing, all-encompassing experience. It may not always be entertaining, but it's spectacular and ceaselessly watchable. The beauty, devastation, rawness, and wonders of this story put us into a sort of trance and we cannot look away from it. I would have preferred Nolan had taken greater license with the source and opted for a less crowd-pleasing conclusion, but even so, we have great admiration for what he and his team have accomplished.

And about "The Odyssey" being an event picture, it has clearly been made and marketed to bring audiences together in droves, which sounds manipulative because it's such a commercial entity, but the spirit it invokes shouldn't be taken for granted. Even if you're not a fan of the genre, the cast, or Nolan's style, you can still recognize "The Odyssey" for having the kind of appeal that's best enjoyed by a crowd. It's undeniable that Nolan has that talent about him—a storyteller who can channel the resources entrusted to him to make big-scale entertainment. The end product may not deliver entirely what we want, but it is the kind that brings us together.