The Odyssey: Film Review

"The Odyssey"Written and Directed by Christopher NolanStarring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize TheronRated R for violence and some languageRuntime: 172 minutesRelease Date: July 17, 2026

Final Thought

The Odyssey is a magical, innovative, and immersive rollercoaster of a film that Nolan makes sure you never want to get off.

Rating

★★★★★ / 5

Logline

From Universal Pictures:

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX® film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to screens worldwide as the first feature film ever shot entirely with IMAX® Film Cameras.

Review: This Some New Sh*t

*Note: the underlined portions are hyperlinks.

Anyone that knows me knows that Spike Lee is my favorite director, but Christopher Nolan has always been my second. He was one of my first favorite directors (similar to many film-obsessed teenagers), but throughout my life with all the films I've seen by filmmakers I've grown to love, Nolan has always stayed near the top.

Nolan’s films are, at all times, stretching the limits of the medium of film itself - this film’s instance being that it is first film ever shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. He crafts amazing theatrical experiences, whether they be time-warped science fiction films, comic book adaptations, war, or now, Greek mythological stories, and it's his obsession with the immersion of the audience that makes him standout amongst many of his peers.

As far as his films, Interstellar has an unshakeable grip on the top spot of my Nolan rankings, but while my love runs deep for his entire filmography - specifically Memento and Inception - The Odyssey feels different… it might be my new (second) favorite.

For his thirteenth feature and follow-up to his Best Picture-winning film Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan has adapted Homer’s The Odyssey, the story of Odysseus (played here by Matt Damon), king of Ithaca, and his journey to and from Troy, the setting of the ten-year-long Trojan War. The film sees his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway), son Telemachus (Tom Holland), and a variety of other characters fight to prevent Ithaca from falling, while Odysseus and his army battle creatures and defy the Gods in an attempt to make it home alive.

The Odyssey exists in conversation with Oppenheimer, in a surprising number of ways. Christopher Nolan has often been a harsh critic of man and often exploits his male characters’ fallacies in service of his stories. As far as his skills as a writer, he has a tendency to get lost in the awe of his concepts, but as his films have shifted to a greater character focus - Tenet, notwithstanding - his ability to present honest and uncompromising portraits of vilifiable men has proven to be astounding.

The ideas of regret and remorse permeate both this film and Oppenheimer’s narrative, yet it works particularly well here because of Odysseus’ circumstances.

Left to right: Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland in "The Odyssey"

The situation of Oppenheimer feels so cut and dry. Obviously, the atomic bomb is a danger to the world and serves no purpose past destruction, so his entire life should amount to “What have I done?” (the film provides more nuance to this, obviously, but my point remains). Nolan's Odysseus lives in much grayer area than J. Robert Oppenheimer as his reasons for wrongdoing feel much nobler (though the death of innocent lives still occurred) and he attempts/is forced to atone for his sins much more actively. It’s clear that he did what he had to do, but it’s unfortunate that he had to do what he did (and lose who he lost). There is a more interesting conversation to have about Odysseus as a character than Oppenheimer, one of the several reasons that I loved this film.

This notion also reminded me of last month’s The Death of Robin Hood (review here), which focuses on a man coming to terms with his actions and decisions.

The Odyssey is an exercise in size and spectacle. With this, Nolan proves that he is the director with the most remarkable handle on scale working today, as this represents a different, more traditional kind of maximalist filmmaking. The “Fall of Troy” is one of the most electric sequences in his filmography, with it, at times, genuinely feeling like a rollercoaster because of the percussive score from Ludwig Goransson and stunning IMAX 70MM cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema. The Cyclops and Circe sequences are so tense that I had to look through my fingers for much of it - The mythological and supernatural elements are mesmerizing and realized so well (though one moment near the end felt a bit ridiculous). The climax in Odysseus’ and Penelope’s palace, as well, will be on my mind well into the later part of this year.

This is a stunning adaptation of Homer’s classic Greek epic. It is especially a success because there lies so little room for surprise in the story here - a product of how embedded its source is into modern culture - so the film's success almost exclusively hinges on its execution. I’m glad Nolan feels aware of the challenges of adapting one of the classics.

I’ve mentioned in my writing several times my love of hyper-theatricality in film, and The Odyssey is no different. The film is clearly based on an epic poem, but this film feels like classical theatre - the kind that played to thousands in ancient Greek theatres and Roman amphitheaters, complete with hundreds of background actors, huge practical sets and contraptions, and lively performances from the highest caliber of actors. Though primarily shot on location, some of the soundstage sets (designed by Ruth De Jong) even echo Old Hollywood classics that had similar missions like Spartacus, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ben-Hur. After all, theatre is traditionally a Greek art form. I doubt Christopher Nolan is unaware of that relevance.

Left to right: Matt Damon and Zendaya in "The Odyssey"

I could also draw comparisons to Shakespeare as far as the film’s execution and father-son dynamic in a noble setting, or more simply because both The Odyssey and Hamlet are intrinsic to culture and studied at the most formative age in any person’s life, but as I am not a scholar of Shakespearean nor Homeric analysis, I will stop that here.

If I had any issue with The Odyssey, it would be the clunky first act. The opening scene with rapper Travis Scott (random, but it works) is an excellent tone-setter, but it is immediately followed by multiple back-to-back monologues to establish background and status quo. It is, admittedly, the most boring portion of the film, which is unfortunate because it provides important context. The overly dense first act is likely a function of the story being so known, a way of allowing Nolan to supercut through much of the minutia at the front. Once we meet Odysseus stranded, though, only accompanied by the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron) and visions of the goddess Athena (Zendaya), this film is a rocket that refuses to slow down.

Robert Pattinson in "The Odyssey"

The ensemble cast is stacked and every performance is excellent. Thankfully, this film was cast based on talent, not on irrelevant "historical accuracies." This story is a piece of fiction. Nolan can cast whoever he wants. Anne Hathaway and Samantha Morton (as Circe), in a singular sequence, stand out amongst this murderer’s row of A-list actors.

The women in the cast have the most memorable characters, even if many of them are small. Lupita Nyong’o (as twins Helen and Clytemnestra), Zendaya, Theron, and Morton, specifically, are unfortunate victims of this, with none of them having more than 6 or 7 minutes of screen time. All four actresses command the screen when they appear, however, and all contribute to some of the most haunting moments of the film.

Matt Damon leads the cast with aura (that third act bow strike… woah) and aplomb. Tom Holland is strong as Telemachus, the lead of the second storyline, as is Robert Pattinson as Antinous, the antagonist and potential overthrower of Ithaca. The other male supporting cast members (Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Corey Hawkins, etc.) all add wonderful color to the film and help cement this film as the year’s best performed thus far.

If Nolan is my second favorite director, it feels fitting and special that The Odyssey is my second favorite film of his. It represents the strongest showcase of his directing prowess, is filled with near-career-best performances from its entire ensemble cast, and quickly establishes itself as the most innovative blockbuster of the year (possibly the decade). This is mastery on almost every level. The hype has been unreal, but I must admit, the film meets - and in ways exceeds - its astronomically high expectations. My affection for Interstellar might be unwavering, but The Odyssey, to quote its epigraph, is “apparent magic.” This some new shit right here.

Viewed on 7/13/26 at Press Screening in IMAX 70MM

Published on 7/15/26

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