Christopher Nolan is one of the greatest filmmakers working today, and The Odyssey is his long-awaited, triumphant take on Homer’s classic tale of a hero trying to make his way home.
Yes, Matt Damon was the obvious star for this film, obviously.
Nolan adapted the 3,000 year old story to bring out new themes, using one scene as a key that unlocks Odysseus; and not only his character, but his whole journey.
Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, the king of Ithica, forced to go on a great journey by king Agamemnon to defeat the impregnable city of Troy. We don’t spend long in the past; so much of this film is set years after he left, as his wife Penelope and son Telemachus–played by Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland, respectively–are fighting to maintain the kingdom.
At this point, most of the Trojan war survivors have made it home, and only Ithica’s fighters are still lost. That’s left Ithica with crowds of men hoping to either become a suitor to Penelope, to become the king, or else they’re feasting every night, taking advantage of the forced hospitality of Zeus’ law.
Meanwhile Odysseus is trying to get home, stuck between long sea voyages and a range of horrors as he and his men also struggle to find food in a violent, dangerous world.
The journey is long and terrible, and Nolan twists the hero’s journey that we’ve all been told. Odysseus is a hero, but his journey is purely about survival, and trying to get all of his men home; even when he’s told that it’s impossible.
The Odyssey is not exactly slow, but it is extremely methodical. It’s a true slow burn, right to the last moments.
Nolan strips back the story to the bare essentials, including the scenery and styling of the film. Most of the film is set outdoors, naturally, and it’s filled with incredibly simple, plain landscapes. Only Circe’s home, and parts of Troy, really offer grand views, but there’s a point in that I feel.
There is a beautiful simplicity and striking calm, or chaos, in these plain spaces. Only the characters matter. Nolan is at peace with the film and its story, and it’s beautifully direct, clear, and tempered.
In other films, perhaps especially Inception or The Dark Knight, I’ve loved Nolan’s magic in the way he creates modern-day myths. The surroundings are modern, but the stories often have elements that feel somewhat ancient. Duelling forces of good and evil, the great genius of a man, the warped reality of dreams, and even the iconography; spinning tops, bats, and watches.
With The Odyssey though, Nolan approached the story in a modern way, and only the world where it exists is ancient. That is most obvious the deeper you go, especially once you begin to understand the anti-war message. Nolan is still working with epic, ancient iconography, but there’s an essence in the story that is still quite modern, and I’m not really talking about the dialogue, either.
At its heart, Nolan’s story is not only about the ravages of war on men, but the terror and horrors that men perpetuate in war. It’s the perfect message from Nolan, in the context of this tale.
The performances in the film are going to be some of the best of the year. In particular, Anne Hathaway as Penelope is a force of nature. There are moments where she is filled with sorrow, and then wrath, and heartache. Alongside her, Tom Holland as Telemachus is very interesting. He brings the nobility of the character to life, and the longing for the father he doesn’t know.
Robert Pattinson as Antinous is a wild performance, too. Pattinson makes this annoying, scheming suitor a palpable presence, and you can’t wait for someone to deal with him. It’s a great quasi-villainous role, although a few moments at the end of the film left me scratching my head.
Samantha Morton as Circe and John Leguizamo as Eumaeus are both extraordinary, and I hope they earn nominations for what they created here.
However it’s Charlize Theron as Calypso that really stole the film for me. Her scenes with Damon, as she captivates him in solitude and quiet, are incredibly poignant, eerie, and beautiful. It’s like purgatory, and that’s vital to the story. I wanted to see more, and the moments really add up within the story.
Damon is absolutely awesome as Odysseus, and he holds the film’s weight on his shoulders, but I didn’t think his performance was especially award-worthy, unfortunately. I love him, but a number of scenes lacked the essence of power they needed.
And that leads me to my main complaint with the film. Nolan’s script is a bit soggy, and there has to be a hilarious meme in the number of times the soldiers run to get back on their ships as monsters and chaos chase after them.
Nolan’s passion for IMAX cameras also delivers an astonishing visual feast for cinephiles, but it throws off the momentum of the story. As far as I understand it, the IMAX cameras could only film for less than 3 minutes at a time, and you can tell in a number of scenes. It draws some of the life and flow out of the film. In particular, a heartfelt, beautiful scene near the end of the film feels rushed, and loses a lot of the emotional punch it needed to deliver.
The final scenes lack a depth and resonance that I think the film deserved, and it makes the ending feel a little empty as well.
Ultimately, The Odyssey is huge, and deeply impressive; flaws and all. It’s easily one of Nolan’s best films–in the top five–but the story is just not as powerful as Oppenheimer, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, or Inception. I can’t wait to watch it again, but it’s given me a new appreciation for my other favourites.
The Odyssey opens in theatres on July 17, 2026. Watch the full video review above.
