Movie Review: The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan has crafted the definitive cinematic version of Homer’s The Odyssey. While the competition isn’t exactly tough – besides the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?, other adaptations of The Odyssey have largely been television miniseries – I don’t think there is a filmmaker today, or maybe ever, who could have brought the scale and scope of The Odyssey to the big screen other than Nolan. He understands the grand nature of Homer’s poem: the endlessness of the journey, the vast landscapes and seas, and the larger-than-life characters, both literally and figuratively. More importantly, he understands its themes while incorporating ideas that have long fascinated him as a filmmaker. Coupled with some of the most astounding filmmaking you will see in modern cinema, The Odyssey is one of the very best films of the year.

The way Nolan likes to structure his films is a perfect match for Homer’s The Odyssey. Nolan has made a career of subverting storytelling and screenplay techniques, notoriously playing with time and structure, whether it’s telling an entire film backwards in Memento or crosscutting between the past and present as he did with Oppenheimer. Nolan adopts the latter structure for The Odyssey, which is similar to Homer’s poem, as Nolan goes back and forth between the actions of Odysseus (Matt Damon) in the past and Telemachus’ (Tom Holland) journey in the present, ensuring we stay interested in our main characters while laying the groundwork for the climactic and emotional third act. Nolan mixes in aspects of The Iliad, The Aeneid, and modern retellings of The Odyssey to tell his version of the story, giving us an overall bigger picture of the Trojan War. The film is thematically rich, hammering home Homer’s themes of loyalty, perseverance, hospitality, and the importance of home, while incorporating recurring Nolan themes of sacrifice, humanity’s reaction to violence, taking a leap of faith, the repetition of our mistakes throughout history, and the power of story, both good and bad.

Bringing the story to life is one of the most impressive casts of the year. Matt Damon gives his most physically demanding performance to date as Odysseus. Odysseus is a perfect role for Damon, as it allows him to showcase his dramatic and physical skills while harnessing his movie-star power to convey Odysseus’s ability to outthink and outwit his opponents. Tom Holland gives the best performance of his career as Telemachus, the optimistic but wavering son of Odysseus. Holland finds an emotionality I hadn’t seen from him before, bringing a level of heart and determination that makes his character shine. Damon and Holland are joined by several great supporting performances. Anne Hathaway is the heart of the film as Odysseus’s wife Penelope. Robert Pattinson is deliciously smarmy as Antinous, a suitor after Penelope’s hand in marriage. Charlize Theron and Zendaya exude strength and beauty as Calypso and Athena. Samantha Morton is a scene-stealer as Circe, in one of the film’s best scenes, and John Leguizamo gives a deeply felt performance as Odysseus’s friend and servant Eumaeus. This is one of those casts that, with every rewatch, a new performance will stand out and become a new favorite.

Nolan’s filmmaking is on a whole other level in The Odyssey. It’s a feast of cinematic mastery, full of technical feats, stunning visuals, and thrilling action. Nolan leans into a more grounded approach to the material, avoiding direct depictions of gods like Zeus and Poseidon, but still allowing us to feel their wrath and know that they are always looking down on Odysseus and his army. This grounded approach makes it feel as if we are fighting alongside Odysseus and are on this arduous journey with him. Nolan’s masterful use of IMAX and large-scale filmmaking (see this on the biggest, loudest screen you possibly can) gives the film a depth and scale we don’t see in movies today. Everything on screen is bigger and deeper. The sea feels endless. The Cyclops and Laestrygonians feel like walking mountains. The incredible sound design helps fully immerse us in the action. Every sword clang vibrates your body. You feel the hard-hitting waves as Poseidon unleashes his fury on Odysseus’s ships. Sequences like the Trojan Horse infiltration and the encounter with the Cyclops, which is the closest to horror Nolan has ever gotten, are some of the finest set pieces Nolan has ever crafted on screen.

The Odyssey is a must-see epic the likes we haven’t seen in years. I sat in my chair in complete awe of what I was watching. The filmmaking is at the highest level imaginable. The performances are uniformly excellent. It’s a perfect modern retelling of one of the greatest stories ever written that stays true to Homer’s work while adding modern touches and themes. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is an astonishing achievement.

TL;DR Review of The Odyssey

• An astonishing film in every way.
• Stays close to Homer’s epic poem, but also mixes in aspects from The Iliad, The Aeneid, and modern retellings of The Odyssey.
• An impressively stacked cast led by Matt Damon.
• Some of the best filmmaking you will see in modern movies. It’s filmmaking at the biggest and highest level.
• Thrilling action, deeply emotional, and astounding on a technical level. It masterfully uses IMAX to its full potential.
• One of the best movies of 2026.

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