The Odyssey (2026)

The Odyssey (2026)

Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.

Laura’s Rating: 4/5 Stars

Plot: After his victory at Troy, Odysseus and his men set out to return home, encountering many perils along the way.

Analysis: As expected, this movie delivers an engaging story on an epic scale. The cinematography (shot on IMAX) is beautiful, the settings are grand, and the practical effects are quite impressive. Also, shout out to the storm sequence, where I felt like I was inside the boat.

Matt Damon holds his own as Odysseus, but I didn’t think this was necessarily one of his standout roles. The film has some controversial casting choices, but I truly did not find the casting decisions distracting or out of place. Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson were highlights for me, while Anne Hathaway’s performance fell a bit below my expectations. Underrated actor Himesh Patel as Eurylochus was fantastic and really led some of the scenes with Odysseus’s men. Due to the scale of the story and the number of characters, it unfortunately didn’t feel like we got to spend quite enough time with any of them to form a real attachment.

Some of the costuming was epic —see Agamemnon’s armor— while other costuming felt a bit plain, especially for mythical figures, i.e. Athena and Calypso. Like many modern films, the movie lacked some color and felt a bit washed out. Nolan is known for his clean and sleek style, but I think it dulled the richness of the culture and mythology integral to the story.

The Odyssey runs for almost three hours, but doesn’t feel too long. If anything, some scenes feel rushed or shoved into an endlessly eventful story. The speed of events does border on breakneck, which distracts from the character development and human nature of Odysseus himself that is central to the source material. Characters like Zendaya’s Athena were fine, but most of her scenes didn’t add much or felt choppy (likely due to huge cuts during editing to accommodate the IMAX limit of a 3 hour runtime).

The last third of the film is intense and keeps you engaged, with an inevitable but still highly anticipated conclusion. A story like The Odyssey is incredibly challenging to adapt for the screen, but this is an enjoyable interpretation and cinematic experience.