THE ODYSSEY (2026) Review

Review

We’re lucky to be living in a time where filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan exist and manage to release near masterpieces every three years. Nolan has adapted pre-existing media before, such as The Prestige and even The Dark Knight, and his skill set has shown that he’s very much capable of taking a story and wholly making it his own.

The Odyssey is an epic tale that most people have read due to its place in school curricula, but there are also some, like myself, who have never had the chance of reading it. It’s simply hard to live life without knowing about the Trojan War and Odysseus’ (Matt Damon) journey back to Ithaca. But even fo someone who knows little, Christopher Nolan ensures that you’ll be able to grasp the full experience of this journey that spans 10 years without any confusion.

What’s so great about Christopher Nolan is that he handpicks these stories to adapt that work with his filmmaking and storytelling style. This film is also a first for Nolan, as he takes one of literature’s greatest epics and manages to effortlessly translate it to the biggest screen imaginable in 70mm IMAX. 

Odysseus is believed to be dead by Ithaca’s suitors who want to wed his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and take the throne from his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). The movie is told slightly out of order as we follow Odysseus seemingly trapped on an island with Calypso (Charlize Theron) trying to regain his memory of who he used to be. 

Memory and time have always been big factors with Christopher Nolan, and while they’re not concepts thrown in your face in The Odyssey, we’re shown the story of a man with a fractured memory who has completely lost all sense of time. We learn of his journey through the Trojan War and his journey back to Ithaca through the use of stories being told to his son and Odysseus trying to reclaim memories that were once his. 

The use of Telemachus being told these stories he’s heard for years from Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), brother of Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), commander of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Telemachus is determined to find his father to reassure that he’s still alive, and it’s Tom Holland’s performance that provides so much conviction that allows for this to come to a satisfying and emotional conclusion by the third act. There are some line deliveries from Holland and the odd cast member that don’t sound off, and it merely could be due to the dialogue, but there’s no denying that Tom Holland delivers easily his best performance in his career. 

That statement can likely be said for a few other actors in The Odyssey, but the one actor that deserves that praise more than any is the pure heart and connective tissue of this movie, and that’s by far John Leguizamo as Antinous. Just like with Telemachus, there’s a strong belief that Odysseus is alive and still trying to make his way home. Everything that we learn about the character and how his loyalty comes into play in the third act makes him one of Nolan’s best-written characters. Leguizamo is almost unrecognisable as Antinous, and it’s mind-blowing seeing these actors enter a whole new element. 

Oppenheimer might’ve proved to have a strong supporting cast, but The Odyssey does not come to play at all. Samantha Morton’s Circe is absolutely astonishing, appearing in the film for such a small moment but creating a lasting effect that has you thinking about that sequence long after the credits have rolled. Anne Hathaway is quite literally mother in every meaning of the word; she moves mountains to not only ensure her son has protection to the throne but also has a strong will as she awaits the return of her king. There’s a short scene with Penelope and Telemachus where they’re arguing about the suitors, and how Hathaway carries herself in this scene genuinely was frightening. We then have Himesh Patel, who plays Eurylochus. He probably has the most screen time out of the supporting cast and is absolutely brilliant as he tries to keep their men together, losing trust in their own leader. 

The list goes on with actors that just stood out, from Lupita Nyong’o to Elliot Page, and there are a few that are just fine, from Zendaya to Jon Bernthal, and there’s nothing wrong with that considering how many standout performances The Odyssey holds. 

Christopher Nolan unlocked something within his craft that didn’t exist before because, for the first time, he completely tapped into the horror elements of The Odyssey. The practical work that Nolan brings to his films has always been exemplary, but he manages to elevate it in The Odyssey with how he tackles the horror elements. Nolan has always dabbled in horror here and there, as we see with Batman Begins and even Dunkirk, but he fully showcases what he’s capable of when he takes horror into his own hands with the sequences with both Polyphemus and Circe. It’s wild to believe both scenes were practical, but it adds to the terrifying and disgusting nature and truth behind Greek mythology. 

Hoyt van Hoytema had one shot, with this being the first movie to be fully shot in 70mm IMAX, and he took it. The Odyssey, from start to end, is just a stunning, ethereal viewing experience that’s so ingrained into your memory, not even a lotus flower could blur it. The sea takes up a lot of the screen time as we watch Odysseus and his men try to find their way back to Ithaca. There are moments when it’s the most beautiful and calming shots, while other times it can be horrific, furious, and vengeful. The horror and beauty of The Odyssey wouldn’t be the same without Hoyt van Hoytema, and he does an outstanding job at operating the camera and creating picture-perfect scenery. 

You can’t talk about The Odyssey without talking about Ludwig Göransson. It’s not a score that has me thinking about it constantly after the film has ended, such as Oppenheimer or even last year’s Sinners, but the score for The Odyssey works completely well within its element. His score elevates the more emotional sequences of the film and also helps to build up the horror of those previous scenes that were mentioned. While The Odyssey might not be Göransson’s best, that doesn’t stop it from still being a great score when matched with its environment. 

Verdict

The Odyssey is a crowning achievement for Christopher Nolan as he adapts a story with this scope and scale for the first time, creating a literal epic and yet another masterpiece to be added under his name. It features one of his best ensembles yet and boasts what might be one of the best third acts that Nolan has ever deliberated. We’re halfway into the year, and so far, it seems like we’ve already found the movie of the year. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐