The Odyssey (dir. Christopher Nolan)
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 173 mins
UK Distributor: Universal Pictures
UK Release Date: 17 July 2026
WHO’S IN THE ODYSSEY?
Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Jimmy Gonzales, Andrew Holland, Travis Scott, Elliot Page, Jesse Garcia, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Nick E. Tarabay, Maurice Compte, Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, Josh Stewart, Ryan Hurst, Anthony Molinari, Jovan Adepo, Sean Avery, James Remar, Ian Casselberry
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Christopher Nolan (director, writer, producer), Emma Thomas (producer), Ludwig Göransson (composer), Hoyte van Hoytema (cinematographer), Jennifer Lame (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
King Odysseus (Damon) embarks on a perilous ten-year journey home…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE ODYSSEY?
“In a time of apparent magic…” is the first thing we see in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. It’s an interesting use of words, as “apparent magic” implies that much of the mythical stuff normally associated with Homer’s epic poem might not be as real as we might think. Even the fantastical elements that we do see could be legitimately explained through the mental trauma that characters sustain throughout, or possibly it’s all just a bunch of bad luck. Either way, this rendition of the classic story of gods, witches, giants, sirens and even a cyclops conditions us from the start to doubt what we are seeing, as well as to place a more human perspective on what is otherwise an extraordinarily heightened story.
Ever the crafty soul, Nolan uses this opportunity to redefine the core concept of The Odyssey while still remaining as faithful as he can to the original narrative template. His is a version that pays close attention not to the fantastical but to the suffering and regret of its very human leads who all, in their own way, go on their own elongated journeys toward an ever-distant destination. It is an element that would perhaps have been lost on any other filmmaker, particularly ones who didn’t know how to balance all these elements in addition to their own juggernaut filmmaking, and just simply emphasised the stuff with the cyclops and witches instead.
Luckily, Nolan isn’t any other filmmaker. He is someone who across his career, from his lighter-by-comparison beginnings with films like Memento to his Oscar-winning phenomenon Oppenheimer, has displayed an immense passion for the craft, right down to the 70mm IMAX film reels he shoots it all on, and here has effectively been given free rein on one of the most famous stories in recorded history. His efforts have resulted in a major accomplishment in modern-day filmmaking that shows how staggeringly easy it is to blend fantasy and reality without losing sight of the emotional power lurking underneath it all, and how even the oldest tales can feel new and exciting once more.
For those unfamiliar with The Odyssey (which is worrying, seeing how it’s been around for actual millennia), it tells the story of Odysseus (Matt Damon), the king of the Ancient Greek island of Ithaca who helped win the Trojan War with that infamous wooden horse trick. However, upon sailing for home, Odysseus and his men face multiple obstacles – among them those fantastical elements I mentioned earlier – which end up adding a good ten years to their overall journey. In that time, back on Ithaca, Odysseus’s wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and their son Telemachus (Tom Holland) find their castle overrun with suitors, many of whom such as the snivelling Antinous (Robert Pattinson) have grown impatient with waiting for their king’s return and are keen to marry their queen and claim power, but Penelope’s firm loyalty to her AWOL husband is causing tensions to boil over. Will Odysseus make it back in time before his family finally decides to move on? Seeing how this is, again, a story that’s existed for thousands of years, the fact that many of us don’t already know is a little alarming.
But even if you happen to know The Odyssey inside and out, Nolan still manages to find ways that make it feel as though you’re hearing this story for the first time. The writer-director takes the aspects that most people have at least heard of, like the Trojan horse and the luring siren songs, and gives them new spins that add to the myth while also emphasising his much more grounded approach. The siren sequence, for instance, is presented in a way that allows us to understand the threat they pose without ever actually hearing their alluring melody, with some choice sound design adding to the eerie muffled silence we hear in its stead.
Meanwhile, scenes set inside the body of that hollowed-out wooden horse recall Nolan’s similarly claustrophobic and tension-building atmosphere in Dunkirk, with soldiers forced to endure freezing sea water and the occasional sword poked through whilst being dragged into the city that they will eventually conquer. Then, in by far the film’s most horrifying sequence, you have Samantha Morton’s witch Circe transforming people into pigs, stretching people’s faces and bodies almost as though she’s literally sculpting them out of clay, and it’s genuinely as disturbing to watch as it is your average David Cronenberg picture. It’s also during particular moments like this where you wish that Nolan would actually make a proper horror movie in the future, because if he can turn a scene from The Odyssey into the stuff of nightmares, who knows what he could do within a feature-length script?
Furthermore, the way that Nolan creates this world of blended fantasy and logic is characteristically astounding. The sharp editing by Jennifer Lame creates a distinct flow that helps the story feel a lot quicker than it is, while the cinematography by regular DP Hoyte van Hoytema showcases the vast and sometimes haunting environments of the expansive ocean, deceptive island landscapes and dark, cyclops-inhabited caves with a truly grand aura that could fill a dozen IMAX screens (which, if you can, is the most recommended way to experience this movie, especially if it’s on 70mm film).
The production design is also exceptional, with every set from the huge wooden boats to the corrupted interiors of Ithaca’s castle standing out for both their practicality and the heavy details in their most miniscule props, all as Ludwig Göransson’s triumphant score dials its increasing drums and occasional synthesiser hums up to full blast. Nolan’s use of largely practical effects, particularly to create the cyclops in all its terrifying faux-Ray Harryhausen glory, puts every CG-reliant filmmaker to shame, as do the incredible performances that he gets out of his ensemble cast, with certain standouts including Hathaway in one of her strongest dramatic works in years, John Leguizamo who provides emotional brevity as a half-blind ally of Odysseus, and Morton who in just one scene creates a whole emotional arc for her character that deserves to be studied by actors in years to come.
Yet, even amidst all of that filmmaking prowess, the biggest takeaway from Nolan’s version of The Odyssey is how emotionally investing it is. Like with a lot of Nolan’s movies, it’s easy to dismiss the writing as overly expository and light on general character, but in this case Homer’s source material is already such a dense piece of literature that telling a largely faithful rendition would require the dialogue and characterisation to be just as stoic and direct. Moreover, Nolan cleverly uses that heavy writing style to dredge up the deep feelings of compassion and grace that dwell within its more heroic characters, with Damon’s Odysseus in particular going through one psychological bout after another as he faces visions and even the literal ghosts of past acquaintances which contest his decisions made in the name of all-out war.
Damon, in one of his most understated and sensitive leading performances, delivers a monologue in the final stretch of the movie that is genuinely heartbreaking, as you can feel the regret and guilt at all times in his voice as the experiences he’s been through, particularly during that fateful night in the city of Troy, culminate in a moment of self-realisation that you don’t normally see in a big sword-and-sandal blockbuster like this, and it’s enough to cause one or two lumps in the throat just from Damon’s delivery alone.
Any quibbles with the film are extremely minor, such as Nolan’s non-linear storytelling approach being a little jarring at first, as is the use of slightly more modern terms like “dad” and even a few f-bombs which definitely were not around during the time of Ancient Greece. However, those are quickly forgotten about and much more quickly forgiven, because the rest of the film surrounding them is so powerfully constructed and emotionally engaging – especially during a third act that is essentially a far superior remake of last year’s so-so retelling The Return – that you’re more than happy to sit back and let Nolan create his own apparent magic on a screen that, like Odysseus with Ithaca, is his one true home.
SO, TO SUM UP…
The Odyssey is a spectacular technical and emotional achievement by Christopher Nolan that sees the filmmaker utilise the dense and complex source material for an adaptation that remains faithful while also emphasising the humanity over the fantastical, with gripping results that turn this into blockbuster filmmaking at his highest peak in the modern age.
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