The Odyssey

Monty Python couldn't improve on this. Suffice to say, someone doesn't know their classical Greek history/mythology too well. They have excavated remains from the site of Troy and undertaken facial recreations. Would it surprise anyone to know they look Greek? Would it surprise anyone, too, to know the main figures of Homer's work, are described clearly, as Greek?

Upsides include reasonable if at times miscast acting, great sets, okay action and top locations.

In summary, I wonder what actual Greeks make of this re imagining of their proud heritage? For me, what I can say the past is what it is, not what revisionists want it to be. Enough said.

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/the-odyssey-2026-christopher-nolans-most-faithful-epic-is-also-his-most-ambitious-one/

Rating: A+ (updated after second viewing)

THE ODYSSEY is a maximalist, deeply faithful adaptation of Homer's poem that somehow ends on a quiet, contemplative note despite everything it throws at you along the way. Completely unafraid of its own scale and scope, it's ten years of war, myth, and horror (!) woven into the story so tightly that the whole thing paradoxically feels more grounded, not less. An astonishingly stacked ensemble led by a phenomenal Matt Damon, deceptively convincing practical effects, and filmmaking craft firing on every level. Ludwig Göransson's score alone is worth the ticket. Easily one of the best theatrical experiences of the year. This is Christopher Nolan at his most alive.

SECOND VIEWING:

Just rewatched THE ODYSSEY and somehow loved it even more the second time around. Knowing the whole story only made certain scenes hit harder, especially the moment Odysseus finally opens up to Penelope about what the Battle of Troy really cost him. Cried through most of it. The film moves with even more confidence once you already know where it's headed, and I can't find a single scene I'd cut. This is my first A+ since Dune: Part Two.

The hype was massive, the crowd was packed, but the boredom in the theatre at the end credits said it all. A 172-minute film felt like it was a 6+ hour watch. This isn’t a respectful adaptation of Homer’s epic; it’s a bloated, self-important disaster that butchers the source material, erases Greek identity, and rams woke DEI nonsense down your throat while delivering some of the worst big-name acting I’ve seen in years. Right from the opener, it was clear Nolan had zero interest in Homer’s actual text. Instead of going back to the original Greek or a faithful classic translation, he based the whole thing on Emily Wilson’s modern, feminist-slanted version, that crappy, agenda-driven reinterpretation that twists the poem’s language, downplays traditional heroism, and injects contemporary gender politics. No wonder the soul is missing. **_The Odyssey_** is the foundational poem of Western civilisation, cunning, nostos, divine meddling, human endurance, told in sweeping oral poetry. Nolan reduces it to mere nothingness. Matt Damon as Odysseus is the biggest miscast of all; he sleepwalks through it like a tired Jason Bourne in a chiton, delivering flat quips with zero charisma or bronze-age king energy. No wit, no depth, just brooding stares. Zendaya’s Athena is wooden and out of place, Tom Holland’s Telemachus is hyperactive but empty, Anne Hathaway’s Penelope feels phoned in, and Robert Pattinson’s turn is lost in the gloom. Charlize Theron as Calypso, Jon Bernthal, walked and looking like he's out of a Robin-Hood film, and John Leguizamo all feel awkwardly shoehorned in with zero chemistry or gravitas. Worst of all is Elliot Page as Sinon (replacing Achilles after backlash); he runs around like a marionette doll with stiff, unnatural movements that kill every action beat. Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy (and Clytemnestra) is completely out of place and entirely misrepresents the characters. The entire main cast is miscast to hell. Bad acting across the board sinks what little soul remains. The zero Greekness is unforgivable. This is the profoundly Greek cornerstone of Western literature, the first great literary piece of our civilisation, and Hollywood turned it into a generic fantasy IP. Greece helped fund this thing with taxpayer money, yet there’s not a single Greek actor in a major role. No olive-skinned warriors, no Mediterranean fire, no authentic Mycenaean aesthetics, let alone authentic period costumes. In fact, the landscapes and costumes look like leftover Nolan dark fantasy. Even worse, they loaded it with actors in roles that directly contradict the Homeric descriptions and classical imagery of ancient Greek heroes and gods... what the hell was Travis Scott doing in this film! It is a cultural erasure at its most blatant, profiting off Greece’s heritage while replacing the people it belongs to. The premiere didn’t even happen in Athens because they were scared of the backlash. Smart move, because Greeks are rightly outraged. The woke DEI casting is peak insult. Lupita as Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships, really? Homer's text depicted her with golden hair and fair beauty, but Nolan decided to 'modernise' the text to fit into today's woke-DEI agenda. Zendaya as Athena... with her usual dull facial expressions? Elliot Page’s tiny 'man-playing-woman-playing-man' Achilles stand-in? The rainbow ensemble screams committee quotas over truth. It’s not “inclusive”; it’s dishonest revisionism that strips the story of its European roots and historical context. On top of that, Nolan’s signature grim, dark tone, all brooding shadows and moral ambiguity, feels completely wrong for this story. **The Odyssey** belongs to bright Mediterranean sun, blue seas, blue skies, and passionate Hellenic vitality, even amid tragedy. Slapping his Batman/Dunkirk gloom over it makes everything feel oppressive and mismatched, like forcing a Nordic winter onto the Aegean; indeed, he even included Viking-style ships, of course completely unrelated to the period! The music doesn't fit in any scene, and the rap at the end credits was another WTF moment. Visually watching some scenes in IMAX is impressive, but it’s an empty spectacle. Feels like there was not even any climax to the point I thought by the middle of the film, when will it end? Save your money and don't bother. Reread the original **Odyssey** instead, **Homer's Odyssey**. In fact, go ahead and reread **Homer's Iliad** too while you're at it to see how much the actors and Nolan himself knew nothing of the actual original material. Nolan’s _The Odyssey_ is a one-star, two-star mess at best, with terrible acting, cultural disrespect, reliance on a politicised translation, 'modernised' like Nolan himself said, for the public, while in truth it was for the critics and Oscar voters, and it is also total proof of everything that is wrong with modern Hollywood, wrapped in expensive packaging.

This has to be the best movie theater experience I’ve ever had. I unfortunately couldn’t see it in 70MM IMAX as Houston doesn’t have one and didn’t want to drive to San Antonio. I watched it in standard IMAX at Regal Lonestar 12 minutes from home. I’m a Nolan fan but not everything he’s done has been great. The passing in this movie is amazing. I was waiting for a slow part in the movie to go the bathroom but it just kept going and kept you hooked. I’ve seen all the negative reactions of this film from stupid people making stuff up without watching it. I’m in a smaller area north of Houston and a lot of us aren’t liberal but also not crazy right like the small vocal idiots are. Homers Epic was literally Epic. Nolan out did himself on this one.

ABSOLUTE trash of a movie, goes against all ethos and morals in filming, it takes way identity and places people of new world order agenda. Very poor adaptation of homer. Matt with his daughters and wife should spend time in India for the next pandemic, instead of Ireland. I will say this, pacing, story telling, amazing scenery, all of that dont fool the millenials audience, maybe genz, since they are so much into hype and 4k - its easy to mislead them. Also, lets take a moment to dedicate how far the studio has gone to show this film early in the most populated country, to get positive reviews from a very ill informed audience!

As one of the 2026 summer movie season’s most anticipated releases, writer-director Christopher Nolan’s screen adaptation of Homer’s literary epic, The Odyssey, has generated more than its share of reactions and for a variety of reasons. So I’ll come right to the point on my view of this release: I liked it, but I didn’t love it. This retelling of the diverse experiences of Greek warrior Odysseus (Matt Damon) on returning to his Grecian home of Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War explores the many adventures and profound soul-searching of his 10-year journey, the second half of a 20-year-long absence. Waiting for him back home are his devoted wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), who has long been courted by a band of would-be suitors like Antinous (Robert Pattinson) who believe her husband is dead, and Telemachus (Tom Holland), the son who’s never met his father and stands to succeed him as King of Ithaca should he be officially declared deceased. This historic drama, a common reading selection in many high school English lit classes, thus follows the intrigue and adventures from the perspectives of the trip and the homefront, many of which viewers are likely to find familiar in this cinematic depiction. However, not everything works in this adaptation. For starters, the film is too long with its 2:52:00 runtime, especially during the picture’s languishing, talky opening hour. Then there’s the writing, which incorporates more than its share of ill-fitting contemporary dialogue, material that should have never made its way into the final script. And there are noticeable exclusions and underdeveloped sequences from the source material that could have been included and/or tweaked in the film narrative with the removal of overlong, extraneous material. For example, despite frequent references to the Greek gods, their presence in the film is largely absent save for a few conversations between Odysseus and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom (Zendaya). A similar fate befalls Helen of Troy (Lupita Nyong’o), “the woman who launched a thousand ships” and prompted the Trojan War in the first place, and Calypso (Charlize Theron), the mysterious caregiver who loves an ailing Odysseus and nurses him back to health for seven years in the midst of his journey. With those shortcomings aside, however, “The Odyssey” has its share of strengths, too, such as the picture’s decidedly engaging second half, as well as its fine performances, especially those of Hathaway, Pattinson, Holland and Samantha Morton as Circe, a witch whom Odysseus encounters during the trip home. Those looking for action-adventure segments will find plenty of those here as well, although the special effects depicting them are noticeably inconsistent – great in sequences like the Greeks’ ambush of their opponent’s stronghold with the ploy of the Trojan Horse and the soldiers’ dangerous encounter with the massive, menacing whirlpool Charybdis, and not so great during their contacts with the seductively voiced Sirens, the one-eyed giant Cyclops and the multi-headed cliff-dwelling monster Scylla. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how and why this production failed to live up to some of the high expectations that had been set for it, though it’s a safe bet that it might have fallen prey to believing its own pre-release hype, especially coming off of the impressive and well-earned success of Nolan’s previous effort, “Oppenheimer” (2023). Obviously, viewers will have to make up their own minds, but keeping the foregoing impressions in mind may prove helpful in formulating those opinions as audiences wend their way through their own personal odysseys.