"The Odyssey" Review: Christopher Nolan Delivers a Monumental Hollywood Epic

Ever since Christopher Nolan announced “The Odyssey” as his follow-up to “Oppenheimer,” anticipation has been immense. That excitement was briefly overshadowed by online outrage over several casting decisions, much of it fueled by misinformation about who actors like Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong’o were actually playing. Once the lights go down, however, those culture-war debates quickly fade away. What remains is one of the most breathtaking cinematic spectacles of Nolan’s career. 

Instead, filmgoers should see this movie. It is a true Hollywood spectacle worthy of the biggest screen possible. As I watched the film unfold over its nearly three-hour runtime, I spent much of it staring at the screen in genuine awe at the stunning set pieces, costuming and lush production design of how Nolan, perhaps the most daring filmmaker working today, pulled off some of these impressive feats. 

At a reported $250 million, expectations were understandably enormous. Yet productions of this scale don’t guarantee greatness. There are only a handful of directors working today with the technical ambition and creative authority to make a film this sprawling feel so cohesive. 

Every dollar of its massive budget is visible on screen. 

Nolan’s Greatest Technical Achievement Yet

Nolan has spent the better part of a decade operating in a class occupied by few of his contemporaries, and “The Odyssey” may be his most technically ambitious achievement yet. 

Although I loved this movie and the sensory experience that came with it, the film does have a few warts. 

Nolan once again employs a nonlinear narrative. Homer’s nearly 3,000-year-old epic is an ideal fit for Nolan, whose fascination with nonlinear storytelling mirrors the poem’s own structure. 

Here, I think Nolan the writer undermines Nolan the director, specifically in these opening scenes as we get the lay of the land in Odysseus’s kingdom of Ithaca. Here, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and her son Telemachus (Tom Holland) must thwart suitors like Robert Pattinson’s slimy Antinous and others who look to take the place of Odysseus, who has been gone for around 20 years.

I think Nolan’s visual splendor and surprisingly contemporary themes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, grief, loyalty, and hubris shine through.

You feel that experience. You feel the hells of war Odysseus faces. Nolan is a master here at ratcheting up tension from the army trying to unlock the walls of Troy to the pending dread when the crew meets the monstrous Scylla.

When the Writer Undercuts the Director

Nolan once again favors exposition over natural conversation. Characters often speak in thematic declarations instead of revealing themselves through quieter, more intimate moments, making the first act feel emotionally distant despite its impressive craftsmanship. 

I was a bit skeptical of Matt Damon as Odysseus. Having seen this transformative performance from a loyal warrior in the Trojan War to a broken-down man on the beach with Calypso (Charlize Theron), trying to reconcile the decisions he’s made, he gives a fully developed performance worthy of awards consideration.

Then there’s the great Samantha Morton as Circe, the sorceress who is dropped right into the middle of Odysseus’s journey and turns out to be a 10-minute performance that sent chills down my spine. 

Horror, Mythology and the Weight of War

Nolan often works in the dark, but one thing that struck me with “The Odyssey” is his deep dive into horror and body horror. He really drives this epic poem in a dark direction.

The film presents many haunting images, like the burning of Troy, Circe and the Cyclops. 

While Nolan took some liberties with the epic poem to have this battle with the Cyclops unfold, I think this set piece is another sequence you won’t soon forget. Nolan stages the Cyclops sequence with a remarkable sense of physical blocking, making every movement feel tangible rather than digitally constructed. 

If this movie doesn’t inspire studios and filmmakers to choose practical effects and real-world locations, I don’t think anything will.

Every location carries the weight of history, making the world feel authentically lived in rather than constructed for the camera. And with the epic sound design, it feels heavy and engrossing. 

Nolan’s sound mixes have long divided audiences, particularly with “Tenet”, but here he finds a much stronger balance between dialogue and the film’s thunderous soundscape. 

And Ludwig Goransson’s score is sure to place in the thick of the Oscar race. Between “The Odyssey,” his win last year for “Sinners” and other previous original score Oscars for “Oppenheimer” and “Black Panther,” the Swedish composer is on a generational run.

Final Verdict

It would be surprising if “The Odyssey” weren’t a major contender across the technical categories, while Damon, Hathaway and Göransson should all enter the awards conversation. 

Whether you’re drawn to mythology, practical filmmaking, or simply seeing what blockbuster cinema can still accomplish at its highest level, “The Odyssey” demands to be experienced on the biggest screen you can find.