Introduction
Christopher Nolan has become a generational storyteller and filmmaker. His films have explored superheroes through The Dark Knight Trilogy, science fiction through Interstellar (2014) and Inception (2010), World War II action through Dunkirk (2017), and biopics through Oppenheimer (2023). In his latest film, Nolan tackles one of the largest stories of all time: Homer’s epic The Odyssey. Like most of his other films, he is up for the challenge and succeeds in making a film that, for the most part, meets and exceeds the audience’s expectations.
Synopsis
The Odyssey is made up of three subplots. First is the Tale of Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, and his multi-year journey home after the Trojan War. During the journey, he faces many challenges that test not only his leadership abilities but also his fortitude to return to his wife Penelope ( Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland), whom he has never seen before.
While Odysseus is absent, suitors have gathered at his home to convince Penelope that he is dead, and she must take another husband who would then become the King of Ithaca. Penelope, convinced that Odysseus is alive, uses her cunning to hold the suitors off while she awaits his return. One suitor in particular who has his eyes on the throne is Antinous (Robert Pattinson), who is willing to do whatever it takes to win Penelope’s heart.
The third story is that of Telemachus. Like his mother, he is convinced Odysseus is alive, and if his father cannot make it home, he should be the rightful heir to the throne of Ithaca. He has his own Odyssey as he journeys to Sparta to meet Menelaus ( John Bernthal) for information about his father’s fate or, if Odysseus is alive, his whereabouts. Once he gets whatever information he can, he returns home to aid his mother.
Nolan chooses to tell Odysseus’s story through flashbacks because he has spent many years on an island with the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), who has realized that Odysseus must remember who he is and complete his journey home. Nolan uses the interactions between Odysseus and Calypso to skip along the timeline to tell his story in three hours.
Discussion
The performances in The Odyssey are top-notch, and many of the actors will get well-deserved consideration for Oscar nominations. The standouts in this film are Damon, Theron, Holland, and Hathaway. Their stellar performances create believable characters audiences want to follow throughout the film. In addition to the leads, two members of the supporting cast are outstanding.
John Leguizamo’s portrayal of Eumaeus is flawless. Leguizamo’s character serves as the connection between Telemachus and Odysseus, an important part of the glue that holds the film together. In addition, Himesh Patel does a great job in his portrayal of Eurylochus. Patel brings life to a complicated character who, at times, is Odysseus’s biggest supporter and at others his biggest rival. He is believable and plays that conflict well.
While most of the performances were fantastic, Robert Pattinson’s acting needs a lot of work. He could not raise his performance to the level of the other actors in the film. His portrayal of Antinous lacks the strength and believability it must have.
The strongest part of The Odyssey is the set pieces. Every one of them was flawless. The action, scenery, scale, and story synergize to create scenes that capture the scope of Homer’s epic, with scenes audiences must not miss. Nolan and Hoyte van Hoytema had the monumental task of photographing this almost three-hour film.
Further Analysis
Picking up where they left off with their success on Oppenheimer, The Odyssey was the first film 100 per cent in IMAX format. Once again, that team exceeded all expectations. Everything about the film is beautiful. Hoytema captures every possible landscape brilliantly. Every color and texture from the desolate beaches, the lavish forests, and the granite cliffs is perfectly lit and looks great on film. Nolan has always been able to film in large formats, and the Odessey demands to be shot in IMAX.
Writing and editing the film was another challenge for Nolan. The limiting factor of the IMAX format is time, because the plates that support the film for the projector cannot hold a movie longer than three hours without the film falling over the edge. Nolan did a great job working with the editing team to make sure not a single frame was wasted. The story moves at a breakneck pace, yet nothing is rushed, and the movie is easy to follow.
Using Calypso, a rather minor character, to move the film along was one of Nolan’s best ideas to ensure the story could be told in three hours. Besides writing within the time limit, Nolan’s decision to mix genres was a brilliant idea. The darker parts of the story had the feel of a horror film, and some of the action sequences were written more dramatically and less heroically. One of the themes is that everything comes with a price, and the mix of genres drives that message home.
Conclusion
As strong as the writing is, it is also one of the areas that hurt the film. For some reason, every expository scene fails. Nolan should have put up a “Spoiler Alert” sign before each scene. By the time the exposition scene was complete, the audience knew exactly what would happen next. Unfortunately, the film has very few surprises. Besides the spoilers, each scene was so poorly written that the audience is taken out ot the story, interrupting its flow.
Even with its flaws, the Odyssey is one of the must-see films of 2026. Once again, Nolan proves himself to be not only an incredible storyteller but a master filmmaker. He is continually telling stories that entertain audiences, pushing the limits of filmmaking technology and challenging himself and those around him to do their best work.
A couple of Fun Facts:
To film The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan used over 2.1 million feet of film. That is over 397 miles.
The final 70mm IMAX print of the film weighs roughly 530-550 pounds and is 10.97 miles long.
The IMAX Camera and its Blimp Housing (covering to block the sound of the camera during filming) weigh between 300 and 400 pounds.
