The Story Of Humanity
Undertaking a story like The Odyssey on screen is a titanic trial. Like the trials that Odysseus faces in his return to Ithaca, Christopher Nolan’s decision to make his next film based on Homer’s epic poem was a choice. I come from a storytelling background, and I have a degree in screenwriting. The Odyssey is the basis, the backbone, the bedrock of all human storytelling. Any story that comes after it is influenced by it in some way, shape, or form.
So when I say that this is the story of humanity, that has a double meaning. This is the story of all stories for humanity, but its also a story that shows off humanity in all its greatness and faults. The Trojan War could be an analog for any war out there. It was fought for glory and for the return of Helen of Troy, but there’s a deeper layer of violence and greed underneath it. That is what The Odyssey is all about. The hubris of man to decimate Troy with a trick that broke the rules of engagement set by Zeus’s Law.
Odysseus and his men all spit in the face of the gods at one point or another, and this movie is the consequence of that.
And then there’s the other half of the film about Ithaca and Telemachus and Penelope’s fight to keep suitors away from the throne. If you’ve never read The Odyssey, this is a faithful adaptation of the source material through and through.
Performances That Are Great Across The Board
The cast for The Odyssey is a who’s who of people with immense talent in their craft. Picking one performance out of it would be folly, but particularly Matt Damon, John Leguizamo, and Anne Hathaway are standouts. That being said, the other cast including Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Benny Safdie, Ryan Hurst, James Remar, Corey Hawkins, and Zendaya, are all great.
Matt Damon provides so much in his role, not just as the conqueror of Troy, but as the broken man trying to return home, or maybe not trying to return home to Ithaca. Hathaway and Holland have insane chemistry as mother and son, and it really feels like Holland’s performance gains strength and steam as the movie goes along. Pattinson’s turn as the main antagonist Antinous, who is trying his hardest to woo Penelope as a suitor, is dastardly.
Even the smaller performances that are only in for one scene or so are impactful. Elliot Page’s turn as Sinon is immensely impactful, not just on the story, but they really raise the stakes for the latter stages of the film.
If I had one complaint, it might be that some of the characters and performances don’t get as much to work with as others. Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra was much ballyhooed by the internet, but it doesn’t amount to much in the film. Same with Mia Goth as Melantho, her role is fairly small, and while it does affect the overall narrative, they don’t get much to work with.
Stunning Visuals And Abject Terror
People have been clamoring for Christopher Nolan to make a horror movie for years. Well, we get a taste of what that would look like multiple times throughout The Odyssey. Between the Cyclops, giants in armor, and a witch, The Odyssey has creature horror, terror, and body horror all in one. That’s not even counting the horror of mankind that’s displayed during the burning of Troy. These sequences are immense and give off a sense of dread that’s like no other.
The other visuals in the film are equally stunning. Beaches, landscapes, and even the open ocean are all gorgeous to look at, especially in 70MM IMAX. If you can’t make it to one of those vaunted screenings, the film in either 70MM or IMAX is going to look great.
I was really trying to see if the seams were visible on any of the effects, and I couldn’t. Everything looks great in the film, the stars look great. They’re actually shot like they’re movie stars. For all the problems that modern filmmaking has with lighting and framing, Christopher Nolan and Co. seemingly haven’t gotten on that bandwagon.
The score from Ludwig Goransson is subdued but powerful when it needs to be. A movie based on The Odyssey should focus on the story and the performances, and it does. Goransson’s score lets it rip when it needs to, but mainly sticks to being a background and complementary piece.
Nolan really ramps it up when we get to the full sequence of the sacking of Troy. The 5-10 minute section is as breathtaking as film gets. It might not be the bomb going off in Oppenheimer, but it has a similar impact.
Spectacle Through And Through
The true power of The Odyssey is in its spectacle, but also in how it shows off humanity. The third act of the story is all about Odysseus and his return to Ithaca. The most powerful message in the film is about human nature though. This is after all, the most important story in human history. Its a story that has been passed down from person to person, from generation to generation, since it was originally told, thousands of years ago. Now, Christopher Nolan has given us the most accessible version of the story in its existence.
Whatever your definition of epic is, The Odyssey is that. It’s satisfying, beautiful, haunting, horrifying, dramatic, and shines a light on who we are as a species and as people. This certainly feels like the other side of the coin to Oppenheimer, which showed us the darkest parts of humanity and that we were irredeemable after that point. The Odyssey gives us the horrors of humanity, but ends on a note that something beautiful can come out of all these trials and tribulations that we undergo.
The Odyssey releases in theaters on July 17th ,2026.
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