'The Odyssey' Review, Christopher Nolan's Film Nails The Mythic Scope, But Falters On Narrative Flow
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has arrived in theatres two years after 'Oppenheimer.' The fantasy action features Matt Damon playing the lead alongside many others.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleThe Odyssey has finally arrived in theatres on July 17, 2026. Christopher Nolan’s approach towards filmmaking has changed from Oppenheimer, focusing on stories that have been a part of world history, getting out of his comfort zone of sci-fi movies. The success of Oppenheimer proved that Nolan can handle any subject, and he has done the same with The Odyssey.
The scale of The Odyssey shows the hard work done by Nolan and every other person who has been involved with the film. However, certain things still do not work, and they are expected to impact the viewing experience for a lot of people in some way.
A myth brought to IMAX scale, with Matt Damon leading the charge
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey arrives as exactly what anyone will expect from the director after Oppenheimer: massive, immersive, and intent on putting an ancient story on the biggest canvas possible. This is Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic, retold as a decade-long survival story. Matt Damon plays ‘King Odysseus’ of Ithaca, who sets out for home after the Trojan War only to be thrown off course by gods, monsters, and his own choices.
From the opening frames, the film makes its priorities clear: scale and texture. Shot entirely with IMAX cameras, The Odyssey uses multiple aspect ratios depending on the format - 1.43:1 on IMAX 70mm, 1.90:1 on IMAX digital, and 2.20:1 on 70mm prints. That choice pays off in the ocean sequences.
The sea feels endless, violent, and indifferent. When ‘Odysseus’ faces storms sent by ‘Poseidon,’ anyone can feel the weight of the water. The production moved across international locations to build Ithaca, the islands, and the mythical encounters, and it shows in the scope.
Damon anchors the film with a grounded performance. His ‘Odysseus’ isn’t a swaggering hero. He’s tired, clever, and stubborn. He appears after the war, already carrying the cost of it. The story follows the non-linear structure of the poem in parts, with 'Odysseus' recounting his encounters: the ‘Polyphemus,’ the enchantress ‘Circe’ played by Charlize Theron, the nymph ‘Calypso,’ and the interventions of ‘Athena,’ played by Zendaya. Each moment is treated like its own set piece, but Nolan keeps tying them back to one question - what does it take to get home?
The supporting cast gives the home story in Ithaca its emotional weight. Anne Hathaway as ‘Penelope’ and Tom Holland as ‘Telemachus’ are left to hold the kingdom together while suitors, including Robert Pattinson as ‘Antinous,’ press in. Their scenes provide the counterweight to the adventure. While ‘Odysseus’ is battling mythical forces, ‘Penelope’ and ‘Telemachus’ are fighting political ones. Hathaway brings quiet resolve to ‘Penelope’s’ wait, and Holland makes ‘Telemachus’s’ growth from boy to man feel earned.
Nolan also leans into the practical. There’s dramatic background music, sweeping visuals, and action sequences designed for large-format screens. The trailer response focused heavily on those visuals and the score, and the film delivers on that promise in theatres. This isn’t a small, intimate adaptation. It’s built to be experienced with an audience, especially in IMAX.
Where it works and where it does not
For all its ambition, The Odyssey works best when it remembers the human story inside the myth. The positives are clear. First, the technical execution. This is a film made for theatres. The IMAX photography, the sound design, and the scale of the set pieces make the 10-year journey feel punishing and real. The encounter with the ‘Cyclops’ and the sea trials don’t feel like CGI showcases - they feel tactile.
Second, the cast. Matt Damon avoids turning ‘Odysseus’ into a superhero. He plays him as a man who lies, bargains, and survives. That makes the final return to Ithaca land. Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland give the Ithaca plotline dignity. Without them, the film would just be a travelogue of monsters. Robert Pattinson as ‘Antinous’ adds menace to the suitors, and Charlize Theron’s ‘Circe’ and Zendaya’s ‘Athena’ bring distinct presences to the divine side of the story.
Third, fidelity to the spirit of Homer. The film doesn’t modernise the language or setting. It treats the gods as real forces, the omens as real, and the journey as both physical and moral. For viewers who know the poem, there are familiar beats: the crew lost one by one, the temptation to stay, the disguise on return. For new viewers, Nolan provides enough context to follow the plot without over-explaining.
The negatives come from that same ambition. At times, the episodic structure makes the middle feel like a series of vignettes rather than a single driving narrative. Because ‘Odysseus’ is constantly moving from one island to the next, the emotional momentum can dip between the big set pieces. Some viewers may want more connective tissue between the adventures.
Pacing is also a factor. A 10-year story compressed into one film means some events get less room to breathe. The suitors’ plot in Ithaca is compelling, but it competes for time with the voyage. And while the IMAX formats are stunning, they also demand a lot from the audience. This is not a casual watch - it asks for attention across its runtime.
Still, The Odyssey achieves what it set out to do: bring one of the oldest stories in literature to contemporary audiences with scope and seriousness. It’s not trying to be a quick action film. It’s trying to be an epic about home, identity, and endurance. The best advice is to go to the biggest screen if possible. This is a film that was designed for that.
Have you watched The Odyssey in the theatre? Let us know.
PC: IMDb
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