ODYSSEY, THE
(director/writer: Christopher Nolan; screenwriter: based on the epic poem by Homer; cinematographer: Hoyle van Hoytema; editor: Jennifer Lame; music: Ludwig Goranssen; cast: Matt Damon (Odysseus), Tom Holland (Prince Telemachus), Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Robert Pattinson (Antinous), Zendaya (Athena), Charlize Theron (Calypso), Lupita Nyong’o (Helen of Troy & her twin sister Clytemnestra-wife of King Agamemmon), Mia Goth (Melanto, Queen’s handmaiden), John Bernthal (Menelaus, Spartan king), Benny Safdie (King Agamemmon, brother of Menelaus), John Leguizamo (Lumaus), Himesh Patel (Euryiochus), Samantha Morton (Circe, a witch), Bill Irwin (Cyclops), Corey Hawkins (Polybus, suitor), James Remar (Tiresias, the prophet), Ryan Hurst (trainer, protector and mentor of Telemachus), Himesh Patel (Eurylochus), Elliott Page (Sinon, soldier), Will Yun Lee (Sailor), Travis Scott (The Bard); Runtime: 160; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Emma Thompson, Christopher Nolan; Universal Pictures; 2026-UK/USA)
“Filmmaking at its best.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The illustrious Brit filmmaker Christopher Nolan (“Memento”/”Oppenheimer”) superbly directs and writes the film based on Homer’s epic war poem that was written in the 7th or 8th century century B.C.. The Odyssey is set in ancient Greece. It’s stylishly filmed entirely in Imax, and is updated to reflect the taste of a modern-day audience—showing us how dazzling it is as spectacle, how keen it is in getting the mythology right, and how revealing it is for the hero to come to understand how harmful his selfish actions were for his family and kingdom.
The warrior king Odysseus (Matt Damon) just led his troops to an astonishing victory in Troy, in the ten year Trojan Wars, and is heading home to the island of Ithaca to reclaim his kingdom. On the long journey back (which will take ten years) his army loses many men due to the harsh conditions of the trek, facing the Cyclops monster (Bill Irwin), his mortal enemy Poseidon (the sea god), the alluring sirens, the witch Circe (Samantha Morton), and his stopover for seven years at a deserted island for much time to be with the goddess Calypso (Charlize Theron). His whereabouts are traced through flashback.
In Ithaca, Odysseus’s vulnerable adult son Prince Telemachus (Tom Holland), wisely tutored by his blind farmer servant (John Leguizamo), worries about his safety and that of his mom, Queen Penelope (Anne Hathaway). She’s being pressured by unsuitable power-hungry suitors to marry her and thereby they will assume the throne. The worst of the suitors is the evil, cunning, and cowardly Antinous (Robert Pattinson). The loyal Penelope resists the suitors, believing hubby is alive, even if the people think differently and have removed him from being their king.
This is filmmaking at its best, a classic even if too long and with some questionable decisions when parting ways from Homer’s text.
REVIEWED ON 7/252026 GRADE: A
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