Christopher Nolan has never been accused of thinking small.
Whether he’s reinventing the superhero movie (The Dark Knight), bending our minds with dreams within dreams (Inception), or turning the story of the atomic bomb into one of the biggest blockbusters of the decade (Oppenheimer), Nolan has built a reputation for making films that demand to be seen on the largest screen possible.
His latest effort, The Odyssey, is his boldest undertaking yet.
Adapting one of the oldest and most influential stories ever written is no easy task, especially when audiences have been exposed to countless versions of Greek mythology over the years. Fortunately, and not surprisingly, Nolan doesn’t simply retell Homer’s epic — he turns it into a sweeping cinematic spectacle that feels both ancient and contemporary. The result is an undeniably impressive achievement, even if it doesn’t quite rank among my favorite films in Nolan’s remarkable filmography.
If your memory of The Odyssey begins and ends with reading it in high school English class, here’s a refresher: After helping the Greeks win the Trojan War, the legendary Odysseus (Matt Damon), King of Ithaca, embarks on what should be a quick trip home. Instead, thanks to some very angry gods — and a few questionable decisions of his own — that voyage stretches into a brutal, decade-long ordeal.
Along the way, he encounters divine ally Athena (Zendaya), the witch Circe (Samantha Morton), and nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), plus enough larger-than-life obstacles to fill several fantasy franchises.
Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, Odysseus’ faithful wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) struggles to hold the kingdom together while fending off a parade of increasingly entitled suitors, led by the delightfully slimy Antinous (Robert Pattinson), as her son Telemachus (Tom Holland) grows up wondering whether his father is ever coming home.
Frankly, if I was stuck on an island with Charlize Theron, knowing Anne Hathaway was waiting for me at home, I’d probably stay right where I was. But that’s just me.
Anyway, The Odyssey is a timeless adventure story, and Nolan gives it the epic scope it deserves. The director shot the film in real locations using minimal green screen (if any), and he orchestrates all the action with practical effects and the confidence and skill of someone who’s been making blockbuster magic for more than two decades.
Three cases in point: First, the confrontation with the Cyclops is amazing. The creature (a 60-foot-tall mechanical puppet!) is genuinely intimidating, and the entire sequence strikes a terrific balance between action and old-fashioned adventure. It’s one of the film’s undeniable highlights and one of the best fantasy set pieces Nolan has ever directed. Later, his depiction of the Trojan Horse attack on Troy is every bit as thrilling as you’d hope, transforming one of history’s most famous military deceptions into a masterclass of cinematic tension and destruction, while also asking if it was all worth it.
And when Odysseus finally returns home and reveals himself (there are no spoilers when the source material is nearly 3,000 years old, right?), Nolan expertly ratchets up the suspense before delivering an exciting payoff that had people at my screening applauding.
All this is rendered with shot-with-IMAX-cameras photography that’s often jaw-dropping. Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography turns every coastline, storm, and battlefield into a postcard from mythology. (I assume. If I’m being honest, I have to give Nolan and Hoytema the benefit of the doubt here since the projection at the Boston-area press screening was subpar, at best, with entire sections of the film too dark or out of focus, or both. Ugh. If you’re in town, do not see the movie at the AMC Boston Common.)
The performances are terrific across the board. Damon gives Odysseus equal measures of swagger, exhaustion, and vulnerability. Hathaway brings quiet strength to Penelope. Pattinson seems to be having an absolute blast playing the most punchable man in Greece. And Holland gives the strongest performance of the bunch, his best since The Impossible, showing that he’s more versatile than his superhero résumé suggests. Don’t be surprised if he makes Oscar’s short list next year.
Performances from the rest of the supporting cast — a diverse bunch that includes John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong’o, and Himesh Patel — feel perfectly calibrated, as well. (Just ignore the controversy.)
Still … I didn’t love this movie.
One creative choice I wasn’t entirely sold on, for example, was the screenplay’s occasional use of modern language. While the film remains largely faithful to the spirit of the ancient story, and the critically acclaimed 2017 translation by Emily Wilson on which Nolan’s screenplay is at least partly based, I couldn’t help but laugh when Odysseus uses profanity in one scene. Likewise, hearing Telemachus casually refer to his “dad” instead of his “father” is kind of odd. I get what Nolan is going for — making these legendary figures sound like real people instead of marble statues — but the modern touches didn’t always blend seamlessly with the ancient setting.
More importantly, for all its spectacle, The Odyssey just feels more admirable than emotionally involving. Nolan’s fascination with structure, scale, and mythology sometimes keeps the audience at arm’s length. I found myself marveling at what I was watching more often than I was genuinely swept away by it. Maybe it’s because, as noted, I could barely see some of it. Maybe it’s because The Odyssey is, indeed, a long journey, and unlike other Nolan films, this one feels its length. Compare that with the ticking clock of Dunkirk or the moral questioning of Oppenheimer, or even the grandeur of The Dark Knight Rises, and this one lands just a notch below.
Don’t misunderstand me — The Odyssey is absolutely worth seeing, and preferably in IMAX (or, even better, in IMAX 70mm). It’s a wildly ambitious adaptation that succeeds far more often than it stumbles, and it once again demonstrates why Christopher Nolan remains one of the best filmmakers working today. I just won’t be putting this movie at the top of my list of favorite Nolan films.
I’m giving The Odyssey a B+.
Martin's Musings 
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