Review: It’s Controversial – But Is Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY A Good Movie?

Way back when it was first announced in 2024, I don’t think anyone would have believed that Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey would have been the most controversial film of 2026. However, 21st Century culture works in mysterious ways and Nolan’s Homer adaptation was caught in a political crossfire that targeted everything from its casting, filming locations, costumes and…well, just about everything actually. However, I come to review The Odyssey, not to break down its pre-release buzz – and frankly – I’ve been reading and writing about movies on the internet for so long that I only really care about the finished product. These days everyone is outraged by something and boy, does everyone let us know about it. 

So the question that ultimately needs to be answered: is The Odyssey a monumental cinematic blunder (as some would have you believe), or is it a cinematic marvel and one of the great filmic feats of our time (as others would also have you believe)? The truth is somewhere in the middle. Well, not quite in the middle. It’s far from a disaster and actually quite good – but it is not quite a cinematic masterpiece.

The cast is well stacked with A-list talent – Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal and Elliott Page all put in an appearance in roles of various sizes. Despite whatever controversy some of the casting may have caused – everyone does their job and does it well – but I’ll come to that later.  

Without getting into too much plot – as everyone seems to be very au fait with Homer’s text – the story sees Odysseus (Damon) chart a somewhat long and winding voyage back to his home island of Ithaca after the success of the Trojan War. Along the way he encounters a Cyclops, giants, sirens and all sorts of curious sights as his wife, Penelope (Hathaway) fends-off a banquet hall full of suitors who want to marry her and become King in Odysseus’ absence. 

The Odyssey is a suitably epic big budget adventure with some impressive set pieces. No mainstream Hollywood filmmaker today crafts their films with a tactile tangibility quite like Nolan. There’s an earthiness here that feels real. The title card reads, ’A time of apparent magic…’ and Nolan has stripped as much magic away from the film as he could. Yes, we have a Cyclops and monsters and magic – but is any of it really real? Is it a hallucination by Damon’s lotus-induced fugue state? Even Zendaya’s ever-present Athena might just be a figment of his conscience. I think that maybe he stripped back the magic and the myth too much. 

There’s a lot of bombast on display from the sacking of Troy to the the attacks of giants, but The Odyssey actually works best in the smaller, quieter moments. This is the mother-son moments between Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland or the quiet contemplation by John Leguizamo. Hathaway and Leguizamo might actually be the standouts here, delivering performances that have weight behind them and a grounded emotionality. Hathaway might be perceived as a somewhat Rom-Com queen, but Nolan has managed to get great work out of her in The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. As for Leguizamo – I’ve had a love-hate relationship with his acting for years. He might not yet be forgiven for The Pest, but we’ve started on our own little odyssey that might just get us there. Matt Damon is solid as Odysseus. He’s a little too contemporary for me, but the days of Charlton Heston or Kirk Douglas have passed – and I can’t honestly think of another star who could fit the bill. He does bring an everyman quality that works for the role, cutting through any necessary subtext with his movie star baggage. 

There’s a lot of island hopping and venturing into islands only to be chased back onto boats and into the sea. Nolan utilises his oft used tricks with time-skipping which help stop things being too episodic. While it doesn’t quite work, it does add some variation to the action. Speaking of the action, there’s plenty of it but none of it really resonates. There’s no tension – the peril never quite comes across as earned – it just all seems to happen. There’s little build-up, save for the sequence where Odysseus and his crew meet Samantha Morton’s, Circe. This is framed like the early introduction to Medusa in the Ray Harryhausen classic Clash Of The Titans. It’s a sequence infused with horror and it might be the standout for the movie. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema certainly shoots The Odyssey like a Christopher Nolan movie – it’s steely blues and castaway greys – which all add to the grim reality of the whole thing. Ludwig Göransson always does good work, but the heart-shaking music this time around is less about music and more about sonic bombardment. I know that Nolan gave him certain parameters – but the question I want answered is: at what point does musical score become sound design?

There’s a lot to unpack in The Odyssey and far too much for one review. You could argue that there’s even too much for one film – maybe it should have been a two-parter – it is an epic poem after all. If you can squeeze two films out of Wicked, then I’m sure Homer’s The Odyssey could be paid the same respect. Of course, I may sound unduly critical and I don’t mean to be. The Odyssey is a good film – but it’s not a great one, although it does deserve to be seen on a big screen and enjoyed with an audience. It’s not Nolan’s best film and it’s not his worst – and I think it probably fits somewhere in the middle of his oeuvre. I enjoyed the experience, though when I left the cinema I only had one fully formed emotion – the desire to watch Jason And The Argonauts again.