"The Odyssey" REVIEW

Published on 7/19/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Christopher Nolan 

Cast: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, etc. 

Plot: After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Calypso along the way. 

REVIEW 

In all the years that I've been religiously going to the theaters to watch movies, I've never seen a newly released film quite as epic as Christopher Nolan's highly anticapted adapation of "The Odyssey". Three years after the box office smash hit and Oscar-winning awards juggernaut that was "Oppenheimer", Nolan could've played it safe with his follow-up to an overwhelming career-high with a return to the sci-fi or action/thriller genres he's associated with—but Christopher Nolan isn't like most directors, I strongly believe that he's a filmmaker who understands his immense stature and popularity. Instead of treading lightly, Nolan decided to follow up "Oppenheimer" with a massive-scale adaptation of one of the most famous and most ancient stories in all of human history—oh, and also to have this be the first project in history to be entirely shot on IMAX 70mm cameras, a feat that just a decade ago would've been thought of as impossible. Nolan used his success and popularity to get Universal Studios to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at him to bring to life at the highest scale and quality possible an ancient story deeply tied to the foundation of human history and human storytelling. When you stop to think about it, this film's existence is incredible—we, the human race, went from passing this story of Odysseus around close to three thousand years ago and now it's been recreated at the highest level of skill through the magic of filmmaking and shared across the world for millions to watch. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't the progress of humanity, art, and storytelling wonderful? This is a film that is required, demands, insists to be seen upon the big screen. It calls to be expierenced alongside a crowd of awing spectators. The pure spectacle on display is breathtaking, to say the least. Through a seamless blend of practical and visual effects, the highest of production value, and large-scale cinematography backed by a director that understands how to make large films genuinely feel large, this film makes for a feast of impressiveness in scale. This is an adaptation first and foremost—all the scenes cyclopes, sirens, and fighting Trojans you've imagined in your head reading "The Odyssey" and " The Iliad" in ninth grade English class are brought to life—but Nolan tweaks a few narrative elements and smartly revises/enhances the story's messages. This is the ultimate hero's journey story of a guy trying his best to get back home but within this adaptation a strong thematic pull is established, conveyed through Jennifer Lame's brilliant editing and the steadily developed traces of an impending final payoff—a payoff which is absolutely delivered, Odysseus's full realization of the consequences of the actions he took part in and the ways in which they've loomed over the course of the story and the struggles these characters have gone through comes to our full fruition as an audience in a way that really sinks its claws into you emotionally. It almost feels like a mirroring of some of the themes of dread, regret, and consequence that Nolan similarly made a major thematic aspect of last film, "Oppenheimer". Seeing him tackle those heavy themes within this story was a very welcome addition of precise and interesting messaging that spoke to me, and I'm sure it'll speak to many others. This film is an awe-inspiring showcase of spectacle. It's a phenomenal production, it's exhilarating, and it has something interesting to say. This'll deservedly get Oscar nominations out the wazoo. Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" might just be the definitive cinematic event of 2026. 

FIVE BEST ELEMENTS

(For times that it feels exclusively fitting and for films that I am very excited about, I will be including my "five best elements" instead of my traditional three.)

• Christopher Nolan's direction. What more can I say about Christopher Nolan's direction of this film that everyone won't already be saying for the months, years, and decades to come? Truly epic, high-scale, focused direction from a filmmaker who's currently at the peak of his powers. 

• The ensemble. I'll say something quick about the most notable performances in this stacked ensemble. Matt Damon delivers a fantastic physical transformation and brings his absolute all to this character, Anne Hathaway is a huge standout with several "Oscar moments", Tom Holland gives the best work of his career and I hope he gets more dramatic roles like this, I wish we got a little more from Robert Pattinson but what he gives is great as this conniving little fella, John Leguizamo often steals the show with an incredibly lovable supporting turn, Eliot Page delivers a strong emotional footing, and Samantha Morton might've been the standout cast member in my eyes as she brings down the house in her sequence as Circe. The rest of the large ensemble are pretty well-utilized too. 

• The sound design. Some of the most reeling, staggering, detailed, unforgettable sound design I've ever heard in a film. The entire film is firing off all cylinders with its sound editing and mixing, but several scenes in particular stood out to me due to their excellence in sound. The Siren song scene (smartly not allowing us to actually hear the song), every single one of the storm scenes, the Circe sequence, and especially the Cyclops sequence. The way in which the Cyclops' screams of agony roar throughout the theater shook me to my core, I was terrified. Genuinely. I felt a visceral response hearing those screams. That's crazy good sound design. 

• The editing. In typical Nolan fashion, for much of this film its narrative structure is non-linear, which allows and strongly encourages a really strong sense of intercutting flow in the film's editing. Edited by Jennifer Lame, whose work on "Oppenheimer" remains some of my all-time favorite film editing, this film's editing is once again stellar—Lame and Nolan work wonderfully together, complimenting each other's styles. To single out a standout edited moment, the Athena/Zendaya scene in the third act was masterfully cut. 

• The cinematography. One of the big stories that's been surrounding this film since its production began is that fact that it's the very first film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm, so it would be a shame if the film didn't have fantastic cinematography—thankfully that wasn't the case, Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is vast and engaging. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• Occasionally the narrative can feel a little clunky. 

RATING

9/10

It's THE cinematic event of the year, buddy!