Warning: this review contains spoilers.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026) was undeniably impressive with stunning visuals and a huge sense of scale that the large cinema screen complements. The movie incorporates several genres. Mostly focussing on adventure, fantasy and romance, depicting the aftermath of the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek poem by Homer. It tells the story of Odysseus, a Greek king who is trying to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. However, Odysseus faces dangerous creatures, powerful gods and many difficult challenges to find his way back to his family.
Christopher Nolan, who directed this film, also directed many popular movies like Oppenheimer (2023) so expectations were high.
Oh, and it’s three hours long. Some film critics have even decided the best times to visit the bathroom during the movie to avoid missing key parts.
But The Odyssey has already earned $264m opening at the global box office after its opening week alone, so it might just be worth the watch.
The Characters
The film has an impressive cast, led by Matt Damon as Odysseus. Anne Hathaway who recently starred in The Devil Wears Prada 2 this year, plays Penelope (Odysseus’s wife). More so, Tom Holland plays their son Telemachus. Zendaya takes on the role of Athena, who helps guide Odysseus. Lastly, Robert Pattinson (forever determined to make us all forget that he played Edward in Twilight) plays Antinous, who is one of Penelope’s suitors.
Overwhelmingly, the film’s cast felt a lot like famous actors playing themselves rather than actors embodying their characters. It was difficult to feel fully immersed in the story because I was constantly aware that I was watching people act. Are famous actors belonging to multiple franchises still capable of portraying new characters? Or will the audience never stop associating Robert Pattinson with glowing vampire memes? (To be fair his acting was fine).
Moreso, the cast also sparked controversy about the lack of Greek actors (zero) in a story rooted in Greek mythology.
Greek Mythology You Need To Know
Zeus is the God of the sky and he has two brothers. Poseidon, the God of the sea and Hades, the God of the underworld. Neither of these characters are seen in the movie but they are referred to.
Zeus’s law was the ancient Greek code of hospitality referred to countless times during the movie. Basically, you should always expect that every traveller is a God in disguise. Therefore, you must provide them with food, shelter, a safe passage and respect. (Despite this law, Antinous provides us with a meme of him insisting that “somebody get these BEGGARS out of here,” during the end of the film when Odysseus is in disguise.
Athena (Zendaya) the Goddess of Wisdom and Strategic Warfare, helps guide the main character Odysseus home. Athena always tries to help Odysseus when the other Gods try to punish him after the Trojan War for his arrogance.
Odysseus is the King of Ithaca who left behind his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to fight in the war.
The Trojan War started because Helen the Queen of Sparta, was abducted or eloped to Troy, leaving behind her jilted husband Menelaus (King of Sparta). Consequently, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon declared war.
The 4DX Cinematic Experience
I was planning on being violently shaken in my seat and squirted with water and wind special effects, but I sadly was unable to attend the 4DX screening. Unfortunately, my local cinemas stopped screening the Odyssey 4DX after the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) was released this week.
Whilst I was disappointed, one review I read revealed that it may have been a blessing in disguise. “Shaken, Soaked and Seasick: What It’s Like to Survive ‘The Odyssey’ in 4DX.”
Justice For Penelope
I would prefer a movie solely about Penelope as I felt her character was entirely male focused. She should have been given more personality besides being a doting wife and mother. I feel she has no freedom (which would be historically accurate). Odysseus basically forced her to abdicate the crown without asking her opinion. Penelope is never given the freedom to travel herself and her intelligence isn’t praised enough. (She manages to fight off her marriage suitors for years. She unravels her tapestry at night so that she can never complete her tribute for her “dead” husband).
My Opinion
Overall, The Odyssey brings Homer’s journey to life in a modern way whilst paying homage to the original myth. Is it 100 per cent historically accurate? Not fully, but I feel like that would be almost impossible to achieve.
The props and scenery were visually aesthetic and detailed. Certain scenes felt so realistic like the cyclops scene because it was filmed inside an actual Grecian cave. A 60-foot-tall puppet was even built for the actors to interact with. They also built a massive Trojan horse with realistic proportions to fit the actors, directors and filming crew inside. I feel this adds to the element of claustrophobia we feel watching it.
The overall plot didn’t massively appeal to me, but I did enjoy learning more about Greek mythology. But I feel like a lot of the scenes were quite hard to understand…and LOUD. If I had absolutely no knowledge of the plot beforehand I would struggle to understand.
Zendaya’s character Athena still made no sense to me; she got paid millions to stare mysteriously into the camera lens for a few minutes.
To be frank, I feel like three hours is a lot for a movie and it maybe could have been better as a Netflix limited series so that a bigger emphasis could have been placed on character development and subplots. However, I would recommend this film as it was overall enjoyable. But personally, I think it is too long for me to rewatch. You could even make a drinking game out of every time someone mentions “Zeus’s law.”
Fourth Year English and Journalism Student
