Pan and Slam

Movie Review: The Odyssey

R 2h 52m

• Director
  • Christopher Nolan
• Writers
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Homer
• Stars
  • Matt Damon
  • Robert Pattinson
  • Travis Scott

By Jason Koenigsberg

Christopher Nolan’s first film since his big Academy Award winner Oppenheimer (2023) is another epic and breezes through its three hour run time just as smoothly as his previous picture. Credit needs to go to his editor Jennifer Lame but once again Nolan has crafted a movie for the ages this time based on a story as old as storytelling itself. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey feels very much like a product of its time, and that is meant as a positive. It is a tribute to storytelling itself by going back to one of the oldest adventure stories in history about a hero trying to get home and finding out that home is not what he thought it was. It opens up in typical Nolan fashion. The first shot is a part of a boat on a beach and the audience realizes they are seeing a man telling a story about Odysseus. This quick series of shots followed by dialogue is similar to how he started Inception (2010) and Oppenheimer (2023) especially the former with the first shot showing an ocean. Overall this follows the norm for most of Nolan’s movies and gives this movie of the classic tale a non-linear narrative structure. It starts with a man telling a tale of Odysseus at a hall it then goes to flashbacks and shows different episodes of his epic voyage home before eventually returning to this scene.

The cinematography, editing, and music of The Odyssey are all stellar. Christopher Nolan really is a master of pacing and knows how to make a film on a large scale with a big budget that never drags. Only the Cyclops scene early on had a few moments where it felt like the soldiers trial and error method was testing audience’s patience but it was still suspenseful enough to not warrant a glance at a cell phone or detract from the movie as a whole. As The Odyssey moves on it flows perfectly that the set pieces never feel episodic but more like one long journey that keeps facing new obstacles. In particular the inclusion of Argos, Odysseus’ faithful dog was a nice sentimental touch that stands out in the text but has never been given this much attention in a film adaptation. It is also commendable how they discovered the Trojan horse and delivered it inside the city gates. It was clever and unique to this particular version of The Odyssey.

The acting across the board elevated this movie and kudos to all the talent involved for wanting to work with Nolan on this project. Matt Damon leads the film as Odysseus and his gravitas reinforces that he is one of the best actors of his generation and if anything he remains underrated. He plays him as a flawed hero but still convinces the audience to always be on his side. Tom Holland gives the best performance of his career as his son. Robert Pattinson is a sniveling suitor who is easy to loath every second he is on screen with his mannerisms and facial expressions speaking volumes, and John Leguizamo is outstanding as a blind man loyal to Ithaca’s lost King. Anne Hathaway has a pivotal role as his long suffering wife. She has a few weak moments where she shouts as if she was in a desperate situation and did not know what else to do, or was told to shriek her lines. She is often photographed in The Odyssey as if she is behind prison bars in her own home. She is meant to represent women’s oppression and the suitors who occupy her home and irritate her, led by the vile Robert Pattinson, objectify her as a prize to be won and only want her to improve their social status.

The final shot of The Odyssey shows the Trojan horse at an angle as it burns along with the entire city of Troy. It is meant to represent the horrors of war and hit home how this movie really is an allegory about how war is terrible and rips families apart. Even after all those years away at least Odysseus is alive and has the ability to come home unlike so many other men he was with on the battlefield or at sea on his journey who never make it back to see their loved ones. Christopher Nolan once again solidifies his reputation as the best filmmaker to emerge in the twenty-first century and his re-telling of this classic tale in his style is one of the most invigorating and engaging cinematic experiences of 2026.