Nearly 3 decades of Christopher Nolan’s filmmaking journey have come to this. Since his independent black-and-white debut, Following, in 1998, Nolan has consistently elevated the standards of Hollywood cinema. This time, he has made cinematic history by creating the first narrative feature entirely filmed in IMAX.
I haven’t read Homer’s epic poem, nor have I checked out any direct film or TV adaptations before this. I was hoping to watch Uberto Pasolini’s The Return (2024), which focuses on Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca, before seeing this one. It seems like it could be a great companion to Nolan’s full adaptation that chronicles Odysseus’ homecoming after the decade-long Trojan War. To prep for this, I did a bit of research on the story. Watching some YouTube summary videos helped me get a grip on the main myth and its narrative structure. So brace yourself for my longest review yet.
Firstly, let’s tackle the horse, er, elephant in the room. The issue regarding the film’s ‘authenticity’ has been dissected endlessly online (especially on Reddit) by folks who hadn’t even seen the film yet. Honestly, I never expected The Odyssey would be an archaeological documentary, so I won’t be nitpicking the ‘authenticity’ of the costumes or the boats. The Odyssey is a piece of mythological fiction and historical fantasy that was written long after the Trojan War, so Homer used his own contemporary descriptions to connect with his audience. Similarly, Nolan decided to mix modern styles, tones, and visual elements to make the story resonate with today’s viewers. What really matters in a cinematic adaptation is whether the design choices effectively convey character and tone, more so than simply being period-appropriate.
This leads me to the world-building aspect of The Odyssey, particularly the casting choices. Admittedly, I found it jarring at first seeing Matt Damon in the trailers as Odysseus instead of someone of Greek heritage. Damon shares the screen with a diverse cast, including Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Zendaya as Athena. Nolan challenges the ‘cultural biases’ that often shape Hollywood’s depictions of the ancient world in movies. He picks actors based on how well he thinks they can play the ‘character,’ seeing the person beyond their skin color.
He also breaks from tradition by opting for a more relatable American accent instead of the usual British accents found in most ancient Greek films. It took me a moment to get used to the American accent, especially when I heard ‘daddy’ instead of ‘father,’ spoken by British actors, no less. However, once I got into the story, it didn’t bother me much, except for that one moment when Odysseus swore in modern language.
As for Damon, while watching the film, I soon accepted him as the quintessentially Greek character. More importantly, he convincingly portrays a brave leader who earns the loyalty and devotion of his crew. This is truly a career-best performance from the 55-year-old Bostonian. It’s interesting how Nolan tends to cast actors in supporting roles first (like Damon in Interstellar and Oppenheimer) before promoting them to lead roles, much like he did with Cillian Murphy.
In many ways, Odysseus seems tailor-made for Damon, as he often plays characters on a journey home (think Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, and The Martian). He has that ‘approachable boss energy’ that allows him to inspire loyalty without being overbearing. He trained hard for this role to achieve the battle-worn physical presence it demands while still keeping that empathetic ‘everyman’ quality. His Odysseus is so guilt-stricken, dealing with an existential crisis and serious PTSD from the harsh battles and plunder of Troy. Damon gives a heart-wrenching performance in the Siren song scene, where he’s wailing while tied to the ship’s mast. The Hades scene is particularly haunting, with Sinon (Elliot Page) as the manifestation of the guilt he feels for his fallen comrades.
I feel that Damon is the MVP here, and he wasn’t overshadowed by the stellar ensemble cast. If I had to list my top 5 performances, I’d put Damon at the top, followed by Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus’ son; John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, Odysseus’ old friend and loyal swineherd; Anne Hathaway as Penelope; and Robert Pattinson as the cunning suitor Antinous. There are some touching scenes where Telemachus deeply wishes to reunite with his father, whom he hasn’t seen since he was just a baby. I find the scenes between Odysseus and Eumaus quite emotional as well.
As for the supporting cast, Samantha Morton shines as Circe, and her scenes with Odysseus’ crew are appropriately bizarre and unforgettable. Shout out to Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, Charlize Theron as Calypso, and Jon Bernthal as Menelaus; they all have their standout moments. Zendaya, who apparently received a ‘perfect’ compliment from Nolan, has a minimal role in the movie.
Nolan is an avid admirer of Ray Harryhausen’s legendary mythical adventure films. The last major film in this genre, Wolfgang Petersen’s TROY, hit theaters 22 years ago, so huge epics about Greek mythology are rare. Filmmaking has come a long way from stop-motion techniques, but Nolan still favors practical effects over CGI to vividly recreate the ancient Greek world. I have an affinity for films shot on location, and Nolan consistently delivers on this front, taking his crew to various sites (Greece, Morocco, Italy, Iceland, etc.) rather than being limited to a soundstage.
I was anticipating an immersive experience, and this film certainly delivers on that promise. It’s been all over the news that Nolan requested that the IMAX company come up with a less noisy camera so that he could capture usable live audio during filming. Filming entirely in IMAX provides astonishing image clarity, an expansive field of view, and a seamless visual experience that standard cameras simply cannot replicate. The scale is genuinely monumental, placing you right in the midst of the action, with the long shots being especially breathtaking.
Action and war movie enthusiasts are sure to love all the intense battle scenes. The siege of Troy is a real showstopper, featuring thousands of extras and inventive pyrotechnics. Shot at a UNESCO World Heritage site in Morocco, the ancient architecture adds a genuine historical feel, although Nolan’s team constructed the city gates and other buildings on set. But that’s not the most nail-biting moment for me; it’s the claustrophobic scene with the Trojan Horse where Odysseus and his crew are packed inside that truly takes my breath away. It reminds me of a tense moment in Dunkirk, and once again, Nolan delivers a masterclass in building suspense. Reportedly, Nolan himself squeezed into the hollow horse with 20 actors to film that scene. He really puts the cast through the wringer, but as Damon mentioned in one of the press junkets, he won’t ask the actors to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.
Nolan teamed up again with Swiss cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who has worked on all his films since Interstellar. He sticks with a muted color palette, embracing a high-contrast and monochromatic look. You could say it’s a ‘50 shades of gray’ visual style with some dusty earth tones, which I’m okay with, but a few scenes are just too dark. The approach makes sense for the Cyclops cave scene, where the heavy shadows make the 60-foot practical giant puppet operated by Bill Irwin look even more imposing. However, it would have been great to have a clearer view of what’s happening on screen, like during the Hades and ocean sequences. The dark, shadowy scenes are such a contrast to some of the brightly lit daytime scenes that at times look rather flat.
The sound design and score add so much to the experience. Ludwig Göransson is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite composers. His incredible score focuses more on the vibe than on melody, which can be grand and intimate. Instead of using a traditional orchestra, he crafted a huge percussion soundscape featuring ancient bronze gongs. It sounds really distinct and otherworldly, and it truly gets your heart racing. For the quieter scenes, he used the ancient Greek aulos and lyre, layering vocals to evoke a palpable sense of humanity. He just might win another Oscar for his inventive score.
One thing I noticed right away is the minimalist production design. There are no shiny marble, fancy columns, and ornate details we usually find in ‘sword-and-sandals’ flicks. Take the Ithaca palace, for instance; production designer Ruth De Jong goes for a ‘less is more’ vibe, focusing on the raw beauty of the landscape instead. Ellen Mirojnick’s costume design sticks to this minimalist theme too. Instead of the typical gleaming, colorful bronze that ancient Greek warriors are known for, the costumes here have a more weathered look in blackened bronze, which totally fits after years of battling and sailing. I read that some folks online were hoping to see the Dendra Panoply suit armor, but honestly, those people clearly haven’t made a movie because that would really restrict the actors’ movements and hide their faces.
It’s also for practical reasons that Nolan opts for the rugged Viking longship to stand in for Odysseus’s Greek vessel. This allows him to put his cast, including Damon, on the boats so they can really learn to sail and row on the open Mediterranean Sea. The storm scenes at sea are incredibly intense, and the actors appear truly exhausted and miserable.
I, for one, appreciate Nolan’s minimalist take on gore and blood. Sure, there are some violent moments during the battle scenes, but a lot of it happens off-screen. He steers clear of the ‘gore-fest’ trope that I can’t stand; I definitely prefer films that focus on building tension and psychological effects. Odysseus’s shocked response as he sees his crew mercilessly slaughter the citizens of Troy, including women, really highlights how terrible the plunder is. Interestingly, Nolan refrains from showing the Greek gods, but their presence is certainly felt, i.e., Poseidon’s wrath and Athena’s grace.
Similar to Oppenheimer, The Odyssey is mostly captivating and engrossing despite some slower moments. The tone is mostly serious, though there are some funny moments courtesy of the suitors. The nonlinear storytelling suits this complex story, and it never feels jumbled or hard to follow. The nearly 3-hour runtime flies by, and I do think this story benefits from the long runtime. Although it’s not the most faithful adaptation, I believe it truly captures the essence of the original material. Themes like pain, guilt, longing, jealousy, loyalty, and honor are universal and timeless; it’s no surprise that Homer’s epic story keeps getting adapted into different art forms.
The nearly 3-hour length goes by relatively quickly, and I think this complex tale benefits from its extended runtime. Even though the story is male-centric, as all of Nolan’s movies are, this portrayal of Odysseus is that of a warrior king who’s deeply human and unafraid to show his vulnerable side. He represents more than mere brute strength and avoids falling into the usual ‘toxic masculinity’ stereotype. I do hope Nolan will one day do a film that tells a female-centric story.
The Odyssey is another towering achievement for Nolan that will likely lead to Oscar glory for him and his team. I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to call this a modern masterpiece, and I think people will discuss this one for years to come. It feels like a proper cinematic journey that’s more than just visuals over substance. Defy the gods? I think Nolan once again manages to defy naysayers with another sweeping entertainment of epic proportions. Surely this is a movie that deserves to be watched on the biggest screen available, so I’m glad I experienced it in an IMAX theater.
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I’m going to try and see this next weekend though there is not an IMAX theater near me. The only reason I won’t see it this weekend is because of the World Cup. The last 2 matches are happening. The 3rd place game between France and England (go England!) on Saturday and the Finals between Spain and Argentina on Sunday.
I hope the team you’re rooting for wins! Yeah, unfortunately, there are only 26 70mm film IMAX theaters in the US. There used to be one near me inside MN Zoo, but it’s not been operational for years 😦 Thankfully there are still some large-format IMAX theaters around, and it’s so worth seeing in those huge screens.
I’m seeing it on Friday night, so I only read the last paragraph of your review but the 4.5 stars makes me very excited! I’m just bummed that our only true IMAX theater is no longer in operation, someone with a deep pocket needs to purchase it from IMAX corporation and reopen it. The theater just sits there empty and it’s still a great theater.
But I’ll comeback and give you my thoughts after I saw it.
Yeah, it’s so sad that the IMAX at the Zoo is still empty!! I wish someone would reopen it at some point, but the issue is the theater belongs to MN Zoo, so maybe they just need to get more funding to get it operational again? I mean, you’d think the demand is there for a real IMAX theater.
Well, for a long time, Great Clips owned that IMAX theater. Then IMAX Corporation purchased it from them. IMAX actually did a good job renovating the theater. They put in new and comfortable seats, updated the ticket ordering system so people can reserve seats. Remember back in the days when you can’t reserve seats at that theater? I still remember you and Ivan saved good seats for me and my buddy when we saw M: I-Ghost Protocol. Ha ha! The good old days!
The main issue with that theater is the location. It’s at the zoo and not in central location. Also, whoever purchase it will operate it at a loss because they can only show one movie at a time. That’s why IMAX closed it, they were losing money. The only time they see any profits is when there was a huge film from Nolan or Marvel. I’m sure if it’s still opened, they would be making a lot of money this summer because of The Odyssey. 70mm IMAX theaters are sold out everywhere. I’m going to be in Vegas next week and was planning to see it at a 70mm IMAX theater there. But it’s all sold out and the tickets are $51 each!
I was hoping AMC Theater would purchase it and reopen it, they’re a huge movie chain and they can promote the theater as one of their film true IMAX theaters! Maybe with the success of this film, they might do it. Fingers crossed.
Excellent reviews as always Ruth. “The Odyssey” is definitely one of my most anticipated movies of the year that I am looking forward to watching soon. I have always been a massive fan of Christopher Nolan who is one of my favourite filmmakers working today. He is an icon that has made some of my favourite movies of all-time. His last movie “Oppenheimer” truly raised the bar for what he could accomplish as a filmmaker. I am curious to see how he follows it up. It definitely has a lot to live up. As a huge fan of the filmmaker, I have a feeling I will love it.
Here’s a list of my favourite Christopher Nolan films:
Hey Hasan, if you’re a big Nolan fan, I think you’d enjoy The Odyssey! Check it out in an IMAX if you can, it’s so worth it and it’s meant to be seen on those huge screens.
I made a similar list back in 2012 before Interstellar came out, I think I’ll do an updated list and for sure Tenet would make the list. I might rewatch Interstellar again as I wasn’t as wowed by it the first time I saw it.
I can’t wait to see this tomorrow!! Great review.
I hope you. like it as much as I did. I really wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but glad it ended up being more engrossing and emotional than I expected.
I just got out the theater about an hour ago. It’s definitely one of Nolan’s most ambitious films and I enjoyed it a lot, didn’t wow by it like you did. I’m going to see it again, maybe I’ll like it more or less when I see it again. Ha ha!
While I wasn’t a big fan of Petersen’s 2004 Troy, this film does make it a better sequel to that film. Heck, Nolan was asked to direct Troy but he passed when he learned that Warner Bros. passed on Aronofsky’s violent Batman: Year One script. He chose Batman Begins since he wanted to make a Batman film so badly.
You mentioned that you had a hard time seeing some dark scenes in the film? I had no issues with that at all. I saw it at Dolby Cinema and Dolby Vision does makes everything looks brighter than most theaters. I’d recommend checking it out there if you’re planning to see it again.
All in all, I’m happy to see that a studio gave Nolan the money to shoot everything on locations, I’m sick of seeing movies made with green screen or those LED projection screens. It feels more authentic when films are being shot on locations. While it didn’t wow me at first, I might like it better the second time around. I kind of feel the same after I saw Inception for the first time. But ended up loving it after seeing it again.
Hey Ted! Glad you liked the movie enough that you want to see it again. I honestly wasn’t sure how I’d feel about The Odyssey, as I said here, the casting choices was iffy, but I thought Damon and the supporting cast were excellent. Glad to see John Leguizamo in an unexpected role like Eumaeus and he crushed it!
I didn’t know Nolan was gonna direct TROY. After rewatching the trailer of that, it looked so cheesy. I only liked Eric Bana from that movie; I hated Brad Pitt, and the production design with all the gold looks tacky. I think the minimalist style here makes the film look more timeless and unexpected. And yes, shooting on location definitely paid off; I agree that it always beats green-screen filmmaking.
I saw it at IMAX Southdale and some of the night scenes, especially the Hades scene with the black sand, look really dark. But then again, perhaps it’s by design, as it’s supposed to be haunting.
I loved Inception on my first watch, it’s Interstellar that I’m not overly fond of, but I’m willing to give it another shot.
Troy was a terrible film and it’s funny how internet trolls are saying it’s more “faithful” to the source material compared to this film. They only like it now because all the cast in the film were white actors. Lol! But the film was nothing like Homer’s poem. It was a massive production like this film but the acting and direction was all over the place. But the director’s cut was slightly better than the theatrical version. The slaughter of Troy citizens was more gruesome in that film than in Nolan’s version and Odysseus, which played by Sean Bean, was traumatized by what he saw. Which is why I said, this film is a better sequel since it’s a better film. Lol!
I think I lend you the Director’s Cut blu-ray of Troy and I told you that you can keep since I had to desire to watch it again. Ha ha!
Ahah, all my blurays are in boxes that haven’t been touched for some time. Not sure I’ll be watching it anytime soon, Ted.
Yeah, all the actors are white with no Greek actors in sight in TROY, but of course it was pre-social media like Insta, Twitter or FB back then so you don’t see people complaining about it like they do now. Glad Nolan proves naysayers wrong once more, so many of them have been complaining about EVERYTHING long before the movie even came out, LOL!
What’s funny is that when Troy came out, the internet trolls also complained! I remember reading on IMDB’s chat rooms and a bunch of trolls were not happy about Diane Kruger playing Helen, they didn’t think she’s pretty enough for that role. AND they did not like Brad Pitt as Achilles because they thought he’s too much of a pretty boy. IMDB got rid of that function because they couldn’t monitor the toxic chats on their website. So, I was not surprised when the new generation of trolls complained about this film. Lol!
Gorgeous model Diane Kruger not pretty enough as Helen??! Wow, I guess haters gonna hate no matter what the decade!! I didn’t care for Pitt at all, but loved Eric Bana, he’s pretty much the one who made the movie watchable, so I lost interest once he’s dead.
Yeah, IMDb chats became super toxic, though I missed it as I got lots of hits from it. Oh well.
Toxic fandom has always been around, we just know and see more about it today because of the technology. Had social media existed back in the late 80s, I don’t think Michael Keaton would’ve been Batman. Batman fans HATED that casting and they flooded Warner Bros. offices with hate mails. Had social were a thing back then, they constantly pressure the studio to cast someone else and sadly I think Keaton would probably just drop out. Those idiots would likely harass him and his family too!
Toxic fandom is ran by nitwits and cretins who obviously have way too much time on their hands. You’re right about Keaton, it’d be a travesty if he never took on the role. Similar to Daniel Craig with his Bond role, I remember some people were super mean about his casting too.
Oh yes, I remember how so many people hated Craig when he was announced as 007. They called him ugly, short and some even said he’s not James Bond because he can’t drive stick shift car! It was so ridiculous. I think the late 2000s was when this toxic fandom took off and then once Facebook, Twitter and YouTube became a thing, those idiots has as platforms for them to spill out their disgusting and hateful messages.
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Hi Ruth, we are lucky enough to have a nearby IMAX theatre (not 70mm) and want to see it in that format…just waiting until next weekend when the seating choices include more than the first couple of rows lol. Theatre has pretty much been booked solid as people obviously are driving in from decent distances to see the movie in the biggest format possible. You can pretty much walk up at the last minute and get a great seat for all the standard screen showtimes. I’ve seen just about all of Nolan’s films and I expect this one to be spectacular as well. Enjoyed this review very much.
Hi there Bruce! I’m glad there are a few IMAX theaters near me too! I wish there’s a 70mm version, but I’m not willing to travel just for that, and plus they’re already sold out everywhere!
I hear ya about waiting until you can get good seats, I cannot watch stuff too close to the screen, esp. on IMAX, it’ll make me dizzy.
Glad you enjoyed my review, hope you like the film as much as I did. Thanks!!
I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m getting called away, and I need to read this properly!
xoxo ~~ ❦✷✷❦ 𝕽𝕬𝕿𝕳 ❦✷✷❦ ~~ oxox
Period appropriate… one director said to me once, “If it looks right and feels right, it’s right – even if it’s wrong. We are telling a story here, not making a catalogue.”
So, I believe you when you say this works, however they told the tale.
It does sound like a grand Oscar winning movie. Your praise for Matt Damon is pretty great for an actor I consider…competent, not gifted. It’s about time he really shone. All in all a fabulous cast.
You seem quite smitten by this movie, and I will watch it! In spite of its patriarchy, and incestuous ridiculousness, I quite adore Greek and Roman mythology. After all, it is a literature from the past. From that we learn.
Thank you for this phenomenal review, Ruth!
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