The Odyssey (2026) Review

The Odyssey (2026) Review

Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors working today and The Odyssey was my most anticipated movie of 2026, so I am excited to share that I have seen The Odyssey. What did I think about it? Did the controversies surrounding the film hurt the overall quality of the film? Here is my review!

The Good

Simply put, Christopher Nolan continues to show that he has not lost his magic. Despite the internet trying to cancel Christopher Nolan and boycott this movie over certain casting choices, he was able to prove them wrong and deliver a great movie that deserves to be called epic. I feel like sometimes the word epic can be thrown around a bit too much these days. The Odyssey and what Christopher Nolan can do with this movie truly deserves to be called epic. He took one of the most fundamental pieces of literature that had never been adapted into a big screen adaptation before because it is a story that spans 20 years. Nolan can craft this movie in such a way that makes it accessible and easy to follow despite there being a lot going on and telling the film out of order. The film does span 20 years, and we are at multiple locations with multiple characters and there are these big sequences going on and you feel like you are on this journey with them. Because it is so big and massive, it is a film that truly deserves to be seen on the big screen. Seeing this sweeping epic about this guy trying to get home to his wife and kids. If you hear this movie being called epic, that is not false, that is 100% true as this film deserves to be called epic. 

The reason the film can be called epic, is because the film feels lived in and is able to suck you into this world. Where if you watch interviews with Nolan and the cast, they talk a lot about the practicality of the film. Nolan does not like to use CGI so much, and if you watch this movie knowing that Nolan loves practical sets, environments, and creatures it is just going to sink you straight into this world because everything is believable. The cast were actually shot on islands and these gorgeous locations and so when you have these battle sequences outside you feel it because it’s not actors on green screens, its actors shooting on location that you buy would be these places from 3,000 years ago. You get the cyclops sequence, and the cyclops is not CGI, it is all practical. It was designed by a guy that worked on Interstellar, so there is a connection with Nolan. It makes the sequence have more impact because the cyclops feels real. The cyclops sequence reminded me a little bit of Guillermo del Toro who is also known for his creature designs and making you sympathize with these creatures. The cyclops is only in one sequence, but it has that flavor of making sympathize with the cyclops. You do that because you know it is real and the actors were looking at something and not just a tennis ball. Even some of the small choices of the sound effects just feel real. When you have these battles and people are getting stabbed, you feel it because the sound feels a bit more real and it feels somebody is getting stabbed despite them not actually being stabbed. What makes the practicality work and why it makes these movies is because you love the fact that Nolan is putting in the hard work to make the film feel epic and real. It is much easier to shoot a film using CGI and save the hard work for the CGI team. But the fact that Nolan did not want to take the easy route, and Matt Damon openly saying that this was the hardest film he has ever made because of how practical and real it was. When we live in an era of filmmaking that feels less practical and more CGI focused, it is refreshing when we get a movie like this that does the opposite of that. 

One of the things that the early reviews were talking about was the third act. They said that the third act pays off in some big ways where the first two acts can feel a little bit clunky. The statement about the third act paying off so well, is 100% true. This was one of the most exciting and exhilarating third acts that I have seen in a long time. The reason why the third act is able to pay off as well as it does is because the first two acts force you to spend so much time with the characters and establishing their relationships and dynamics and when all of the plot lines come together in the third act, it’s so satisfying. The movie plays a little bit like a revenge movie with Odysseus trying to get home. The third act has several of these “you don’t know who you’re messing with” moments. There is one time in the third act that has the audience applauding, it is such a simple moment, but it is such a great payoff. There’s a quote from Denis Villeneuve where he talks about the most important of a film are the character’s faces, where if a director has done his job, then you’d be able to look at a character’s face and their expressions should be able to tell you everything you need to know about the character in that moment. You watch this movie and you get to the third act and there’s so many moments where you just see a character’s face, you see two characters reuniting and you instantly know what you’re supposed to be feeling because the journey to that moment worked so well.  

As it is a Christopher Nolan movie, he always gets a stacked cast, and The Odyssey is no exception. There’s multiple Oscar winning actors, there’s multiple actors who have played superheroes, and every character that has a good size role in the film is played by an actor that you know and recognize. Leading the film is Matt Damon as Odysseus, yet again another film about him trying to get home. When you are adapting The Odyssey, you need somebody to play Odysseus who can captivate the audience and make you believe who Odysseus is and need an actor that is willing to have this epic story rest on their shoulders. Matt Damon being an A-list movie star for 30 years now, is 100% able to become Odysseus. If his performance does not work and captivate you, then the movie does not work. There has been a lot of chatter about him getting an Oscar nomination, he is getting in. But everybody in this movie is doing a fantastic job and delivering great performances. It is nice to see Tom Holland show that he is more than just Spider-Man. With this film getting critical acclaim and going to make a ton of money at the box office, I hope that Hollywood sees that Tom Holland is more than just Spider-Man and he can do more things. Anne Hathaway gets her moments in the third act to really shine and show that she is a world class actress that can be dramatic and command the screen as Penelope. One that really surprised me was John Leguizamo who is the mentor figure in the film. He was good in the movie and is showcasing that he is a great actor and it is not him leaning into his normal vibe and energy. You also have Robert Pattinson as our main antagonist in the film, once again in the third act he really gets his moments and is playing this character that you really want to see get taken down and defeated. 

Finally, this film is an incredible accomplishment in cinema as this was the first movie to be shot entirely using an IMAX camera. Directors, Nolan in particular, have used IMAX cameras in the past and shot specific sequences in IMAX. But Christopher Nolan shot The Odyssey only using IMAX cameras and when you see this film on the big screen, it is gorgeous to look at. This is a film that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can. I could not see the film on IMAX because all the best IMAX seats at my local theater were taken. I hope I get to see the film again in IMAX. But going back to what I said earlier, the film can immerse you into this world and part of it is due to the IMAX cameras. Every single shot in the film is gorgeous to look at. Whether it is this big battle scene or just two people talking in darkened rooms, it is incredible to look at because IMAX is the best picture quality which means every shot has so much detail in it. 

The Bad

To be clear, I loved this movie so even the issues I have with the film are small. First up, because the film is told out of order and there is so much time focused on Odysseus, which is great and I love that stuff. It means that the stuff with Ithaca back home can feel a bit underdeveloped. When I was talking about the cast, I said that Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson get their moments, but they get their moments in the third act. I wish we got more of them in the first two acts and so going into the third act you can have a better sense of what their motivations and worldviews are. There’s 45 minutes to an hour where the characters from Ithaca do not appear on screen. With Mia Goth’s character, the movie sets up a few things about her character, and it feels like it should have more payoff in the third act, but it does not. Mia Goth’s character does not really serve a purpose in the film. If you cut her from the film, it would not have changed. 

The other thing about the film and this is going to get me in trouble, but I found Ludwig Goransson’s score to be a bit underwhelming. To be clear, even when Goransson is not putting out a FANTASTIC score, he is still putting out a good score. This is not a bad score; I am sure it will get an Oscar nomination to which I would not be mad about. But it just did not have the melodies or memorability that his other scores had. I think his scores for Oppenheimer and Sinners are much better, and I even prefer his Black Panther score. Once again, this is not a bad score, but when he has set the bar himself super high, I do not think this one fits those heights. 

Final Thoughts: Overall, The Odyssey lived up to the hype, this was my most anticipated film of 2026, and it did not disappoint. Christopher Nolan said that it is truly epic and lives up to that word. The film can suck you into this world because it is an example of excellent filmmaking where Nolan took the hard route and did as much as he could in camera. This movie continues to show why Nolan is a legend and why he is one of the greats. This is a movie that truly deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can!

The Score: 9.3 (A)