The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey 🐎(2026)

Christopher Nolan has transformed ancient Greek literature into a seismic three-hour, big screen epic that plunges audiences into one man’s harrowing journey through the horrors of war, the depths of hell, and his desperate quest to find his way back home.

This is the very definition of a summer event blockbuster.

With a star-studded ensemble featuring Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, and Anne Hathaway, paired with the visionary filmmaking of Christopher Nolan behind the camera, every frame feels like it’s demanding to be experienced on the biggest screen possible.

But once again, I walked away with the same feeling I’ve had after Dunkirk and Tenet.

Christopher Nolan has become the master of brilliantly visualized ideas connected by a narrative, rather than narratives strengthened by brilliant ideas. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one.

His concepts are always fascinating, the themes he plays with are layered, and his technical filmmaking is second to none. Yet the emotional and narrative glue that binds those ideas together never feels quite as airtight as it once did. THE ODYSSEY had all the ingredients to be one of Nolan’s greatest achievements, but ultimately falls just short of surpassing the impossibly high bar Nolan has set for himself over the course of his career.

This is by no means a mid or bad movie. It’s an undeniably impressive film, packed with moments of breathtaking filmmaking that will leave audiences in awe. Yet for all of its spectacle, its character-driven story never quite finds the emotional depth needed to push it into the upper echelon of Nolan’s filmography, a standard he continues to raise with every ambitious project.

Ironically, the film’s greatest strength may be its underlying philosophy. In many ways, THE ODYSSEY feels like a spiritual successor to Oppenheimer, by following a man forced to confront the consequences of his actions in war and the burden those choices leave for future generations to come.

This time, the catalyst isn't the creation of the atomic bomb, but the deception hidden inside the Trojan Horse. When honour exists, your word carries weight, even in war. But the moment you open Pandora's box of lies, there's no closing it again, and honour begins to lose all meaning.

It's a powerful idea that begins to sink deeper in once the credits start to roll. Unfortunately, the journey to get there isn't always as engaging. The middle act drifts into an extended lull that feels more interested in exploring philosophical concepts than building dramatic momentum.

The more I thought about it afterward, the more I noticed a pattern in Nolan's recent work.

Dunkirk, Tenet, Oppenheimer, and now THE ODYSSEY all revolve around extraordinary concepts executed with staggering technical brilliance. Instead of each scene naturally building upon the last, they often play like a collection of incredible moments orbiting a central idea.

The destination is almost always fascinating, but the journey between those moments doesn't always carry the same momentum and the connective tissue between them that doesn't always feel as dramatically compelling as the ideas themselves.

That's also where Nolan's films have started to lose me over the last four releases. In striving to fit so many grand moments into a single film, the narrative loses some of the tightness that once made his stories so propulsive. You don't just notice the three-hour runtime, you feel every single minute of it.

While doing research for my review, one thing stood out immediately: Jonathan Nolan (his brother) is no longer co-writing these stories.
I'm not saying that's the answer, but it did make me wonder.

Christopher Nolan is still one of the greatest filmmakers alive, but there's a narrative sharpness in his earlier work that I can't help but miss. Films like The Prestige, Inception, and The Dark Knight didn't just have incredible ideas, they wrapped those ideas inside stories so tightly constructed that every scene felt essential.

The first hour of THE ODYSSEY completely pulls you in, while the final 45 minutes have you gripping your seat. Everything in between, however, reaches for grandeur that doesn't always justify the scenic detour.

It actually reminded me quite a lot of The Green Knight, without the heavy fantasy elements. Ironically, I found myself wishing Nolan had leaned even further into that sense of myth and mysticism rather than grounding so much of the middle act in realism.

None of that falls on the cast, because everyone shows up ready to deliver.

My biggest concern going into the film was seeing Travis Scott appear in the trailer, along with Matt Damon returning to another period piece drama after the debauchery of The Last Duel. I couldn't help but think back to The Odyssey trailer where Damon charges into battle yelling, "Let's go!" like he was Tom fawking (insert Boston accent here) Brady.

Travis was completely fine and barely there, which is exactly the kind of role you'd want for him this early in his acting career.

Damon, on the other hand, never detracts from the character and instead acts as the film's steadying force. He's commanding in the action, where his physical presence naturally takes over, but he's less magnetic in its quieter moments. They demand a subtler emotional weight as Odysseus is forced to reckon with his own capacity for mercy while enduring an exiled, deeply isolating ego death of sorts that plagues so many men. Those scenes called for an internalized vulnerability (like Leo in the dreamworld of Inception), and I'm still not convinced Damon had the gravitas to fully unlock the full emotional depth buried within the character.

The biggest surprise, though, was Tom Holland. It feels like he's rarely been given the opportunity to showcase this side of his acting ability, and he delivers one of the strongest performances of his career.

Zendaya, unfortunately, isn't given much to work with, while Charlize Theron's character feels underserved. Her emotional arc never quite lands with the weight it deserves, making some of her biggest decisions feel more like plot devices than genuine character choices.

Then there's the Cyclops sequence...Easily one of my favourite scenes of the entire year.

The sound design makes you feel like you're trapped inside the cave alongside the soldiers, and the way Nolan brings the Cyclops to life transforms the film into full-blown monster horror. It's absolutely exhilarating, movie making magic at it's finest!

That being said, this is a rich film. It's like sitting down for an elaborate fine-dining experience. You may not love every course, but you can't help but admire the detail, ambition, and care that went into creating it. That's exactly how I felt walking out of the theatre.

It doesn't rank among my personal favourites in Nolan's filmography (I'd probably place it somewhere around seventh or eighth) but should you experience it in theatres? Absolutely.

As a lover of cinema, it's impossible not to appreciate the sheer scale and craftsmanship on display. Just be prepared to feel the full weight of that three-hour runtime. If slower pacing isn't your thing, this may ultimately become a film you appreciate more from the comfort of your couch than the edge of your theatre seat.

Christopher Nolan brings one of history's greatest stories to life in ways you wouldn't begin to imagine were humanly possible. While its middle act may lull you into a drifting state, the film awakens with a thunderous final crescendo that reminds you why Nolan remains one of cinema's most courageous storytellers. 

Enjoy!

7.6/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 2hrs52mins

Where: In Theatres July 17th  

The Richmond Reviewer The Odyssey Review - July 15th, 2026.