THE BLUE AND WHITE

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey (2026). I watched it twice over the summer, first in the standard format and then in IMAX. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the film in its original form in 70mm IMAX because I wanted to be in a seat where I wouldn’t have to crane my neck upwards at a 90-degree angle like a confused ostrich. I wanted to say before I get into my review that I don’t really view these as spoilers because the story is a couple of thousand years old. However, I do understand wanting to watch it with as little information on his adaptation as possible, so I will make sure this review isn’t just a plot summary.

To start, I view Christopher Nolan as one of the best directors still working today. From humble beginnings of having budgets of a couple thousand pounds to spending hundreds of millions on films like The Odyssey, I have huge respect for Nolan. However, just because you spend a lot of money on a film does not necessarily make it better. It increases the production value, sure, but by focusing too much on certain elements, others can get left behind. I think this is very true for The Odyssey in many respects. Nolan seems to focus very heavily on Odysseus being a battle-scarred man facing guilt for betraying the gods by using a so-called ‘gift’ to Athena, the Trojan Horse, to invade Troy and win the war. 

Whether this idea of Odysseus having a sort of PTSD is important or not is something we could argue until we have no more breath in our lungs. But for me, I honestly do not care whether Nolan captures the true “spirit” or “moral” of the book. After all, it is an adaptation for a reason. In addition to this, I find it rather comical that Nolan used Emily Wilson’s English translation as his starting ground for the film, and she hated it so much. Wilson herself even remarked that “It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display—and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.”

So enough about experts’ thoughts on The Odyssey. You probably want to know my thoughts. Well, I thought it was good. I think hotshot actors such as Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Matt Damon all delivered pretty forgettable performances. The emotional moments that are supposed to really pull the audience in all felt very superficial. This includes but is not limited to moments such as whenever Anne Hathaway is yelling, whenever Tom Holland is yelling, and whenever Robert Pattinson is yelling. It also brings up a good point—why was the movie deafeningly loud? When I watched it in IMAX, the bass was boosted so high that my seat was literally shaking during certain parts of the film. 

When it comes to the Oscars, I am sure it will win at least one award if not a couple, but I am one hundred percent sure Robert Pattinson secured the award for cringiest performance from an actor in a supporting role. Although my review has seemed very negative so far, I did enjoy many parts of the film. I think Samantha Morton gave an Oscar-worthy performance as Circe, as well as many others such as Elliot Page as Sinon and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. I find it very ironic that the actors who were getting the most backlash for their casting actually delivered some of the best performances of the whole film.

Well, as I feel my review is dragging on just ever so slightly, I want to finish off by giving my thoughts and my final verdict. As a vehement Letterboxd user, I will be using the out of 5 stars rating system. So I think The Odyssey (2026) is a strong 3/5 stars. It has some good and some bad, but it is far from a masterpiece and far from terrible. At the end of the day, the closing scene is that of Oppenheimer, just much less thought-provoking. However, I do truly believe that it is a very good thing that a creative such as Nolan, near the end of his filmography, is still making good films that make people actually care about the ancient world and maybe even convince Gen Z to pick up a book every once in a while.

The Odyssey (2026) = ★★★

Stay tuned for my article on where The Odyssey (2026) ranks against all of the other Nolan films.

Here is my rating system if you’re wondering (★ = 1 star // * = 1/2 star):

★★★★★ = Perfect

★★★★* = Major Masterpiece

★★★★ = Minor Masterpiece

★★★* = Great

★★★ = Good

★★* = Mid 

★★ = Bad

★* = One department was good

★ = Everything sucks except production value

* = Unwatchable