There are films that you enjoy for two or three hours before moving on with your day. Then some films stay with you after the credits roll, making you think about what you just experienced and why it mattered.

For me, The Odyssey was the latter.

I watched Christopher Nolan’s latest epic in IMAX, and when the credits finally appeared, something happened that I honestly do not experience often anymore. People started clapping. Not because someone wanted attention or because there was a surprise scene waiting after the credits, but because everyone in that cinema seemed to feel that they had just witnessed something special.

I managed to get the sneak peek of The Odyssey at the premiere of day one Fantastic Four: First Steps, written in this article:

Anyway, I stayed in my seat for a little longer, taking everything in. After nearly three hours of watching Odysseus fight through impossible odds, face mythical creatures and struggle with the consequences of his own choices, I found myself thinking about something unexpected.

I want to read Homer’s The Odyssey.

And that, to me, is one of the biggest compliments I can give a film.

A great adaptation should not replace the original story. It should make you appreciate why that story has survived for thousands of years. Nolan managed to do exactly that, making me curious about a work of literature written nearly 3,000 years ago.

That feeling reminded me why cinema is still such a powerful medium.

Nolan’s Most Accessible Epic Might Also Be His Most Human

Going into The Odyssey, I had a feeling I was preparing myself for another Christopher Nolan brain exercise.

After all, this is the same filmmaker who gave us Memento, Inception and Tenet. His films often require audiences to pay attention, connect the dots and sometimes even go home and watch a YouTube explanation afterwards.

I still remember finishing Tenet and wondering whether I understood what happened or whether I simply accepted that things were moving backwards and forwards at the same time.

Thankfully, The Odyssey is a much more straightforward experience.

That does not mean Nolan has abandoned his love for complicated storytelling. The film still jumps between different points of Odysseus’ journey through flashbacks and changes in perspective, but every transition feels purposeful.

Instead of making the audience solve a puzzle, Nolan uses time to slowly reveal the emotional weight behind Odysseus’ journey.

The result is one of his most accessible films, not because it is simpler, but because its emotional core is much clearer.

This is not a film asking audiences to figure out what happened.

It is a film asking audiences to understand why it happened.

Beyond Monsters And Gods, This Is A Story About Coming Home

On paper, The Odyssey sounds like the ultimate fantasy adventure.

A legendary king returns from war and encounters Cyclopes, Sirens, gods and monsters along the way. There are massive battles, dangerous seas and mythical challenges that have inspired storytellers for generations.

But underneath all of that spectacle is something much more personal.

This is a story about what war takes from people.

Odysseus leaves Ithaca as a powerful warrior and leader, but the man who returns is not the same person who left. The journey home is not just about reaching a location. It is about confronting everything he has lost, everything he has done and everything he has become.

That theme is what makes the story feel surprisingly relevant today.

The film explores survivor’s guilt, trauma, identity and the idea that sometimes the hardest battle is not defeating an enemy, but facing yourself afterwards.

Because perhaps the greatest question The Odyssey asks is this:

If someone spends years fighting, suffering and changing, can they ever truly return to the person they were before?

And can home still feel like home when you are no longer the same person who left?

Matt Damon Made Me Forget I Was Watching Matt Damon

I will admit, I had some doubts when Matt Damon was announced as Odysseus.

It was not because I doubted his acting ability. Damon has proven himself countless times throughout his career. But when I thought about a legendary Greek king, my mind was not immediately picturing the actor from Jason Bourne, The Martian or Good Will Hunting.

I wondered whether I would spend the entire film thinking, “That is just Matt Damon wearing ancient Greek armour.”

Thankfully, that feeling disappeared very quickly.

Damon’s Odysseus is not presented as a flawless hero. Instead, he plays him as a complicated man who carries the weight of every decision he has made. He is intelligent and courageous, but he is also proud, stubborn and sometimes responsible for the very problems he faces.

That complexity is what makes the character work.

Damon understands that Odysseus is not interesting because he is unbeatable. He is interesting because he is human.

Throughout the film, you can feel the exhaustion behind his eyes. This is a man who has survived countless battles, but the emotional scars are much harder to overcome.

By the end of the movie, I was no longer watching Matt Damon playing a famous character from Greek mythology.

I was watching a man desperately trying to find his way home.

Anne Hathaway Turns Waiting Into A Powerful Performance

While Odysseus’ journey takes place across oceans and mythical landscapes, Penelope’s journey is much quieter.

And somehow, that makes it just as powerful.

It would have been easy for Penelope to become a simple character whose only purpose was waiting for her husband to return. Thankfully, Anne Hathaway brings so much more to the role.

Her Penelope is patient, intelligent and strong, but there is also a sense of exhaustion beneath that strength.

She has spent years holding everything together while wondering whether the man she loves will ever come back.

Hathaway does a great job showing that waiting can also be a battle.

She does not need huge speeches or dramatic moments to command attention. A simple expression often tells us everything we need to know about what Penelope is feeling.

It is one of those performances that quietly grows on you the longer the film goes on.

Why Tom Holland’s Telemachus Works Better Than People Expected

Before the film was released, one of the biggest discussions online was whether audiences could see Tom Holland as Telemachus.

Some people struggled to separate him from Spider-Man, questioning whether he could handle such a different role.

After watching the film, I actually think those criticisms misunderstood the character.

Telemachus is not supposed to enter the story as a fully confident warrior. His entire arc is about growth.

He is a young man constantly living under the shadow of his legendary father. His mother questions whether he is ready to lead, while the suitors in Ithaca barely consider him a threat.

That insecurity is exactly what Holland captures.

I actually think some viewers not taking Holland seriously works in the film’s favour because that is the same struggle Telemachus faces. Everyone underestimates him.

As the story progresses, Holland slowly grows into the role, and by the final act, you understand the journey he has taken.

He is not trying to become Odysseus.

He is trying to become himself.

A Star-Studded Cast That Sometimes Feels Too Big For Its Own Good

One of the biggest selling points of The Odyssey before release was, without a doubt, its ridiculously stacked cast. Christopher Nolan somehow managed to bring together Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o and many more.

On paper, it sounds like the kind of ensemble that could easily become distracting. Surprisingly, the majority of the cast works well together because Nolan never allows the celebrity factor to completely overpower the story.

However, with a cast this large, there are bound to be some characters who feel like they deserved more time.

Robert Pattinson’s Antinous is one of the standout supporting performances. There is something wonderfully unsettling about the way he plays the character. He is manipulative, arrogant and dangerous, but there is also a cowardly side beneath that confidence. At times, I got shades of Scar from The Lion King, someone who wants power but does not truly have the courage to earn it.

Himesh Patel also surprised me as Eurylochus. What could have easily been a background role becomes much more memorable because Patel gives the character a strong sense of defiance and personality. His relationship with Odysseus adds another emotional layer to the journey.

Elliot Page, despite not having a massive amount of screen time as Sinon, also leaves an impression. The scenes, especially those involving Hades, show how even smaller roles can still have a meaningful impact when performed with conviction.

At the same time, I did feel that some characters could have benefited from more development.

Zendaya’s Athena is probably the biggest example. While she brings presence whenever she appears, her role feels surprisingly limited considering the attention surrounding her casting.

Charlize Theron is also excellent as Calypso, but I found myself wishing the film had spent more time exploring that relationship. There is an interesting emotional conflict there, but it feels slightly rushed compared to other parts of Odysseus’ journey.

This is not necessarily a major flaw because The Odyssey is already a massive undertaking. Nolan had to balance an entire mythology, multiple characters and a journey spanning years.

Still, when you have actors of this calibre, it is natural to wish everyone had a little more room to shine.

Ludwig Göransson Once Again Proves He Is One Of The Best Film Composers Today

Ever since I watched Sinners, I have been paying much closer attention whenever Ludwig Göransson’s name appears on a project.

There was something about that film’s music that stayed with me, and somehow, he manages to do it again with The Odyssey.

A great film score should not simply make a scene louder. It should make you feel something deeper.

That is exactly what Göransson achieves here.

His music captures the scale of the adventure, but more importantly, it captures the emotional loneliness behind Odysseus’ journey. The score can feel triumphant during moments of victory, terrifying when danger arrives and heartbreaking when the characters are forced to confront what they have lost.

There were several moments where I found myself getting goosebumps, not only because of what I was seeing on screen, but because the music elevated those moments into something unforgettable.

Christopher Nolan has worked with some incredible composers throughout his career, especially Hans Zimmer, who helped define the sound of films like The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar.

Now, I genuinely feel like Göransson is becoming the perfect composer for Nolan’s next chapter.

After Sinners, and now The Odyssey, I cannot wait to see what he does next.

Watching This In IMAX Was The Only Way To Experience The Journey

There are some films where watching them in IMAX is a nice bonus. Yes, it is not the true true IMAX, but hey, digital IMAX works.

The Odyssey belongs there, in any shape or form of IMAX, even cinema.

From the moment the journey begins, Nolan makes you feel the scale of this world. The oceans feel endless, the storms feel terrifying and every landscape feels like something pulled directly from ancient mythology.

What impressed me most is that the film never feels like it is relying purely on computer-generated spectacle.

Everything has weight.

The ships feel physical. The battles feel dangerous. The environments feel lived in.

This is what Nolan has always been so good at. Even when he is creating something massive, there is always a sense that what we are watching actually exists in front of the camera.

The practical filmmaking approach makes the mythology feel more believable.

And then there is the Cyclops sequence.

Without spoiling anything, I genuinely think it is one of the best things Nolan has ever directed.

The tension, the atmosphere and the way he builds fear are incredible. It is not just a visual spectacle. It is a sequence built around suspense, making you feel the danger rather than simply showing you something impressive.

Nolan has given us some iconic cinematic moments throughout his career, from the hallway fight in Inception to the docking sequence in Interstellar.

The Cyclops scene deserves to be mentioned alongside them.

The Action, Horror And Mythology Blend Beautifully

One thing I loved about The Odyssey is that it never feels trapped in one genre.

At different moments, the film feels like an adventure epic, a war drama, a horror film and even a character study.

The Cyclops sequence brings genuine fear.

The encounters with Circe and the journey through Hades provide a sense of mystery and mythology.

The battles deliver the kind of large-scale action that audiences rarely get anymore.

Yet Nolan never allows these elements to exist simply because they look cool.

Every creature and challenge represents something deeper about Odysseus’ journey.

The monsters are not just obstacles.

They are reflections of his fears, his weaknesses and the consequences of his choices.

That is what separates The Odyssey from many modern fantasy blockbusters.

The spectacle is there, but it serves the story.

Not Every Part Of The Journey Is Perfect

As much as I loved The Odyssey, I do not think it is completely flawless.

The biggest issue for me is that some moments feel like they needed more breathing room.

There are certain editing choices where the film moves quickly between important story points, and while I understood what was happening, I sometimes wished Nolan had allowed those scenes to sit longer.

Some of the dialogue also feels slightly inconsistent.

There are moments where the script embraces the ancient, poetic feeling of Greek mythology, and then there are scenes where the characters speak in a more modern style.

It does not completely ruin the experience, but there were times when the transition felt a little noticeable.

The final action sequence was another area where I felt slightly conflicted.

Considering how strong the previous action scenes were, the finale did not completely reach the same level for me. It felt a little different in tone compared to the grounded brutality that came before.

However, these are small complaints in a film that is attempting something incredibly ambitious.

The fact that I am discussing these issues at all is probably because everything else worked so well.

The Second Half Of 2026 Is Already Looking Insane

I cannot believe we are already entering the second half of 2026.

Looking back at the films released so far, The Odyssey has comfortably placed itself among my favourites of the year alongside Project Hail Mary and Obsession.

Those are three very different films, but they all share one thing in common.

They reminded me why I love going to the cinema.

And the crazy thing is, we are not even done yet.

We still have Avengers: Doomsday and Dune Part Three waiting for us later this year.

If this is what the first half of 2026 has given us, film fans are genuinely being spoiled.

For me, The Odyssey is not just another great Christopher Nolan film.

It is a reminder that cinema can still make us dream, make us think and even make us pick up a book written thousands of years ago.

That is something special.

Rating: 9.5/10