The Odyssey (2026) movie rambling
So it's been some time since I've had so many thoughts after watching a movie. Watched The Odyssey twice now and folks, I'm kinda obsessed since the first watch. I really don't get the hate the movie gets here.
I had to ramble somewhere so here we go.
First off, I'm going to mostly ramble about what I love about the movie but I'm aware it's not a perfect movie. It's not even my favorite Nolan movie, Interstellar keeps its top spot for now and I suspect it always will but The Odyssey touched something in me that's hard to articulate, it made me wonder, it made me think, it brought me back to my 10 year old self who loved Greek mythology. It made me think “this is cinema” when I walked out of the theater. And it had been some time, at least when it comes to modern movies.
I'll get back to my “the bad, ugly, good and great” items. It's been some time.
Well, I don't have any “the ugly” moments for this movie because it's too good, so there's that.
Let's go : The bad, the meh, the good, the AWESOME
The bad :
-Chris, oh Chris, why do you have to spoon feed us everything? “Our bronze age is collapsing”, anyone? That scene was amazing (see later) why do you have to spoil it by making such an obvious reference to what historians are going to call that time period way later on? Has Odysseus become Cassandra? Where does he get that freaking future knowledge from? Even worse is the last scene of the movie between Odysseus and Penelope where they're doing exposition on exposition in case we hadn't gotten the hint in the first place, which completely takes me out of the already rushed ending (even moreso on second viewing). Don't get me wrong, I get why Nolan wrote it this way. I mean, on first viewing I was with a friend who still hasn't gotten Inception and thought the movie was too complicated so... And to be frank, I probably wouldn't have thought of the Bronze age collapse myself if not for the outright mention in the movie. But it's just... it could've been done in a better and subtler way, like Athena saying it to Odysseus or Tiresias saying it you know, that would've made more sense. As it is you wonder how on Earth Odysseus became a prophet or time traveler during his absence.
I'm aware this flaw is in Interstellar too. I mean it's one of my favorite movies ever but the wormhole exposition intended for the audience but told by an astronaut to another astronaut while already on the mission or the way they debate which planet to go to while they're already largely on their way are plain silly but I forgive it because the rest is awesome. Same with the Odyssey.
The meh :
-The Lestrygons. I liked the weather changing in this scene and the cold manifesting, I also really liked the escape with Odysseus forced to watch helplessly as most of his men are killed. But the scene before that and the design of these monsters ? meh.
-I loved the acting in this movie (see later) and I know Charlize Theron wasn't given much material to work with but I really feel like she was the weakest of the all stars cast. It felt like she was cashing in her check and didn't care much. Calypso herself wasn't really interesting. It couldn't have hurt to have a little backstory thrown in there to explain why she would latch onto Odysseus that way. I really had a hard time figuring out her motivations on my first viewing (more on that later, it was kinda fixed by the second viewing).
-On first viewing, the beginning felt kinda disjointed. I really liked the non linear way of telling the story (see later) so that's not the issue, it felt more like we were going from one place to another a bit abruptly every time and the back and forth between Ithaca and Odysseus' troubles felt a bit jarring. The first part of the movie seemed to drag a bit. The second viewing completely fixed that though.
The good :
-To respond to my own point, on second viewing the whole narrative structure felt completely different, much more fluid. I did not see the 3 hours pass at the second viewing, like everything made sense in terms of where to put the flashbacks and nothing dragged.
-I really liked the way Nolan only used practical effects throughout. The movie is going to age well, I think, because you ARE at sea with them, he really shot his actors on a boat, in real sets, in real outside places and it shows. The movie feels really grounding that way.
-Really good directing from Nolan as usual. Sure, he's not the best director for action scenes but in this case it worked. Wonderful shots that stay with you, and some go into the awesome category (see later).
-I know it's because it's not Nolan's own material but the female roles were more interesting here than usual for Nolan (I like his movies but good God I don't think I'll shock anyone by saying he sucks at writing good female roles, probably one of the reasons why Interstellar is one of my favorites because there were two decent female characters in there and none of them was fridged...).
The awesome :
-EVERYTHING ELSE.
-Where to start...? Well, let's talk about the beginning, ie the script and the “original” “Homer” work. Contrary to popular opinion, I think Nolan did an awesome job adapting this old myth for modern audiences while putting in his own themes and obsessions like any great director does. Nolan changed things from the myth and the purists are out to get him. But seriously.... do you want a movie that perfectly depicts the myth and is... boring? I mean, Kenneth Brannagh made a 4 hour movie adaptation of Hamlet that almost doesn't cut any line and I really really don't like this movie and would rather rewatch Laurence Olivier's interpretation of it because though I don't completely agree with his view of the main character, he had a vision at least, committed to it, and kept the useful scenes in. When I watch that movie, I feel much closer to the play than when I watch the one Brannagh did which almost put me to sleep and has an interpretation that goes all over the place without a clear direction. What works well on paper doesn't always work on screen, it's a well known fact.
Isn't a director supposed to offer a personal vision of a well-known story? Especially when adapting -mind you- a 3000 year old myth ? I mean we're not talking about a recent book, we're talking about a really old story that plenty of people adapted before him. And that myth has never been stable. First it went through 500 years before being put down in written form, second, even in old Greece people would offer their own versions of it, which is why we actually have several versions or dealing with what happens after, like the fanfics of the days. So don't you dare go and say the entire thing is set in stone because it certainly isn't. And then, you have to update it for today's audiences. I shudder to think of a Nolan movie showing glowing deities who do whatever they want to do with a human guy who has to follow along without any agency, showing everything there is in Homer's story, and being only about an arrogant guy who went from adventure to another monster and in the end... doesn't change at all. And the gods just fix everything at the end. That wouldn't have been compelling to watch, I'm sorry. A good adventure movie maybe, but not a movie that stays with you like that one does. I'm much more interested in Nolan's personal vision of it. And say what you want, he had an interesting one, that echoes with our own world and tells the story we all know by heart from a different viewpoint. I dare say the movie is at its best after we reach Circe's island and most monsters are behind us at that point.
I've loved Greek mythology from a very young age, I loved Athena, I really loved the Illiad and the Odyssey, I mean I have a very old edition of Homer's Odyssey at home. And you know what? I remember exiting the theater on first viewing and being really happy the main things had been kept in. I saw a story I had always loved brought to screen with lavish. Sure, I wish we could've seen Achilles and Odysseus' mother when Odysseus went to Hades but it's not a major complain, I can do without it. And I'll go even further. Some changes people bitch about, I actually like. I liked that Penelope designed the archer's contest because she already had an inkling the beggar might be her long lost husband. So there was no need for the olive tree enigma and that makes Penelope as cunning and smart as her husband. I liked that Odysseus was less of a slut in this version, that always irked me when I read the original version, that Penelope would stay faithful for 20 years while Odysseus shacked up with Circe for a long time then Calypso. I really liked that in the movie, Circe and Odysseus reached some kind of mutual respect that never ever goes into that territory and Calypso... well, he wasn't himself (see later). For the 2026 audience, a cheating Odysseus wouldn't have been acceptable, period. Killing is okay, cheating on your wife isn't, sorry/not sorry.
As for the ending, I didn't mind that Odysseus ended up sailing away in exile with Penelope. Sad for Telemachus because poor boy loses both his parents and gains an unstable throne and lots of explaining to do, but it makes sense in the world Nolan put on screen and the emotional journey Odysseus went through. There had to be a sacrifice somewhere, he couldn't do that much of a bloodbath without consequence. Also, I love bittersweet open endings so count me in.
So all in all, I loved Nolan's adaptation. It's one of the things I loved most on first viewing. To see an old story I had loved so much when I was younger be brought to life on screen even in its violence, was a treat.
-I loved Nolan's framing of the story, when he turned on its head the Trojan horse and our view of it. First showing it from Sinon's viewpoint, then Menelaus' then Odysseus' and then the final reveal that Odysseus hates the thing for which he's revered. It's something I've always wondered while reading the Odyssey or Racine's Andromaque. Are we really supposed to root for the Greeks or the Trojans ? Was Odysseus' ruse brilliant or horrible? Was Troy's sacking warranted or unfair? I was always torn on that front when I was younger and Nolan showed the horror of it and in a way, why Odysseus was cursed so much and had trouble coming back. Because he had committed the original sin. And I love that, it made Odysseus a much more compelling character rather than a sly guy who never questions himself.
-People say Nolan completely took the gods away from the adaptation. First, see above, it's a serious movie, not a book, not a cartoon, what works in those mediums doesn't work for a movie especially one like this. And second, I already disagreed with that statement on first viewing because I felt Athena's haunting presence could be seen as either a manifestation of Odysseus's guilt or Athena taking on that specific form to drive the point home in Odysseus and I loved it was open to interpretation. Also, speaking to dead people coming from literally Hades? People making frighteningly precise and accurate prophecies about what's going to happen next and being like “Zeus is not going to let you die and here you are, on Ithaca's coast without any issue...” I could go on and on, all this proves the gods are there, we just don't see them, apart from Athena.
On second viewing, my jaw kinda dropped. It was explicitly stated by Athena early on the movie but I missed it on first viewing. Since everything is from the humans' point of view, apart from Athena, the main gods express themselves through their powers. We hear thunder when Zeus expresses himself, see storms at sea when it's Poseidon. I hadn't realized that during the iconic bow scene, when Odysseus hits the target with his arrow passing though the axes, we hear thunder, which means something like “Zeus approves”. And it's really evident on the early scenes between Calypso and Odysseus. Calypso doesn't want him to remember because she wants to keep him there with her, like she does in the original version using brute strength rather than the lotus, but she's thrown off when Odysseus tells her Athena told him it was time to remember and then there's thunder (ie Zeus) and we see Calypso glance towards the sky in apprehension and then she's like “okay why don't you stop eating the lotus”. On first viewing I didn't get why she went from “hey we're happy, you don't need to remember” to “okay stop eating the lotus and try to remember” and everything made sense on the second viewing and only makes sense if you believe the gods are here and intervene and I really really love this. I also really love how it's open to interpretation anyway, especially for Athena (first viewing, I was on the fence at the end, second viewing I was leaning towards the real Athena appearing to him. There's also a great throwaway line I didn't pay attention to on 1st viewing, but noticed on the second one, it's Eurylochus telling Odysseus something like “you're acting like you don't believe in the gods but I saw you cry every night, after Troy's fall, praying to Athena”. And I love it, because it enforces that he prayed for forgiveness after the Trojan horse and that young priestess getting killed in front of him but it also explains why Athena would choose to go to him and appear, after answering one of his prayers).
-Speaking of which, I love how I missed some details on first viewing that I caught on second viewing and that this movie makes you think and has several layers you notice after several viewings. Like what Circe says to Odysseus about his men being rapists and violent and on first viewing you think maybe she hates all men because she's been hurt by them but when you know how the movie ends and you've already seen the last flashback of Troy's sacking, you realize she's right about his men. And Odysseus knows it too. What I also noticed on second viewing was how he himself changed and started showing more empathy for the people he was intruding on from that point on. Or the way Odysseus's bow slight stringing to warn his prey is mentioned and shown several times in the movie before – Chekov's gun – we see him do it before killing the suitors. Wonderful stuff.
-The acting was top notch all around. People bitched about how they were too many well known actors in there and I just... didn't notice like at all because they disappeared behind their characters, and that's because they're all well-known for a reason and that is being really good actors all around. Even supporting actors gave wonderful performances, like of course John Leguizamo or Lupita Nyong'o who didn't have that much screen time but were wonderful and memorable. And of course, Samantha Morton who packed so much in like 5 minutes of screen time. The body horror scene with the men being turned into pigs, her talk with Odysseus... Such a raw performance. And of course, Robert Pattinson's wonderfully evil and cowardly Antinous.
As for the main actors, I have to admit I wasn't sold on Matt Damon playing Odysseus at first so I was wary on first viewing and ended up floored by his performance at the end of the first viewing. He really played him well, his arrogance, his wit and intelligence, but also his empathy and fairness, his quiet authority, and then his trauma, his shame, his resilience and everything. His tiredness at the end. His despair during the sirens scene. I felt you could believe that man would be respected and that there would be some people willing to wait for him for 20 years. You could also believe he spent years away from his family and returned changed and worn down. I was watching Odysseus not Matt Damon. He carried the whole movie on his shoulders. I wasn't sold on Tom Holland either at first but he was really good. The role was less demanding than Odysseus' but he did well with his material. And Anne Hathaway... She conveyed so much with not so many scenes, her anger, her love, her intelligence, her quiet authority, her elegance, everything. I especially loved how she changed her voice, talking in a lower elegant voice when she was in Queen or Mother mode and reverting to a more youthful voice and demeanor only when interacting with Odysseus, it was a nice touch. A lot of people already commented on her scene with Telemachus when she gets angrier and angrier and then snaps “I want Odysseus!” and yeah, she's terrific in that scene, especially when you watch it in the context of the movie, there's so much tension and then it erupts. You could sense the anger dwelling on the surface before but this time she lets it out. She was a wonderful Penelope.
-On second viewing, it hit me that this movie has so many banger scenes, one after the other. It's been some time since I watched a movie containing so many great scenes. A movie would be lucky to have just one of these but this movie has several of them. The Trojan horse and Troy sacking as told by Menelaus, Circe's island entire sequence, the sirens scene, the Hades scene, the “letting go scene” and well, the entire last 30-ish minutes of the movie containing the fight in Pylos, Odysseus and Argus, the bow contest, Odysseus and Penelope scene with the Troy sacking as told by Odysseus, the massacre and so on. Those were my favorites, they all gave me chills.
-On both viewings, the moment Odysseus came back to Ithaca, I was so hyped, I knew what was coming and I was so ready for it. The music swelling, the way he was such a badass, I was here for it.
-The costumes were wildly criticized but I really liked them. Agamemnon being otherworldly and always hidden behind his armor, representing war and human greed, having aurafarm as people say on social media, it was really well-done. I mean, not to sound obsessed with Star Wars but this was obviously Nolan's Darth Vader. I really liked that the Greeks wore black and the Trojans white which blurred the lines even more.
-Apart from Nolan's cursed exposition, there are some great memorable lines in this movie, like Circe telling the men to be back to their disguise when she changes them back into humans, the sirens speech about what you want most and can't have, and of course “somebody get these beggars out of here”...! ;)
-Did I mention the last 30 minutes of the movie rocked? Well, let me say that again, I could watch the entire last part of the movie starting with Odysseus coming back to Ithaca, on a loop. So so good. It's also terrific because we went on an emotional journey with Odysseus and we saw Telemachus and Penelope feel so helpless in front of the suitors so the revenge feels earned.
-The soundtrack is amazing. I didn't notice it much on first viewing apart from the fact it sounded fitting and immersing (oh and maybe the sirens scene because it was beautiful) but after that, I started to listen to the OST and oh I love it so much, it helps feel like you were brought back to ancient times because it's filled with old sounding instruments. The Odysseus theme is haunting, I'm listening to it on a loop, the way it swelled during the Troy's fall scene told by Odysseus gave me chills on second viewing. Same with Ithaca's theme and the way the music built the suspense on Odysseus's return.
-Okay, I'll confess. I have lowkey a crush on Odysseus now. I always had it actually but it's come back. Throw me a hot smart tortured man who had once good intentions and used to be fair and now feels guilty and I'm in. Also Matt Damon's biceps and abs. I had to take a moment's pause in front of the movie at some point, like hot damn, Matt, you did hit that gym. /shallow girlish moment over. I really loved the fact the character evolved in this one. I don't get it when some people say we get to see a perfect character. He isn't. Sometimes he is arrogant just like his original counterpart. He is ruthless sometimes like his original counterpart. The difference is, here he learns from his mistakes and repents.
-Odysseus and Penelope...
I've always shipped them before I knew what shipping was. The poem kinda ships them too so this part needed to be good in the movie and they delivered. I would've liked to see other scenes between them, especially another scene after their reunion (that didn't involve blatant exposition....), but I was happy with what we got. I loved loved their first scene together during the flashback at the beginning of the movie. Kudos to Anne Hathaway and Matt Damon, they really made me believe these two were happily married and loved each other enough to wait so long. The scene felt intimate and raw and conveyed so much about their relationship in very little time. It was sensual too, the way it starts with Penelope draped around Odysseus's nude back while they're in bed, and ends with him on top of her kind of starting to take off her flimsy nightgown or whatever she was wearing. And of course that scene is important because that's when she gives him the Athena brooch (and yes I know it's not in the original story but it works well for a movie which needs visual cues and showing him holding onto it fiercely for 20 years is great stuff). The longing, the angst, the despair at being separated but him having to do his duty, all of it was great, I'm always kind of jarred whenever the scene cuts back to Telemachus and Penelope, like “hey I want the flashback to continue”. Also, when they see each other again and the way he looked at her so softly when she takes him into her arms after the slaughter, ah my heart.
Now I want to write all the fanfic (especially since AO3 doesn't offer much when it comes to them :((
