The Odyssey (2026)

	Directed by: Christopher Nolan	COUNTRY UK/USA Genre Epic Action/Fantasy NORWEGIAN TITLE The Odyssey RUNNING TIME 173 minutes
	Produced by: Emma Thomson Christopher Nolan
	Written by (based on Homer's Odyssey): Christopher Nolan

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Odysseus	Matt Damon	½
Telemachus	Tom Holland
Penelope	Anne Hathaway	½
Antinous	Robert Pattinson
Helen of Troy / Clytemnestra	Lupita Nyongo'o	½
Circe	Samantha Morton	½
Eumaeus	John Leguizamo
Athena	Zendaya	½
Calypso	Charlize Theron	½
Menelaus	Jon Bernthal
Eurylochus	Himesh Patel	½
Sinon	Elliot Page	½
Agamemnon	Benny Safdie	-
Polybus	Corey Hawkins	-
Peisander	Niko Nicotera	-
Elatus	Elyes Gabel	-
Amphimedon	Iddo Goldberg	-
Melantho	Mia Goth	-

Review

Christopher Nolan tries his hand at one of our planet's most legendary fables, setting the bar exactly as high as someone of his calibre should at this stage of their career. He rushes us into the story with audacity, neglecting to define the stakes or truly establish the world he portrays, which instead must be deduced. The general familiarity of the source material should never be a substitute for storytelling. Luckily, the three-hour running time ensures you have enough time for that deduction. In the meantime, the fable takes us along to some of the most famous legends in the history of storytelling, some of which are vibrantly visualised (the Trojan horse), others which feel like something out of a 1980s children’s programme (the segment with the cyclops). Odysseus’ journey and encounters with various deities are the film’s weakest part – not least due to the US-centric casting and dialogue that hamper them. The film only fully comes alive when its lack of subtext for the warring and the plundering of Odysseus and his party is left behind, and Odysseus returns home to Ithaca. The serpentine power struggles and sense of moral decline within and around the royal court are portrayed with a clammy, decaying mood that makes the disillusioned king's homecoming the film's most effective part. Perhaps Nolan even succeeds with a little modern allegory here, although I suspect he would easily exchange that for the achievement of a truly timeless epic adventure.