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‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, Strange Trip It Was

‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, Strange Trip It Was

Last updated on: July 27, 2026 at 12:03 pm by Kate O'Hare

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‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, Strange Trip It Was 2026-07-27T12:03:02-08:00 Kate O'Hare

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Matt Damon starring as the Greek hero Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s epic film adaptation of The Odyssey.

I swore I wasn’t going to pay to see The Odyssey. Then one of my editors said he’d be interested in hearing what I had to say about it.

Only for you, Alan.

So, What Did I Think About It?

Here’s my favorite quote from Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility:

Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition.

I don’t think Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey deserves the compliment of detailed examination. But, I paid to see it, so let’s go.

What’s Good About It

It’s long. It has length. I’ll give it that.

It’s got a cast of talented actors, at least in other things.

It looks expensive, and the money is on the screen (although hiring a different screenwriter might have been a good investment).

Robert Pattinson, even doing an American accent, is a fun and charismatic villain.

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Does It Do Justice to Homer’s Epic?

I don’t know. I’ve read The Iliad and tons of Greek mythology, but not the actual Odyssey. I did love O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which I understand is Homer-inspired.

I’ll leave this one to the experts, such as Emily Wilson, who wrote the modernized feminist translation of The Odyssey upon which Nolan’s film is reportedly based.

She doesn’t seem all that impressed.

When Emily Wilson emerged from her local cinema in Philadelphia this month she felt oddly flat. Having first read The Odyssey aged eight, she knew well the emotional heft of the moment when its protagonist Odysseus returns home after 20 years and is reunited with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. It is the same moment Christopher Nolan has chosen to make the climax of his cinematic retelling of Homer’s poem.

“But it didn’t land emotionally for me at all,” says Wilson, 54 and chair of the classics department at Pennsylvania University. “Which I think is partly about the fact that, unlike Homer, it’s not very well written.”

… “The characters don’t have the kind of depth the Homeric characters have,” she says. “I felt, ‘Do I really care if this guy gets back to his wife?’ You haven’t given me any reason to.”

What’s Bad About It (I Have a List)

The Acting

People complain that historical epics (even some Westerns) are populated with British actors. Want to know why? They can pull it off.

Whether it’s classical training, lots of stage acting (especially Shakespeare and Greek plays), high standards in U.K. casting, or whatever, you can give them stilted, formal dialogue in archaic language, and they can pull it off.

You could argue that we’ve been culturally conditioned to history done with British accents. Fine, maybe. But, nevertheless, they pull it off.

Charlton Heston even proved that you don’t need the British accent to do it, but Matt Damon is no Charlton Heston.

He’s a great actor — as is most of the rest of the cast — but either he couldn’t do it, or Nolan didn’t allow him (or Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland — who’s actually British, what’s his excuse? — or Charlize Theron) to do whatever they needed to do, to do it.

I didn’t believe a word coming out of anyone’s mouth (except Pattinson).

It didn’t help that the words were … bad.

The Script

‘Nuff said about that.

Injecting Modern Sensibilities

I know what people think NOW. I watch a movie about bygone days to get a sense of what they thought THEN.

But that requires taking the past on its own terms, and the humility to not think that you know better. I don’t care whom you are, but you don’t know better than Shakespeare — or Homer.

As for the Controversial Casting

In the (rare and intentional) proper context, anachronistic casting of whatever sort can work. It doesn’t work here. It adds nothing in The Odyssey except distraction and confusion.

I chalk it up to Nolan wanting to tick boxes to be Oscar-eligible. I could be wrong, but that’s the most charitable opinion I have.

Is There Faith in The Odyssey?

Not really. Nolan uses various tricks to dodge around the notion of Greek religion — except for “Zeus’ law,” which he bangs on about incessantly.

Homer almost certainly actually believed in the Greek gods, as do his characters. This movie doesn’t appear to, which pulls out the supernatural underpinning of the entire story (while, interestingly, keeping the witches and monsters).

The film even begins with, “In an age of apparent magic…” (emphasis mine).

But, we live in a time when people get offended if you want to keep Christ in Christmas, so …

And the Verdict on The Odyssey?

Emotionless. Visually impressive. Soulless. Boring.

FWIW, the audience at my showing neither cheered nor clapped. They shuffled out quietly, and I saw two guys yawning.

I think I’ll just watch Nolan’s Oppenheimer again.

You owe me one, Alan.

If you want scene-by-scene summaries of the plot and other reviews (raves, pans, and in-between), click here.

Image: Universal Pictures

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History and Religion

About Kate O'Hare

Journalism, screenwriting, Seahawks ... I prefer stories with soul. Covering the intersection of entertainment, faith and pop culture. Writing movies in my spare time -- when not watching Seahawks football, that is. From the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, left my heart in Saratoga Springs. Currently based in Los Angeles, where it's always another day in paradise. No, I don't pick my NFL team by geography. You can read more about the author here.

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