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Imagine making a movie from a story that is almost 3,000 years old.
Now imagine giving that story a massive Hollywood budget, Christopher Nolan as the director, and Matt Damon as Odysseus.
That’s The Odyssey.
And somehow, it works.
Nolan’s 2026 adaptation follows Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, as he attempts to return home after the Trojan War. Along the way, he faces monsters, gods, dangerous seas and everything else standing between him and his family.
On paper, it sounds like a history lesson.
On screen?
It’s anything but.
Nolan Doesn’t Make It Feel Ancient
The easiest mistake would have been making The Odyssey feel like a traditional historical movie.
Nolan doesn’t do that.
The film feels enormous.
The ocean feels endless.
The monsters feel dangerous.
And the journey actually feels like a journey.
That’s important because Odysseus isn’t simply travelling from one location to another.
He’s trying to get home.
And the longer he’s away, the more that home starts feeling like something he might never see again.
That’s where the emotional side of the story comes in.
If you enjoy movies that combine spectacle with deeper ideas, you can also explore our movie reviews for more Hollywood recommendations.
Matt Damon Makes Odysseus Feel Human
Matt Damon could have easily played Odysseus as the typical heroic warrior.
He doesn’t.
There’s confidence there, obviously.
But there’s also exhaustion.
Odysseus isn’t just fighting monsters.
He’s fighting time.
Every obstacle pushes him further away from the people waiting for him.
That makes his journey feel personal.
The official The Odyssey movie page from Universal Pictures confirms Damon plays Odysseus, with Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Robert Pattinson as Antinous.
And the casting is one of the film’s biggest strengths.
Almost every character feels like they belong to a much bigger story.
The Scale Is Completely Insane
This is probably the biggest reason to watch The Odyssey in a theater.
Nolan shot the film entirely with IMAX film cameras, according to Universal’s official movie page.
And you can feel that scale.
The film doesn’t constantly rely on tiny environments.
It wants you to see the ocean.
The ships.
The landscapes.
The armies.
The creatures.
The world feels massive because the movie actually gives it room to breathe.
IMAX also reported that The Odyssey became the fastest film in its history to pass $200 million in global IMAX box office, showing just how strongly audiences responded to its large-format presentation.
So if you still have the option to watch it on the biggest screen possible, I’d take it.
But This Isn’t Just a Monster Movie
This is where The Odyssey becomes more interesting.
Yes, there are monsters.
Yes, there are battles.
Yes, there are huge set pieces.
But the story is ultimately about getting home.
Odysseus has spent years away from his family.
Penelope is waiting.
Telemachus is growing up without his father.
And Odysseus has to deal with the consequences of everything that happened during his journey.
That’s what makes the story timeless.
The monsters might belong to Greek mythology.
The emotions don’t.
If you’ve enjoyed the emotional side of our Interstellar review, you’ll probably appreciate this part of Nolan’s storytelling too.
The Movie Has Already Become a Huge Hit
Whatever you think of the film creatively, audiences have clearly shown up.
The Odyssey crossed $1 billion worldwide in its first few weeks, making it Nolan’s first film since The Dark Knight Rises to reach that milestone.
It has since moved beyond $1.2 billion worldwide, despite facing competition from Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
And the critical response has been strong too.
Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the movie at 94% from critics and 97% from verified audiences.
That’s impressive for a nearly three-hour movie based on an ancient epic.
Is The Odyssey Worth Watching?
Absolutely.
But don’t watch it expecting another Oppenheimer.
This is much more adventurous.
It’s bigger.
Louder.
More visual.
And far more interested in myth and spectacle.
If you enjoy Christopher Nolan movies, Greek mythology, epic adventures or stories about characters trying desperately to get home, this is an easy recommendation.
And if you’ve never read Homer’s Odyssey, don’t worry.
You don’t need to.
The movie gives you enough context to follow the story.
Final Verdict
The Odyssey – 9.2/10
Christopher Nolan took one of the oldest stories in human history and somehow made it feel like a movie made for today’s audience.
It’s massive.
It’s emotional.
It’s visually ridiculous in the best possible way.
And underneath all the monsters and battles is a very simple story:
A man wants to go home.
That’s why The Odyssey works.
You don’t need to know Greek mythology.
You don’t need to be a Nolan fan.
You just need to understand what it feels like to miss home.
And that’s something the story has understood for thousands of years.
