How does one start to review Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an adaptation of one of the oldest, most epic, and most famous stories ever told? Well, one could cast their mind back to one of Nolan’s “smaller” films, The Prestige. Because every great movie, and every great story, is similar to every great magic trick, in that they consist of three parts or acts.
The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t.
When Christopher Nolan won his Oscars for Oppenheimer, it seemed the world was his oyster. Achieving unparalleled status within the industry as a director who can test the limits of what is capable within filmmaking, whilst also maintaining near-complete creative control.
Therefore, it was a surprise that instead of pushing the envelope further with something uniquely “Nolan” like Inception or Tenet, he chose to look back and open a copy of Homer’s Odyssey. And not the one with Simpson on his quest for doughnuts.
This is a story that has been told many times on film and in many forms. Whether classically with Kirk Douglas in the 1954 Ulysses (the Latin version of Odysseus), recently in The Return, or more boldly by the Coen Brothers with O’ Brother Where Art Thou?
The classics are ripe for adaptation and interpretation. Just look at the enduring appeal of Shakespeare’s work. However, to stand out and justify your place within the canon of the work, you have to put your own spin on it.
The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary.
Nolan achieved that with one word. Four letters. IMAX.
From first experimenting with the format on The Dark Knight, through the breathtaking plane hijack prologue of The Dark Knight Rises, to the Trinity Test in Oppenheimer, everything Nolan has done in his career so far has been leading to this point. The Odyssey became the first film to be completely filmed using IMAX cameras.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. To achieve the impossible, given the limitations in takes (the camera only holds three minutes of film at a time) and the noise of the cameras, they “simply” developed new ones. And a ‘blimp’ to encase it and mute the noise so that dialogue could be recorded on set and location, rather than ADR. This naturally presented its own challenges, such as inventing a mirror system to match actors’ eyelines, due to the width of the device causing them to have to stand to the side.
Suffice to say, the making of The Odyssey behind-the-scenes documentary will be almost as thrilling as the final film itself.
It is not an understatement to say that audiences who are lucky enough to witness the film in one of the 41 cinemas in the world capable of screening the IMAX 15/70mm print will be in for a unique experience. Because that literally is what this is. The first time a film has been made to use the entirety of the screen for the full duration of its runtime.
Sitting in the third row at the BFI IMAX in London for the very first public screening, it was an overwhelming experience. With the screen taking up the entire field of vision, it was a truly immersive watch. It felt like you were with Odysseus every single step of the way.
This achievement was only possible because, over a 25-year career and thirteen films, Nolan has amassed a troupe of cast and crew that, like Odysseus, would follow him into the gates of hell. Precisely because they know what each other is capable of when they work together. He is one of cinema’s true visionaries, yet arguably has more in common with a theatre company director in the way he can retain talent and use them again and again. Similar to Orson Welles in the 30s/40s.
Behind the camera are Hoyte Van Hoytema, Ludwig Goransson, and Jennifer Lame. All of whom can expect to receive Oscar nominations again for their work here. All are vital to the film’s success, but the MVP has to be Van Hoytema.
Whilst in front of the camera, we see the return of Anne Hathaway, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Benny Safdie, Robert Pattinson, and Matt Damon in his biggest role yet under Nolan.
New additions include Gen Z super-couple Tom Holland (in his most complex, mature role yet) and Zendaya as Athena.
Nolan has been criticised for his writing of women in the past – at least, the wife is alive and alone here, rather than dead – but they are some of the most important pieces of the puzzle to help Odysseus find his way.
The cast is completely stacked, but standouts include Elliot Page as Sinon, Pattinson’s weasly Antonius, Leguizamo providing pathos as Eumaeus, and Hathaway delivers a Best Supporting Actress-level tirade as she rails against the choices she must make.
Special mention as well to Samantha Morton, who has arguably the film’s most memorable sequence. A truly horrifying dinner where Circe shows man his true animalistic nature.
Between that and the Cyclops, fans will be begging Nolan to make his next film a full-blown horror.
But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.
When it comes to bringing it back, there is arguably no greater return in the history of storytelling than that of Odysseus. One which joins the cinematic canon of “Get Matt Damon home” movies.
Similar to the Ithaca King’s journey, which is littered with setbacks and detours, Nolan decided to tell his story in a non-linear format.
Expertly edited by Jennifer Lame, she not only keeps the audience in no doubt as to where and when we are in the story. It never once feels like a near-three-hour movie. If only Odysseus had Lame with him, those twenty years would have passed in no time at all…
Using the countdown on Penelope’s time to choose a suitor and prevent an attack on her son, Telemachus, people regale us with their stories of sightings and actions of Odysseus. Giving insight into the man, the myth, the legend. Meanwhile, the same legend confronts his own inner torment as Calypso (Theron) eventually allows those same memories and iconic images to come flooding back to him.
Our first glimpse of the Trojan Horse is that of it sticking out of the sand on the beach. Like it had been dropped from the skies by the gods themselves. To us mere movie mortals, it bears a resemblance to the ending of Planet Of The Apes. A testament to the revelation that humanity had it all, and blew it all up.
As Odysseus gets closer to his final destination, it becomes clear that it was not as simple as a man who lost his way. Part of him was forced into self-purgatory. Instigated by his overwhelming guilt over the sacking of Troy.
That scene near the beginning of the movie, soundtracked by Goransson’s beating drums, is a heart-pounding, visceral sequence that is euphoric in its apparent victory. Only to be reframed later as the moment that the world will forever burn with Troy.
Seen through the eyes of today, at a time when the world is more divided than ever. Man turning on man, and society crumbles as a result. It holds a mirror up to us all and asks the question: Are we going to follow a similar path and retreat, or face ourselves and fight?
None of this, however, would have the impact and emotional resonance required for audiences if not for Matt Damon’s performance. His stoic, steadfast nature slowly gives way over the course of the narrative. Seeing and feeling what he goes through on his journey, by the time he utters “bringing it all”, we are 100% behind him in his quest for vengeance and family.
In a clickbait excerpt from a junket interview, Damon was apparently quoted as saying The Odyssey could be “the last of its kind”. A throwback and potential eulogy to the swords-and-sandals epics, and grand scale filmmaking, often referred to as “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore”.
On the contrary, however. Based on the film now playing in cinemas, coupled with a sustained theatrical window, and physical print rollout in IMAX 15/70mm, 70mm and 35mm, with the full backing of Universal and IMAX, it is clear that Nolan hopes this is the movie that turns the tide and swells into a new wave of filmmaking.
One that celebrates the practical art of cinema; you know, filming on real sets and locations, forgoing the rising tide of A.I. to achieve effects in camera, etc. Doing things that used to cause audiences to gaze up at the big screen and wonder,“How did they do that?”
People have debated endlessly about the future of cinema, and what it will take to save it? The answer is films like this. Films that are designed for the cinema. That simply cannot be replicated at home.
The audience is answering with its feet. Tickets were sold out for midnight screenings, ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE. The demand is there. Studios and the industry need to listen and look to embrace this style of filmmaking in the future.
Never mind defying the gods, Nolan has defied the odds. God-tier directing that expands the boundaries of what is capable in modern filmmaking. Producing a rousing, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring epic piece of cinema. That, yes, should be seen on the biggest screen possible.
The Odyssey is in cinemas now
Rating: 
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya
Runtime: 172 minutes
Country: USA
