Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Turns Myth Into Modern Cinema

Copyright Universal Pictures

Max Seltzer

Film Critic

July 23, 2026

The King of Cinema has returned; unlike Odysseus, it didn’t take 20 years. On July 17, director Christopher Nolan’s newest epic, The Odyssey, was released in theaters to worldwide critical acclaim. Nolan wrote, directed and produced the film alongside his wife and longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas. It marks the 13th feature in his stellar career. Nolan is known for films like Oppenheimer, released three years ago, along with his Dark Knight trilogy and, my personal favorite, Memento, to name a few. This fully practical masterpiece sets the stage for what has already been an incredible year for the film industry.

Nolan has a unique style of filmmaking, one that shines as brightly as ever in his adaptation of Homer’s epic. Foremost is the return of the non-linear story structure that forces you to pay attention to every detail. This structure, or lack thereof, has become synonymous with Nolan’s career. In Memento, we follow a man plagued by amnesia as he tries to solve his wife’s murder, with the narrative only becoming clear in the final 15 minutes. Oppenheimer follows its namesake in two parallel storylines: one chronicling the development of the atomic bomb and the other examining the hearings and investigations surrounding him years later. Like Memento, one timeline is shot in black and white while the other is in color, eventually coalescing into a coherent story. It would be remiss not to mention Tenet here, a movie I still can’t claim to fully understand but one that executes this idea brilliantly.

Another theme prevalent in Nolan’s films is identity, as well as ambitious men unleashing unknown and unanticipated evils into the world. That idea is incorporated masterfully into The Odyssey. To this day, archaeologists are unsure what caused the Bronze Age collapse, a period between the 13th and 12th centuries B.C. when many of the Mediterranean’s great civilizations experienced widespread societal collapse. One of the leading theories centers on the mysterious "Sea Peoples." Very little is known about them; the only constant in surviving records is the repeated mention of invaders arriving from the sea, bringing death and destruction wherever they went. Nolan flips this idea on its head by portraying the legendary heroes of the Trojan War as those very Sea Peoples. It’s a twist executed beautifully, calling into question identity, honor and the morality of the heroes we have venerated. In doing so, the film also reflects our own modern society, especially at a time when questioning authority and reexamining history have become increasingly common.

When Odysseus’ men break open the gates of Troy, allowing Agamemnon’s forces to claim victory, cheers and applause echoed throughout my theater. Two hours later, we return to that moment and witness the destruction and brutality left in its wake. Odysseus sits silently as a woman, whom Athena later chooses to resemble for much of the film, is beheaded at the foot of a statue dedicated to the goddess herself. In that moment, Nolan perfectly subverts our expectations in the way he does best, taking a nearly 3,000-year-old poem and making it feel utterly captivating for modern audiences who too often overlook the classics in favor of what's new.

Watching this in IMAX was a life-changing experience. The sheer size of the screen, paired with the earth-shattering sound design and haunting score by Oscar-winning sound engineer Willie D. Burton and Ludwig Göransson, respectively, made this one of the greatest theatrical experiences I’ve had in recent memory. As powerful as the script is, the star-studded ensemble cast completely sells it. Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, showcase the range and emotional depth needed to bring these legendary characters to life in a way that makes them feel remarkably human to a 21st-century audience.

To address some of the controversy surrounding the film, from its modernized dialogue and casting choices to claims that Nolan’s decision to shoot entirely with IMAX cameras creates a classist viewing experience, I’d like to ask one simple question: Did The Odyssey actually happen? The answer is almost certainly no. There is no Poseidon or Helen of Troy. There is no magical bag of wind. There is no underworld, and many historians doubt there was even a Trojan War as it is traditionally told. You would be selling yourself short by skipping this film because of reactionary arguments insisting it isn’t historically accurate and is therefore a bad movie. Nolan's reinterpretation doesn't diminish the story; if anything, it's the adaptation that finally does Homer's epic justice. With one ticket and three hours to spare, experience the best film of the year. Movies like this are how we save the industry, one ticket at a time.

Edited by: Jade Read