Following the Oscar-winning success of Oppenheimer (2023), expectations for Christopher Nolan’s next film couldn’t have been higher. Thankfully, The Odyssey delivers one of the most ambitious cinematic experiences of the decade, even if it isn’t his masterpiece.
Adapting Homer’s epic poem, the film follows Odysseus’s perilous journey home after the Trojan War, unfolding on a scale rarely seen in modern cinema. It immediately brought to mind the sweeping epics of director David Lean, particularly Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Every frame feels meticulously crafted, featuring breathtaking cinematography, massive practical sets, and a sense of spectacle that reminds you why movies are meant to be experienced on the biggest screen possible.
Without a doubt, Christopher Nolan is the best working director today. That doesn’t mean every film has to be his best, and The Odyssey certainly isn’t. The first half of the movie struggles with pacing. Some scenes feel repetitive, the film takes its time finding its rhythm, and the dialogue lacks the precision we’ve come to expect from Nolan’s strongest scripts. I also found the modern American accents surprisingly distracting, particularly during the film’s more emotional scenes; at times, they pulled me out of the ancient world Nolan had created. Interestingly, this seemed to affect the male performances more than the female ones, with Matt Damon and others occasionally struggling to make the dialogue feel as natural as Anne Hathaway and the rest of the cast.
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