Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for “The Odyssey.”
What began with a 2024 article announcing Christopher Nolan’s newest film project, an adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” has turned into one of the biggest movies of the summer with its release on July 17.
Nolan’s “The Odyssey” follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) — the King of Ithaca — on his 10-year journey home following the Trojan War, and the obstacles he and his crew face. They notably encounter foes such as Polyphemus the Cyclops, Circe (Samantha Morton) and the Sirens, all in an effort to make it home. Meanwhile, 20 years after Odysseus left, Queen Penelope (Anne Hathaway) rules the kingdom in her husbands’ stead, dodging the pressures of suitors trying to marry her and assume power before her son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), becomes of age to rule.
Originally an epic poem written by Homer in Ancient Greece, “The Odyssey” has been an inspiration for many adaptations, with Nolan’s being one of the best. Due to the attention to detail, elaborate production, remarkable acting and alluring score, this adaptation completely immerses the audience into Odysseus’s world and journey home. Even with an almost three-hour run time, the film doesn’t drag on at all, as the action-packed plot keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.
Much like its source material, “The Odyssey” is told as a fractured story, with Calypso (Charlize Theron) slowly getting Odysseus’ recount of the trick with the Trojan horse, the battle that commenced, and the journey that took him to her island, reliving the horrors he and his crew encountered. The storytelling was phenomenal in this sense, as the audience goes on this same journey with Odysseus, watching him regain his memory and slowly realize his guilt is keeping him from wanting to go home.
Nolan beautifully weaves the well-known story of Odysseus with themes that have not been heavily explored. By diving into Odysseus’s guilt from killing innocents and breaking Zeus’s Law — a sacred moral code that grants food and shelter to strangers and respect towards the host — the film gives more depth and humanity to a story containing gods and monsters. In his guilt, he sees his actions during the war as wrong. This sets a message for the story: war is not worth the sacrifice of humanity.
With these themes, the film incorporates a great deal of symbolism. Given that Homer’s “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad” were originally recited to others rather than read, the first voice the audience hears is that of a bard, played by rapper Travis Scott, who tells the story of Odysseus and the Trojan horse that won the war. Because rap is considered a modern form of oral storytelling, Scott was brought on board to pay homage to the text’s original, verbal form.
Scott’s inclusion conveys the modern evolution of ancient oral storytelling and exemplifies the film’s level of detail. It illustrates how far the film crew went to create an intricate movie for the audience.
“The Odyssey” also succeeded with its portrayal of women. While their screen time was limited due to the nature of the story, the details of these characters stood out immensely. Here, Nolan’s female characters are not as one-sided or villainized as they are in many text translations of “The Odyssey.” There is purposeful power behind their actions.
In the case of Helen of Troy (Lupita Nyong’o), she has two distinctive sides to her character: as the face that launched a thousand ships and a woman who dealt with the falling out of the Trojan War. She feels remorse, as it seems she didn’t want to be the cause of this terrible war. The film also nods to the debate regarding her place in the war — whether she was kidnapped by Paris or went willingly. Nyong’o portrayed Helen with perfection, using her little screen time to make a lasting impression on the audience.
Circe is also an intriguing character in this adaptation, as she is oftentimes depicted as a witch that transforms men into animals for sport. However, in this film, there is a fairly understandable reason behind her actions. She tells Odysseus she reverted the men to their truest forms, pigs, as they came to her home looking to take her food and supplies. It was interesting that, when turning them back to human, she says “go back to your disguises,” implying that these men are truly greedy, taking everything for themselves. As she recognizes they are warriors, her reasoning is very closely tied to how war ravages and takes away decency, reducing men to mere animals.
Aside from the story and the characters, the cinematography of the film was also incredibly noteworthy, as the use of little computer-generated imagery (CGI) makes scenes much more realistic. The cyclops scenes were filmed with a giant life-like puppet and the human-to-pig transformation in Circe’s cabin were also puppets, giving the film a more life-like feel. Given how poor CGI has looked in other films the last few years — especially in Marvel and Disney films — using realistic props is a breath of fresh air.
Ludwig Göransson’s score is also phenomenal, as it perfectly encapsulates every moment in the film. Göransson, by bypassing orchestral arrangements, used more traditional ancient Greek instruments with customized brass gongs, along with other synthesizers. Scenes of high intensity are brought to life with this music, as it slowly builds and becomes louder as the intensity of these moments grow and finally hit. It’s one of the things that keeps the audience entranced by the film — unable to look away.
With the film’s highly anticipated release, the controversy online has only grown exponentially. What started as a critique on the lack of Greek actors casted became criticism of Holland saying “Dad” instead of “Father.” From here, the controversy led to criticism of the film’s inaccurate plot, as well as the casting choices regarding Helen and Athena (Zendaya), both played by Black actresses.
This controversy is, to say the least, the most annoying part of this film’s release, as it takes away from what an unreal experience “The Odyssey” is. People are always entitled to their opinions, though this is an adaptation of a 3,000-year old story, just like the many textual translations that have come before it. The film was never going to be 100% accurate; it was bound to have different interpretations of the original text because there is creative liberty being taken.
Despite the controversy, “The Odyssey” is one of the best films to be released this year. Based on production and attention to detail alone, this is an exceptional movie. However, if the story, symbolism, themes, character developments and musical score are included, this film has transcended what it means to not just watch a movie, but be completely immersed in it.
Jocelyn Cosgrove is an Arts & Entertainment Apprentice for the summer 2026 quarter. She can be reached at jmcosgro@uci.edu.
Edited by Travis Foley and Luis Ortiz.
