Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.
Nolan's adaptation of Homer arrives as a genuine blockbuster event, with most critics marveling at its scale, ensemble performances, and ability to make a 3,000-year-old poem feel viscerally alive. The minority objections cut in different directions: some find the film emotionally cold and its dialogue clunky, others argue it sacrifices its female characters to the margins, and at least one prominent voice accuses it of reducing an epic poem to something prosaic. The debate over whether Nolan's rationalizing instincts are exactly what mythology needs, or precisely what kills it, is the most interesting fault line in the reviews.
“Nolan and his collaborators have constructed a strange, fearsome and trailblazing machine of a movie – by some distance, the best of the year so far.”
Robbie Collin·The Daily Telegraph
“It is an anomalous big-studio entertainment that Nolan has filled with stars and polished to a high gleam, turning a 3,000-year-old poem into a smart, thoughtful film with Old Hollywood allure.”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Pattinson has fun channeling Roddy McDowall's snarky performance in Cleopatra. But like that epic flop, The Odyssey takes itself too seriously. The film ultimately sinks under its bleakness like a lead balloon.”
Odie Henderson·The Boston Globe
“turns an epic poem prosaic”
Richard Brody·The New Yorker
“limited by cinematic sexism”
Angelica Jade Bastién·Vulture
Adventure, Action, Fantasy
DirectorChristopher Nolan
StarringMatt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel
ComposerLudwig Göransson
Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.
Nolan's adaptation of Homer arrives as a genuine blockbuster event, with most critics marveling at its scale, ensemble performances, and ability to make a 3,000-year-old poem feel viscerally alive. The minority objections cut in different directions: some find the film emotionally cold and its dialogue clunky, others argue it sacrifices its female characters to the margins, and at least one prominent voice accuses it of reducing an epic poem to something prosaic. The debate over whether Nolan's rationalizing instincts are exactly what mythology needs, or precisely what kills it, is the most interesting fault line in the reviews.
“Nolan and his collaborators have constructed a strange, fearsome and trailblazing machine of a movie – by some distance, the best of the year so far.”
Robbie Collin·The Daily Telegraph
“It is an anomalous big-studio entertainment that Nolan has filled with stars and polished to a high gleam, turning a 3,000-year-old poem into a smart, thoughtful film with Old Hollywood allure.”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Pattinson has fun channeling Roddy McDowall's snarky performance in Cleopatra. But like that epic flop, The Odyssey takes itself too seriously. The film ultimately sinks under its bleakness like a lead balloon.”
Odie Henderson·The Boston Globe
“turns an epic poem prosaic”
Richard Brody·The New Yorker
“limited by cinematic sexism”
Angelica Jade Bastién·Vulture
Adventure, Action, Fantasy
DirectorChristopher Nolan
StarringMatt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel
ComposerLudwig Göransson
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