Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" -- My Honest Review, and It's Not Positive!

Review Summary

The reviewer, a longtime Christopher Nolan fan who says he has read The Odyssey about 20 times, gives Nolan’s adaptation a decidedly mixed-to-negative verdict. While praising its ambition and some of its monster sequences, he feels the film is more a collection of familiar Nolan touches and sword-and-sandal conventions than a distinctive work of its own.

Main Criticisms

The reviewer’s biggest complaint is the lack of variety and contrast in the settings. In Homer’s poem, Odysseus is tempted to stay in places such as Calypso’s island. In the film, however, Calypso’s home looks so bleak that the reviewer jokes he would want to leave immediately. As a result, Odysseus’s longing for home feels less powerful.

He also finds the score forgettable and the script overloaded with names and exposition. Its “fortune-cookie” lines do not convince him, and he suggests Nolan might benefit from taking a break from writing and studying great playwrights.

The reviewer is also disappointed by the film’s treatment of the gods. Athena appears only briefly, while Poseidon and Zeus are largely absent. Repeated references to “the law of Zeus” make the story’s religion feel oddly monotheistic. He also thinks the battle scenes could have been harsher and more disturbing, especially given the film’s R rating and anti-war themes.

What Works

The monster scenes are interesting, Circe stands out, and the Agamemnon costume is a personal favorite—the reviewer says he wants to wear it for Halloween.

Final Verdict

The reviewer is unlikely to revisit the film and would choose 300 for its more unusual, committed epic style. He rates Nolan’s adaptation between two-and-a-half and three stars out of five, while recommending Homer’s poem more enthusiastically than the movie.

People Discussed

The reviewer; Christopher Nolan; Matt Damon; Tom Holland; Robert Pattinson; Charlize Theron; Zendaya; Orson Welles; Hans Zimmer; Jonathan Nolan; Ralph Fiennes.