Why you MUST Watch The Odyssey (2026)

Big Questions About The Film

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Is the Odyssey Nolan's best entry yet? Does filming in IMAX really make a difference? And is the star-studded cast worth the price of admission? Find out that and more in our spoiler-free review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

Why The Odyssey Still Hits

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Welcome to the Phantom Portals podcast, the podcast that proves that your favorite movie has something to teach you. I'm Aaron, a teacher and a film fan, and on today's episode, we are doing a spoiler-free review of the latest movie in Nolan's filmography, The Odyssey. If you're like us and you've already seen The Odyssey, make sure you drop a sun emoji in the comments below because if you've seen it, then we all know why. Nolan's Odyssey works because it is a movie where you can experience everything that you need to know about the human experience from viewing the film. It takes a classic tale like Homer's Odyssey and brings it to the modern audiences through reflection of very human themes, despite the fact that the setting is during a time of apparent magic and through ancient Greek mythology.

Odysseus And The Cost Of Leadership

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The title character is obviously Odysseus, played by Matt Damon, and we see this man being played through the lens of a husband who is honoring his marriage and who loves his family and his country. He represents the duty of a father and also the duty of a king. Damon masterfully shows his performance of leadership through sacrifice, and the cost of his mistakes can be worn on his face, but also you can see his growth as he goes through this movie, not only in that Daemon's performance, but through his dialogue as well and the different realizations he has as a character along the way. The most appealing theme that Odysseus represents in this film to me is the hubris of mankind through acts of deception and dishonesty. And his investigation into this, as well as being coupled with being praised for victory and the battles that he was a part of, shows this internal struggle within him. And it places him in this space of mental change as humanity is shifting around him during this ancient time. He struggles to find his place within that and the grief that he's grappling with and the shame that he is grappling with as a result of his impact on that change. Now I found this very similar to Nolan's last protagonist in Oppenheimer, where he seems to have a proclivity to show men or characters who are going through this dynamic struggle of the impact of their actions on history. Damon's acting throughout this is phenomenal. You can see throughout the movie he plays the younger character of Odysseus with a spry and battle-readed youthfulness, his wisdom showing all the way through, but then towards the end, you can see that the journey has definitely taken its toll. I think the theme of endurance is also strong with Odysseus' character, and he also represents the folly of man, where he tries to do his best throughout all of these obstacles, but he finds that in his way is the burden of leadership. As the movie progresses, we see Damon go through that burden and how it carries him into be the changed man of Odysseus by the end of the

Penelope’s Loyalty Under Pressure

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movie. Now Penelope is the other side of that coin, played by Anne Hathaway. She does an extremely phenomenal job. Passionate is one word that I would say her performance resonates with me. She represents this loyal grief, but also the urge to withstand and endure temptation, not only for herself, but also for the nation of Ithaca, and to pay that loyalty forward to her husband, who they share a very deep and true love. She's the fiercest advocate and proponent for the kind of man that her husband was, and she can be heard displaying that to her son Telemachus, but also as she compares other suitors through the movie to the ideal of her husband, nobody seems to compare, not only because she loves him or loves him so truly, but also because of the kind of man he was and the values that he represents. Anne Hathaway plays Penelope as a character that honors the customs of the kingdom that her husband has left behind, even to the point where a lot of the other suitors and visitors to the kingdom of Ithaca using these contrived methods and notions of these hospitality rules in order to utilize it for their favor. She's a strong lead, and you can see her often being depicted behind a curtain or wall to show that the access to her is not only emotionally prevented, but also physically prevented from herself and the suitors. And Nolan uses this technique masterfully to show that she's basically off limits in every aspect.

Telemachus Growing Into Responsibility

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Tom Holland plays Telemachus in this movie, and this is a breakout role for him. He's played Spider-Man for a really long time, but he needed a movie like this to cement himself into some serious roles, but also into the Hollywood scene as something other than Peter Parker. He's able to carry a scene on his own really, really well. And you can see him also representing the son's enduring battle to know his father, both physically as being a son wanting to know his father, but also as a mythical sort of version of that, as the values that he represents as well. His yearning is very apparent and his loyalty is also there, which he obviously inherits from his mother. I feel like this is a universal struggle from boyhood to manhood that involves accepting that mantle of responsibility and learning from the wise people around you, and also having faith in the man that your father intended to be based on the actions that highlight his character. And I think that as Telemachus learns not what his father did, but who his father was, you can see that his loyalty only grows as he's one of the few people left in Ithaca who believes he's still alive. Telemachus represents this love and loyalty to family and also to kingdom that extends beyond myth and song. Having heard all the songs from the bards and the poets that come to Ithaca to spread the word of Odysseus, he wants to know the man more deeply than that and listens upon every word of all the travelers that he can in order to preserve his father's legacy. In the end, Telemachus' journey is indeed from boy to man, and you can see Tom Holland plays that really, really well as his innocence at the start is coupled with some aptitude toward the end as a result of the lessons he learns

Nolan’s Craft Structure And Sound

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along the way. Now let's talk about the man of the hour, Christopher Nolan himself. The movie as a whole is an absolute masterclass. It's an utter work of cinematic magic where we get to witness all members of the cast and crew at the absolute top of their respective games. There's nothing better than watching people who are good at what they do do what they're good at. Nolan wows cinematically through immersive shots of intimate emotion and juxtaposes these with actions and urgency where it's required in order to immerse the audience. Nolan has this signature, you might say, where he uses an irregular style in terms of narrative structure. His stories never have a simple beginning, middle, or end. And I think this has only been perfected over his filmography, as this movie in particular has snips from the past and also from the future, and it's used to tease story elements all the way through the movie. Even something as simple as the snapping of a bowstring has been used by Nolan masterfully and through combination with the soundscape as well to really tell the story of Odysseus's journey. He really stitches and weaves the overall narrative together, like the epic tale of old. The interpretation and separation of myth and politics is accessible to audiences through this, and Nolan makes this work as a vehicle to give audiences the stakes they need to care about the characters that we have come to know. Nolan has a tendency to bring the cinematic and the sound elements of the movies together to satisfy and illuminate the masterful knowledge and scope the director has as a filmmaker. Not to mention the fact that the script is so sharply written, the dialogue is almost point perfect. It drives the story and delivers these character moments that really allow you to settle into moments, but also feel anticipation and rush where you needed to as well. And despite the fact that there was a lot of criticisms about the fact that characters in this movie are using American accents, I didn't feel that that took away from any scene where we needed to feel tenderness or power or reverence within the space. Overall, Nolan's Odyssey is a work of art. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a film that is talked about during awards season. More than that, it will become an ageless and timeless film and a masterpiece in the

Final Verdict And Where To Next

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making. Thank you so much for listening to the quick spoiler-free review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. If you like this content, then please feel free to like and subscribe this video. Not only that, but we also have more content like this where we deep dive into movies at the Phandom Portals podcast. So please feel free to go and check out some of our other videos and some of your favorite movies. This is Aaron's Finding Out. Keep learning, keep growing, and keep loving fandoms.