The Odyssey

Release date (UK): 2026
| Country: UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Iceland
| Running time: 172 min
| Genres: Action / Epic
| Director: Christopher Nolan. | Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway. | BBFC 15

Christopher Nolan’s latest epic is adapted from Homer’s Odyssey, written millennia ago. Nolan utilises modern filmmaking techniques to portray ancient historical fantasy, crafting an enthralling journey of breathtaking scope and riveting adventure.

The Odyssey is a film of true technological achievement as the first film ever to be recorded in its entirety on IMAX film, the largest and highest resolution film currently available. This approach produces splendiferous scope and detail never seen before on the silver screen. Nolan prioritises practical effects with a finesse previously shown in The Dark Knight (2008), Dunkirk (2017) and Oppenheimer (2023), creating uncanny and horrifying effects namely in the cyclops Polyphemus and an animal transformation sequence. Ludwig Goransson’s haunting soundtrack and the menacing sound design effectively builds tension in staggering set pieces, lingering in your psyche.


Matt Damon shines as Odysseus the Cunning, playing the rugged and flawed figure with both gravitas and a stoic intelligence. Tom Holland of Spiderman fame plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus in his most emotionally complex performance to date. Anne Hathaway delivers a memorable performance as Odysseus’ tortured wife awaiting his belated return from war, with Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson with weaselly deviance pining for her affections among crowds of suitors. Zendaya plays the near silent Athena of Troy, a melancholic symbol that haunts Odysseus; the theme of regret and shame one previously explored by Nolan in Robert J. Oppenheimer’s character.


Nolan has outdone himself once again in this ambitious, stark, and exciting adaptation. Undertake an odyssey to your local cinema to view this masterpiece at your earliest convenience.

Jack Weir is a graduate of Edinburgh Napier University’s Film BA (Hons) course.