--- title: "The Odyssey: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-odyssey/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-odyssey" critics_score: 90 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Odyssey (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 90 from 12 reviews: 12 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly favourable, and most of them are warm. Critics agree that Nolan has made something large and serious out of Homer, reading the poem as a story about the aftermath of war and the difficulty of coming home. The praise gathers around the 70mm IMAX photography, the practical effects in the set pieces, particularly the Cyclops cave and the Circe encounter, and the score. Performances are singled out too: Damon’s tired Odysseus and the women of the cast, with Samantha Morton named more than once. The reservations are few and mild, and the spread is narrow. The Hollywood Reporter finds the film uneven and occasionally dull, blaming the episodic shape of the source and some casting. /Film agrees it is messy and drags in places under the weight of its ambition. Vulture thinks it stays intellectually distant from the emotion it reaches for, and the Los Angeles Times notes it plays down Odysseus’s ego and appetites. Nobody dislikes it. ## Radio Times — James Mottram Rating 5/5. 15 July 2026. Nolan delivers a visceral, grounded take on Homer’s epic that blends fantasy with the horrors of war and the pain of homecoming. The film excels through its spectacular IMAX imagery, strong female performances, and a masterful score, marking Nolan at his finest. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 5/5. 15 July 2026. Nolan reinvents the Homeric legend as a colossal story of postwar disillusion and the true cost of war, with an epic cast and film-making of thrilling ambition. The critic singles out the gasp-inducing IMAX landscapes of loneliness and full-tilt battle sequences for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jul/15/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 5/5. 17 July 2026. Nolan has turned one of the great legends into a blockbuster for the ages, stripping the epic of antique trappings to expose its soul with grandeur and intimacy. The critic singles out the thrillingly all-over-the-place tonal palette and technical brilliance of sequences like the Cyclops cave for praise. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/07/17/the-odyssey-review-astonishing-reimagining-homer/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 5/5. 15 July 2026. Nolan’s ambitious adaptation stands as his most formidable work, combining epic spectacle with intimate emotional detail and trauma themes in a groundbreaking 70mm IMAX production. Standout performances, especially from the female cast, and an extraordinary score elevate this Homeric tale. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-odyssey-review-2026) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2026. The critic calls it a monumental piece of work and a worthy new translation of the ancient text. They single out the ambitious scale of filmmaking, seamless integration of practical effects and other techniques in the set pieces, and Nolan's thematic focus on human folly, war, and flawed heroes. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-odyssey-2026/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2026. Odysseus emerges as the quintessential Nolan protagonist, torn between vocation and family in a sprawling, spectacle-driven epic that feels like a career endpoint. Damon's weary performance and sequences like the Circe encounter are praised, though the film stays intellectually distant from deeper emotion. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-odyssey-is-a-natural-end-point-for-christopher-nolan.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson 15 July 2026. The critic finds the film epically satisfying as a monument to movie craft and a moralistic take on Nolan’s recurring themes of memory and empire. She singles out the impressive practical effects, IMAX cinematography, and monsters for praise while noting it skimps on Odysseus’s ego and lust. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-07-15/odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon-anne-hathaway-tom-holland) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 15 July 2026. Nolan's adaptation is uneven and occasionally snoozy due to the source's episodic structure and some casting choices, but it delivers muscular spectacle, strong ensemble work, and resonant themes of war, trauma, and homecoming. The Circe sequence with Samantha Morton stands out as a highlight. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon-1236647905/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis 15 July 2026. The critic praises Nolan’s monumental adaptation as a passionate, virtuosic spectacle that bridges art film and blockbuster with thematic depth and kinetic thrills. She singles out the film’s existence as a polished, star-filled studio entertainment that turns the ancient poem into thoughtful pure cinema. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/movies/the-odyssey-review.html) ## Collider — Joe Schmidt Rating 9/10. 15 July 2026. The critic praises Nolan's adaptation as a strong meditation on storytelling itself, highlighting its spectacle, non-linear elements, and strong performances from the cast including Damon as a burdened Odysseus and Hathaway as Penelope. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan/) ## Polygon — Jake Kleinman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2026. The critic hails the film as Nolan's purest and one of the most epic and beautiful ever made, comparing its action and scale favorably to the Lord of the Rings trilogy while praising its visuals, score, and performances especially Leguizamo. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2026. Nolan's film is his best yet, a mournful horror story about guilt and hubris rather than action. Praised for its emotional sensitivity and terrifying visuals. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan/) ## Deadline — Gregory Nussen Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2026. Nolan's adaptation is a humanistic, anti-war exploration of time, memory, and patriarchal damage. The critic praises its restrained staging and emotional depth, particularly the reckoning with war's consequences. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2026/07/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-movie-1236976044/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 8/10. 15 July 2026. Nolan's adaptation overwhelms with its massive scope, grandeur, and IMAX spectacle but feels messy and drags due to overambition and uneven pacing. The powerful emotional finale, arresting imagery, and sense of wonder provide the main highlights and tie into themes of war's aftermath. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2215067/christopher-nolan-the-odyssey-movie-review/) ## The Ringer — Helena Hunt Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 July 2026. The critic notes that Nolan replaces the chaotic Greek gods with a more distant, moral deity emphasizing hospitality and avoiding war, resulting in a version focused on reckoning and modern virtues rather than divine intervention. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2026/07/20/movies/christopher-nolan-casts-out-the-gods) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 4.5 out of 5. 15 July 2026. The critic praises the film's epic scale, stunning IMAX visuals, and emotional depth as a love story and homecoming tale, while noting its fidelity to Homer's epic and strong performances, particularly Samantha Morton's. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-odyssey.md