The Odyssey grossed $264m worldwide in its opening weekend, setting the stage as the summer's blockbuster hit. With five-star reviews from the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw and reports of fans traveling across continents to see it in Imax 70mm, the film is poised to dominate the box office for weeks, facing little competition except Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Monumental Spectacle
After Oppenheimer won best picture at the 2024 Oscars, Nolan seized the chance to realize a decades-long dream of adapting Homer. The reported $250m budget is evident on screen. Landscapes of Ithaca were shot in six countries, including Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Western Sahara—a choice criticized by artist Mohamed Sleiman Labat, who wrote in the Guardian that filming there came at the expense of the Sahrawi people's suffering.
Nolan used real ocean scenes with the only functional Viking ship in the world, the Draken Harald Hårfagre, and a replica built for tank scenes. Matt Damon described the experience: "There were these two jet engines, like 737 engines, blowing water on us. It was definitely about as hard as you can make water work in a controlled environment."
Technical Wizardry
Nolan used half a dozen Imax cameras, enclosed in soundproof "blimp" casing. The team also created "pyrohedrons"—LED lighting rigs that mimicked warm firelight. "I wanted the camera to see what the human eye would see," Nolan told the New York Times.
Divine and Mortal
Nolan's gods are earthier than Homer's. Zendaya's Athena is more a confidante than a fearsome force. Charlize Theron's Calypso is lonely and pitiable, a departure from the cruel enslaver of the poem. Some viewers may miss the princess Nausicaa, whose barbs could have added levity, as classicist Emily Hauser noted in the Guardian.
Nolan's Women
Lupita Nyong'o's Helen of Troy has little screen time, appearing with a grisly scar on her face, the cause never explained. Anne Hathaway's Penelope is a steely queen, dressed in Ithaca's red and blue. Hathaway likened her character to a slowly simmering volcano that erupts in scenes where she curses suitors and pushes servant Melantho (Mia Goth) to death.
One memorable scene features the sirens: Odysseus is tethered to a mast to hear their song, muffled to the audience. The sound is "all the things you want it to be, then all the things you wish you never wished for," says Odysseus, leaving it to imagination.
Surprise Cameos
John Leguizamo, barely recognizable as swineherd Eumaeus, delivers touching moments. Benny Safdie plays Agamemnon in against-type casting. A pod of dolphins made an unplanned cameo in the final cut. Rapper Travis Scott appears as a bard storyteller, pounding his staff in dactylic hexameter. Nolan said in Time: "I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap."
Oscar Chances
The Odyssey seems a lock for best picture, best director, and craft categories. Supporting actor contenders include Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson; supporting actress possibilities include Zendaya, Nyong'o, Theron, and Hathaway (if not run as lead). Leguizamo and Samantha Morton's scene-stealing role as Circe are strong bets.
Examining War's True Cost
The final 30 minutes see Odysseus return home disguised as a beggar, string his bow, and face the suitors in a fair fight. Flashbacks to Troy's sacking underscore that there is no glory in war. As Odysseus says: "We have broken the fragile bond between men." The ending is more uplifting than Homer's, with Odysseus and Penelope journeying west to honor fallen men, while Telemachus stays to rule Ithaca.
