The Odyssey
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway
Genre: Mythillogical
The Odyssey (2026) is based on Greek mythology that has been the subject of lots of movies and TV mini-series since the early 20th century. But that’s OK because while knowing post-Trojan War Greek mythology may help you understand the film, its main attraction is the type of film.
Director Christopher Nolan is excellent because he likes intense storylines, lots of detail and big budgets! Oppenheimer (2023), Dunkirk (2017), Interstellar (2014) and Batman films are excellent examples (Batman v Superman (2016) admittedly was a shocker though he was the executive producer). Nolan’s obsession with traditional acting, costumes and filming, with limited or no Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is part of the reason why The Odyssey is of great interest.
Also massively relevant, and as is highly promoted, The Odyssey is the first movie filmed exclusively on IMAX 70mm (250 kg total). While it’s an important challenge to the filmmakers and projectionists, that’s a major reason why it’s worth seeing – not the storyline necessarily! Ideally you should view it non-digitally on big screens and with excellent sound (e.g. Randwick Ritz as Sydney IMAX is only digital but is huge).
The Odyssey also features great actors in authentic, aggressive and impressive style. Matt Damon, as always, is very committed and dedicated. His role of Odysseus feels genuine as a result. The monsters (referred to as ‘creatures’) are played by actors and mechanical systems and much of the scenery is also authentic and stunning, in Greece, Italy, Morocco, Scotland, Iceland, Malta, and the USA.
So don’t worry if you don’t understand much of the mythological and complicated storyline. Treat the film as sketches if needed and it’s highly enjoyable.
Rating: Three-and-a-half imaxximus
