chymp

I haven't stopped thinking of this film since I saw it almost a week and a half ago—and for good reason. *The Odyssey* is a film that doesn't just tell the 3500 year old story of the clever Odysseus's tremendous journey back to his homeland, but rather a film about a story that is told every day in one way or another, drenched in lies or filled with truth; it serves as a mirror to society not just 3500 years ago, but also to society today, and is at its heart of hearts, the anti-war film of our time. There's a lot of stuff I want to get into avoid this film and most importantly, its final act, but let's address the Trojan Horse in the room: the rating change. Initially, I'd given this film a pretty high level five stars because though I could see where this film's errors might've slipped through the cracks a bit, I think I got so swept up by the epic and grand totality of this film that I kind of let it go. And to be fair, it didn't feel like this film deserved anything less than a five stars. But recently, through all the discourse I've read and watched and listened to about this film, I realized that there might've been some blind spots I may have had about the film, and wanting to really see for myself if they bothered me as much as they did others, I decided to go for round two of this film, this time maybe not in IMAX (because I was pretty broke). And I guess what I discovered is that no, those little errors that everyone kept pointing out about this film really didn't bother me that much... but a five star film for me always means that it must have no flaws or if it does have flaws, they should be small enough that the triumphs of the film drown it out in my final decision of the film. Hence the four-and-a-half star rating. Some of the things that kinda bothered me a teensy bit include some pacing issues. Upon a re-watch, I will admit that the first half hour of the film kinda drags a tiny bit and you find yourself waiting for the action and intensity of the film to start, and then around the middle it feels like everything is just moving so fast. I especially felt this during the scenes with Calypso where they're mainly used as a plot device to speed the story forward. If not that, then you definitely feel an abrupt change in tone during Odysseus's interaction with Circe. It goes by way too fast and feels like Circe just succumbs too fast for being the shrewd goddess that she is known to be in Greek myths. I also did realize in this that Charlize Theron being Calypso kinda took me out of the film. I know it's so minimal, but the Botox on a Greek goddess just wasn't doing it for me in terms of suspension of disbelief and I felt like her casting was kind of unnecessary. I feel similarly about Mia Goth and other big actors in this film who had such a small role that it really wasn't necessary to cast them. And then yes, I'll say it: this film does lack subtlety at times. It didn't bother me as much as it seemed to bother other people on the internet—mainly because I think part of this film's accessibility and appeal to all types of moviegoers is the reason for that—but I still will say that there's a couple lines at the end that just keep going, almost like Nolan is trying to ensure the audience understands fully what he's trying to say or as if he's not sure where to stop writing. Now let's not be entirely negative though, because I still do think this is an exceptional film and still easily the best film of the year considering that even after a re-watch, there's a few things that are just as great, if not better. For example, John Leguizamo's performance as Eumaeus. Goddamn! After the first watch, I was really split on whether my pick for Best Supporting Actor should go to Coleman Domingo for *[Michael](https://boxd.it/f2avEJ)* (2026), or Leguizamo in this film, but after this re-watch it's pretty fucking obvious that the latter is the one that should win. There's a scene in the film, when Odysseus returns to Ithaca and meets Eumaeus for the first time after 20 years, and Leguizamo in that scene just absolutely breaks me. I believe it's the first time in the film that I really start to get emotional and man, is it powerful. Tom Holland is also still one of the best supporting roles in this and served as a reminder for me that the people who think his performance in this is bad or subpar are just straight up wrong. I still do think his best performance is in 2012's *The Impossible*, but this is a solid second best. Speaking of performances, I think I honestly severely overlooked how great Samantha Morton was in this because after the whole internet was raving about how good she was in this, I was left a bit confused as to why. Honestly, I think I was so flabbergasted and disgusted in the most charming way possible by the pig scene that I was kind of unresponsive for a while after that. Regardless, she's up there with Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress this year. Oh god, the pig scene... I didn't get a chance to talk that much about it last time but holy fucking shit. I didn't know Nolan was capable of something like that but it was amazing and disturbing in the best way possible. I'm just at a loss for words at how masterfully the transformation is done using only practical effects and how genuinely nightmarishly captivating that scene was. It's easily one of Nolan's best scenes ever. Just like the pig scenes, a lot of the really intense, exciting and emotional moments of this film still hit exceptionally well and just get you leaning towards the screen in anticipation every time. One of my favourite examples of this has got to be the motif of Odysseus plucking the string of his bow. It's something that's set up so elegantly with the help of Ludwig Göransson's invigorating score, and paid off even more satisfyingly that it's impossible to not adore this little detail Nolan adds. I talked a little bit about Ludwig's score in my first review, but honestly, when I tried listening to his score on Spotify a few days later I genuinely found myself a little disheartened because it just didn't sound very good or remarkable in any way. But of course, never doubt Ludwig because since rewatching the film (during which my ears were filled with the beautiful sounds of his compositions), I haven't stopped listening to his score and for some reason, it's just clicked for me in a way it's never done before, kinda like my acquaintance with 2025's *[Sinners](https://boxd.it/dvQarX)*' score. But overall, what makes this film still hit as hard and remain on my mind for so long since seeing it is the exploration of guilt, war, and societal collapse that Nolan explores in this film. Despite having read Emily Wilson's translation of the original Homeric text, I didn't find even an ounce of of this in the writing. But Nolan tackles it in a way that made me really ponder on how this all affects our modern day. A striking parallel I realized deep through the night a couple days after first seeing *The Odyssey* is how the Trojan Horse is quite literally a direct comparison to the little soccer balls and other children's toys that the IDF disguises as bombs in order for Palestinian children to pick up and blow up. It's incredibly disturbing and some might say unnecessary to bring up, but it's undoubtedly the exact same thing that Odysseus and his men do. This film's message honestly broke my heart because it laments the true simpler times when people didn't go to war and innocent civilians weren't massacred because of some powerful men's greed. We've gotten so used to having to pick between "the lesser of two evils" in this corrupt, horrible world that it makes me realize that we shouldn't actually have to do this. Why can't we pick good? Why isn't there a good? And if there is a good, why is it being shielded from us? It gets a bit conspiratorial when you start delving deeper into the effect of Nolan's film on the real world, but that's exactly what I think is the point. *The Odyssey* is not a perfect film, I'll admit it, but it's a film that'll go down for how it made history not only technically and financially, but because of how it captured a tale older than all Western literature and flipped it on itself, showing the world a exact image of what it has become today. *A face... a fleet... a war... a man... a thought... a trick... a trick to break the walls of Troy... and burn it screaming to the ground!* [2026](https://boxd.it/R0pUw) [Nolan Ranked](https://boxd.it/ycQLO) [Matt Damon Ranked](https://boxd.it/ToGqO) IB Level: 7 4.5/5 **29 July 2026 chymp**

I know Zendaya and Tom are married in real life and they have great chemistry off-screen, but when it comes to the couple with the best on-screen chemistry, NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY can come close to Andrew Garfield and [Emma Stone](https://boxd.it/ToGhW) in this. Look, I hate the dark and gritty feel that this film and any reboot of the era was trying to achieve, especially after Sam Raimi had so brilliantly made a trilogy that perfectly understood the balance between emotionality and campiness, while dissolving the film in such deep and dark pools of tragedy, but on the other hand, this film delivers I think my ideal "Spider-Man"—not my ideal Peter Parker, not my ideal film, but rather my ideal [Spider-Man](https://boxd.it/W0Bp6). It's something Andrew's depiction nails perfectly right from the get go and something I don't think either Tobey's nor Tom's Spider-Man ever achieved, but the quippy, light-hearted nature of Spider-Man perseveres in this film the most. On the other hand, I will say that Andrew seems way too cool and honestly too mature to be playing Peter, and that too a high school aged Peter. I do however think he would've played an excellent live action Peter B. Parker from 2018's *[Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse](https://boxd.it/9noHZN)*. But yea this film has a lot of flaws, but it's a really nice movie at its core and if you're sticking around for the best romance in Spidey media history, it's definitely worth it.

"No, it's incredibly essential to the plot that Scarlett Johansson chokes me with her [thighs](https://boxd.it/W1FKY)." — Jon Favreau, probably