Ten Things I Know About "The Odyssey"

Easiest, most obvious movie prediction of the year: Christopher Nolan’s sprawling, beautifully photographed, frequently suspenseful swords-and-sandals epic is a shoo-in for multiple Oscars.

Matt Damon, as Odysseus, ponders his leadership strategy

In lieu of a full review — who has time to write or read that? — here are 10 quick impressions of the $250 million summer movie to beat at the box office:

1 Call it Greek mythology’s greatest hits, Supersized. Those who’ve forgotten everything you ever read in high school might want to peruse the Cliff’s Notes version of the Homerian poem before seeing the movie. You’ll enjoy the film so much more. Then again, if you’re concerned about “spoilers,” skip it, I guess.

2 The film is as visually astonishing as one might expect from the director of “Interstellar,” “Inception” and “Oppenheimer.” Cinematic Spectacle 101.

3 It’s bolstered by amazing, fearsome creature design and special effects.

4 Several sequences count as straight-up horror. Head munching, anyone? Someone give the Cyclops his own franchise!

5 You’ll be seated for nearly three hours, yes, but the “feels like” length is about two hours.

6 The eclectic, solid acting performances are flavorful at best, and simply intriguing at worst. Matt Damon’s famous-tortured-hero thing remains eminently watchable.

7 Oscar bait? It’s a natural-born front runner for Best Picture, with loads of other expected noms.

8 The Greek gods, aside from those Athena pop-ups, are largely MIA, but that’s okay. The human interaction is what we came to see.

9 Ludwig Goransson’s brilliant percussion-spiked score really amps up the intensity of the narrative, particularly the battle sequences.

10 The all-IMAX movie is worth seeing on the largest screen you can get to — an IMAX 70mm screen, if at all possible.

Copyright 2026 by Philip Booth. All rights reserved.