When I heard that Christopher Nolan was producing and directing The Odyssey (2026) movie, I was both excited and dreading the final product. Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly one of the best directors of the current film era, and with his name attached comes a lot of funding and big names playing the characters. On the other hand, the Odyssey is a complex and ancient story that I was unsure would be fully encapsulated in a three hour movie.Â
Before I start discussing the inaccuracies of the movie, I do have to say that, aesthetically, it was a beautiful movie. The cinematography and acting choices were brilliant. However, I can’t help but think it could have been much better if it didn’t stray as much from the original source material.Â
One of the worst aspects of the movie was his portrayal of the women, particularly his portrayal of Athena. In The Iliad and The Odyssey, the ancient stories the movie derives its material from, she plays a much bigger role. She is the goddess of war and wisdom, yet she was reduced to a passive bystander. Throughout both The Iliad and The Odyssey, she plays a direct role in key events. In The Iliad, Athena is responsible for protecting Greek warriors in battle and tricking Prince Hector of Troy into facing Achilles in one-on-one combat, ultimately leading to his death. In The Odyssey, her role is even more prominent as Odysseus is her champion. She protected and guided Odysseus when the other gods were targeting him and was the one to convince Telemachus to sail to Sparta and Pylos to gain information on his father’s whereabouts. Erasing all these moments or giving them to men strips her of her divinity and much of what makes her such a distinctive and powerful goddess. Arguably, the worst scene of her was during the sacking of Troy, when she was portrayed as a victim when initially, she gave them her divine blessing (she later revoked this when the soldiers assaulted Cassandra inside her temple after she sought refuge).
Additionally, this adaptation stripped Odysseus of a core trait. He was known for his intellect, and Nolan essentially reduced him to his role as a soldier, completely eradicating his feats as one of the greatest Greek strategists and the reason Athena was so drawn to him. One of the biggest inaccuracies was the flashback of when he was called to war. To provide some context, when Helen’s father was searching for a suitable match for his daughter, many Greek princes lined up outside his palace vying for her hand. Odysseus was one of them, but he was far more interested in Helen’s cousin Penelope. To gain approval, he suggested that the King bind all the suitors to an agreement to protect and defend the chosen husband so the ones that weren’t chosen didn’t riot. So, when Paris stole Helen, Agammemnon (Menelaus’ brother and Helen’s brother in law) called upon the other suitors to fulfill their promise. However, Odysseus was a new father. Additionally, when he heard Agammemmnon was sailing for Ithaca and received the prophecy that if he went he wouldn’t return, he devised a plan to get out of his agreement. He pretended to go mad and when Agammemmon and his men found him, he was plowing his fields with an ox and a donkey. One soldier, Palamedes, did not believe his ruse so he threw a newborn Telemachus in front of the plow so if Odysseus was truly insane he would run over and kill his son. Odysseus swerved and was essentially drafted.Â
He was also vital in getting Achilles to fight. He was prophesied to die in the war, so his mother, the sea nymph, hid Achilles on the island of Skyros as one of the princesses. Odysseus, mad that he had to fight, tricked Achilles out of hiding (either by presenting him with weapons or getting him to reveal himself by fighting) so he could help win the war against Troy.Â
The last major plot hole that bothers me is the language used in the movie. Odysseus and his crewmen are Greek warriors, so when they pillaged that island, they should have recognized and understood the inhabitants as they were speaking Greek. Another issue was the overly modern language: nobody is referring to the King of Ithaca as “daddy.” Respect was one of the pillars of society, and even when referring to someone’s father, you wouldn’t use that word, especially if he was of high/noble rank.
There are many other smaller scenes I could point out the inaccuracies of. Overall, it was a valiant attempt by Nolan to adapt one of the greatest classical epics known to man. But fitting it into a three hour movie and modernizing it strips a good deal of what makes it so famous. I do think that he would be better off making a movie about the Iliad if he wanted a war-centric movie. At least it was better than Troy.