The Odyssey (2026)

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is mythological filmmaking of the highest order, a non-linear retelling of Homer’s epic that trusts the audience to piece together the voyage of Odysseus alongside the siege unfolding at home in Ithaca. The set pieces are staggering, the Cyclops encounter and the transformation into pigs among the most viscerally thrilling sequences Nolan has ever staged, and the decision to shoot entirely on IMAX cameras gives the film a scale that demands to be seen on the biggest screen you can find. Matt Damon anchors the ensemble with a weathered, physically committed performance.

Ludwig Goransson’s experimental score is unlike anything in Nolan’s filmography, pushing against the imagery rather than simply supporting it, and the practical production design grounds the mythology in a tactile reality. There are imperfections: the sound mix occasionally overwhelms dialogue, some cast members have frustratingly little screen time, and the American accents take adjustment. But these are minor complaints against a film that demonstrates why the theatrical experience still matters.

This is a timely, ambitious blockbuster that wrestles with ancient questions about home, duty and identity, and it earns its place among the year’s most engaging epics.