The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s first film since the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, has been greeted as a “colossal piece of cinema” by critics — but also ignited a culture war over its casting, with Lupita Nyong’o playing Helen of Troy and the actor Elliot Page appearing as a Greek warrior.
The film, adapted from Homer’s ancient Greek epic, premiered last week in London’s Leicester Square. It stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Nyong’o. The Telegraph called it “film of the year”; Metro declared it would “change cinema forever”; and the Times described it as “a masterpiece in every way”.
“The Odyssey draws rave reviews but sparks culture war over casting of Lupita Nyong'o and Elliot Page.”
Variety’s Guy Lodge praised a “genuinely grand, gutsy vision”, adding that the near-three-hour running time throws “another mighty setpiece” at the audience every few minutes. The Standard’s Nick Howells said it was a “far more astonishing experience” than Oppenheimer, while Metro’s Tori Brazier called it “a watershed moment for filmmaking”. Not all were unreserved: The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney found the film “uneven” but lauded the cast, noting Damon is “superb” and goes “to dark places seldom if ever explored”, and that Pattinson “bites into his character’s villainy with gusto”. Deadline’s Gregory Nussen singled out Holland’s performance.
Yet the New Statesman struck a dissenting note, branding The Odyssey “more Hollywood than Homeric” and highlighting the casting choices as a flashpoint. Homer’s repeated epithets for Helen — “fair-haired” and “white-armed” — are not matched by Nyong’o, the magazine observed, calling the result “tea-drinker Christopher Nolan’s” vision. The article appears in the magazine’s 15 July 2026 issue.
The film follows Odysseus (Damon) on his perilous journey home from the Trojan War to rescue his wife Penelope (Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Holland), while the antagonist Antinous eyes the queen. With a reported budget typical of Nolan’s grand scale, the question remains whether audiences will embrace a vision that is equally epic and divisive.