CEBU CITY – The Odyssey was one of the most anticipated films of 2026, and as a Christopher Nolan fan, I had been waiting for this movie since last year. However, even before its release, the movie already attracted quite a bit of controversy, particularly over its casting. When the movie finally came out, the reviews were all over the place. Some people called it a masterpiece, while others thought it was disappointing and claimed that much of the hype simply came from the fact that it was directed by Christopher Nolan.
To get what the fuss were all about, I then watched the movie myself to get my feel about it.
And I did it properly.
I booked what I considered the best seat in IMAX at SM City Cebu, particularly, the centermost seat in the VIP/Premium row. I got myself a huge bucket of popcorn, a nice cold Coke, settled comfortably into my seat, and prepared for hours of cinematic greatness.
Everything about the movie experience I enjoyed. Everything, except the movie.
I did not like The Odyssey.
But before I explain why, let me first talk about the things I actually liked.
Appealing Visuals
The movie is visually stunning, as one would expect from a Christopher Nolan film. There are scenes where you simply sit there staring at the screen thinking, Wow.
Nolan knows how to make things look enormous, dramatic, and important. The cinematography, locations, set pieces, and overall visual presentation are undeniably impressive. Even when I was not particularly enjoying what was happening in the story, I could at least appreciate how beautiful everything looked.
This is the kind of movie where you occasionally forget that you are watching a movie and just admire the sheer scale of what is in front of you.
Saved by Acting
There is a lot of good acting in this movie, with the possible exception of Tom Holland, whom I felt was a miscast.
I am not entirely sure whether his character was deliberately written to come across as something of a man-child, but if that was the intention, then perhaps the performance was successful. The problem is that I did not find the character endearing but somewhat kinda lame. And this could be partly the character's fault and partly Holland's performance. Either way, something with his acting just felt off.
The Great Anne
Anne Hathaway's performance was really good. She carried herself with the kind of elegance and presence you would expect from a queen. But my main take away is how she just remained so beautiful all through these years.
The Weird Robert
Robert Pattinson was also great. It seems that after his stint in Twilight, he has found a very interesting niche: playing strange, eccentric, and downright bizarre characters.
You can see this evolution in his roles in The King, The Lighthouse, Mickey 17, and The Devil All the Time. He has been comfortable in portraying characters who make you wonder, What exactly is wrong with this guy?
And I mean that as a compliment.
Damn it Damon
Matt Damon's acting was good as well. The problem was that I found it difficult to fully appreciate his performance because of what I felt was a contradiction in his character.
Now we get to the part where I stop being nice.
Stale Action
The action scenes were underwhelming. For a movie of this scale, I expected the action scenes to be spectacular that would pull the audience to the edge of their seats especially if you have the Jason Bourne as your lead actor.
However, the choreography lacked intensity and failed to generate much excitement. There was the usual sword swinging, shield blocking, and flying arrows, but very little that felt creative, memorable, or genuinely thrilling. There was no moment that made me sit up and think, Wow, that was an awesome sequence.
Perhaps Nolan is simply not particularly good at directing battle scenes involving swords, shields, and arrows. Give the man time, space, dreams, black holes, and complicated timelines and he seems perfectly comfortable. Give him a bunch of people waving swords at each other, however, and suddenly things become less impressive.
Loud Sound
The sound was another problem for me. It was just disturbingly loud.
This surprised me because Nolan's movies are usually accompanied by outstanding musical scores. But in this movie, there were moments when I was not sure whether the sound was trying to create tension or simply trying to make my eardrums surrender.
Nolan dropped the ball on this one.
Knowing the Story
I have not read The Odyssey, but I watched YouTube videos explaining the story before watching the movie. So I already had a general idea of what was going to happen.
In hindsight, I probably should not have done that because I lost one of the most important things a movie can give you: the element of surprise.
Since I already knew what was coming every time Odysseus and his men land at an island, I found myself focusing less on what would happen and more on how creatively or how far outside the box, Nolan would present these major obstacles. I was hoping he would find a way to make even the familiar parts of the story feel fresh and exciting.
Unfortunately, the encounters with the Cyclops, the Laestrygonians, and the witch Circe all felt underwhelming to me and felt rushed. I felt like the movie was simply going down a checklist of the challenges they faced on their way home. As if saying, Okay, we've got a Cyclops. Check. Moving on to the next challenge.
I wanted to see how these encounters forced Odysseus and his men to think, struggle, sacrifice, and change. These were supposed to be major obstacles of an epic journey, not merely stops along the way. I wanted more time to appreciate the danger, the tension, and the trauma, but again, it felt rushed. And that was frustrating because these encounters had so much potential.
Odysseus' Character
I also had a hard time reconciling the contradiction in Odysseus' character.
He is portrayed as an extraordinarily intelligent and capable general, famously credited with the idea of the Trojan Horse that helped the Greeks defeat Troy. So you would expect this man to be restrained, calculating, and exceptionally good at making decisions.
However, there were several times in the movie that for me, Odysseus came off as stupid, most especially when he needlessly taunted and angered Polyphemus after escaping, inviting the wrath of Poseidon which caused all their struggles on their journey home.
I understand that this is an essential part of the original story and that it reveals something about Odysseus' pride and character. But within the movie, I found the contrast between his supposed brilliance and his seemingly unnecessary recklessness difficult to reconcile.
The Pacing
Perhaps my biggest problem with The Odyssey was its pacing.
For me, the overall movie felt slow, while the scenes I was actually looking forward to, such as the encounters with the Cyclops, Laestrygonians, Circe, the reunion of Odysseus and his dog, and his confrontation with the suitors at the palace, all felt rushed. The movie took its time when I wanted it to move, and then moved quickly when I wanted it to slow down.
I found myself becoming increasingly restless as the movie went on. At some point, I started checking my watch and thinking, When will this end? I think many people watching at that time also felt the same. When you are sitting in the best seat in the IMAX theater, with a giant bucket of popcorn and a perfectly good Coke, constant checking of the time is generally not a good sign.
Final Thoughts
So, was The Odyssey a bad movie? No.
Was it a great movie? For me, no.
It was okay.
There is plenty to admire: the visuals are spectacular, the production is impressive, and several of the performances are genuinely good. But for all its scale, technical craftsmanship, and Christopher Nolan pedigree, I found the movie surprisingly underwhelming.
Perhaps my expectations were simply too high. After all, this is Christopher Nolan directing The Odyssey. That combination practically invites you to expect something extraordinary. And maybe that was the problem.
The Odyssey is not a terrible movie. It is simply a movie that, for me, did not live up to the enormous expectations.
I guess I walked into the IMAX theater expecting an epic journey but I mostly found myself waiting for the journey to end.
