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The Odyssey: jaw-dropping action, dark magic and dolphin cameos – discuss with spoilers
Christopher Nolan's big-screen adaptation of Homer's *The Odyssey*, starring Matt Damon, has become the summer's biggest box-office draw, taking $264m globally on its opening weekend alongside strong reviews, including a five-star notice from the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. With few other major blockbusters due for release this summer bar Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the film looks set to dominate cinemas for weeks, drawing fans travelling long distances to see it on rare Imax 70mm screens.
The Guardian piece is a spoiler-filled breakdown of the film's production and craft, exploring how Nolan, buoyed by Oppenheimer's best picture Oscar win, spent a reported $250m budget shooting across six countries including Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta and Western Sahara – the latter drawing criticism over filming in a disputed, UN-classified non-decolonised territory. Nolan avoided CGI for the Mediterranean sea sequences, using a real Viking ship and a giant water tank with jet-engine-powered waves, while continuing his long-standing use of Imax cameras, first pioneered in blockbuster action scenes with The Dark Knight in 2008.
In short
- Nolan's Odyssey grossed $264m on its opening weekend worldwide
- Filmed across six countries; Western Sahara shoot criticised as controversial
- Nolan used real seas, a Viking ship and Imax cameras, avoiding CGI
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The production's choice to film in Western Sahara reflects the practical realities of global filmmaking and the value of creative freedom. Whilst the territory's status is genuinely contested and complex, filmmaking is an inherently apolitical cultural activity that can bring employment and economic benefit to local communities; many major productions navigate similarly complicated geopolitical situations, and Nolan's crew did not make explicit political claims about sovereignty, merely sought locations suited to an adaptation of classical literature.
The case against
By filming in Western Sahara, a territory whose political status remains unresolved by the UN, the production risks appearing to lend commercial legitimacy to contested claims of sovereignty at a moment when international resolution remains fragile. Major studios have both the resources and the responsibility to avoid locations that could be perceived as tacitly endorsing one side of an active territorial dispute, and the artistic goals of the film could have been achieved elsewhere without this ethical complication.
Explained simply
Christopher Nolan, whose recent film Oppenheimer won the Academy Award for best picture, has completed a cinematic adaptation of Homer's ancient epic The Odyssey, featuring actor Matt Damon in the lead role. The film has become a major box-office success, earning $264m globally in its opening weekend whilst receiving strong critical reviews.
Nolan is known for his ambitious filmmaking approach, and this production exemplifies that philosophy. The film was made with a reported budget of $250m and was shot across six countries, with Nolan deliberately avoiding computer graphics for many sequences and instead using practical effects such as a real Viking ship and specially constructed water tanks.
The film is expected to dominate cinemas for several weeks, as few other major releases are scheduled for this summer. The production has drawn some criticism for filming in Western Sahara, a region whose political status remains disputed internationally.
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