# The Odyssey — the Twisted Epic We Deserve

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-odyssey-the-twisted-epic-we-deserve/
- Published: 2026-07-17T10:30:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-02T22:14:44+00:00
- Original publisher: National Review (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/07/the-odyssey-the-twisted-epic-we-deserve/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film, Politics

## Key points

- A critic calls Nolan’s Odyssey hollow spectacle.
- The review objects to its politics and adaptation choices.
- It compares Nolan unfavourably with earlier filmmakers.

## Summary

The article is a strongly negative review of Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey. Its author, Armond White, argues that the film favours large-scale IMAX spectacle over emotionally expressive cinema and, in his view, diminishes the moral and mythological force of Homer’s epic; he presents this as part of a broader criticism of Nolan’s influence on modern film culture.

White says the casting of Matt Damon as Odysseus and choices including Elliot Page as Sinon and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy signal a politically revisionist approach, though these are the critic’s interpretations rather than established facts. He compares Nolan unfavourably with directors and filmmakers including David Lean, Zack Snyder and Ray Harryhausen, citing scenes involving the Trojan Horse, Cyclops, Sirens and Telemachus as visually insufficient; the article was published on 17 July 2026.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.