A Very Silly Adaptation of The Odyssey

Author: The Economist URL: https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/07/15/a-very-silly-adaptation-of-the-odyssey One-line: Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” (starring Matt Damon and Zendaya) drew pre-release backlash over casting, costumes, and anachronisms, and the film itself takes major liberties with the plot — reflecting how each generation remakes the epic in its own image.

Key claims

• The backlash preceded the film itself. Ahead of its July 17th release, critics complained about casting (the actress playing Helen), the color of Odysseus’s helmet plume, the soldiers’ armor (described as too “Batman”-like), and modernized dialogue (Odysseus’s son saying “Dad”).
• The film takes startling liberties with the plot and psychology, reflecting the modern West more than ancient Greece. Odysseus — “the archetypally flawed ancient hero” — is flattened into “a simple modern goody,” with his bad behavior explained away by drug use or hinted proto-PTSD.
• The ending departs sharply from the source material, with Odysseus pierced by arrows and turned into “a St Sebastian-style pincushion.”
• The piece frames this as generational, arguing each era remakes Homer’s epic to reflect its own anxieties and sensibilities rather than fidelity to the ancient text.

Notable quotes

“The squabbles have been epic. Sir Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of ‘The Odyssey’ was causing conniptions long before anyone had even seen the thing.”

“The film itself is unlikely to allay any anxieties about anachronisms. In everything from its scenery to its psychology it says far more about the modern West than about ancient Greece.”

“Startling liberties are taken with the plot to turn Odysseus, the archetypally flawed ancient hero, into a simple modern goody by flattening his flaws.”

“If I saw this on a plane, I’d still walk out.” — disgruntled YouTube commenter on the trailer

How it connects

• The Economist — source publication, Culture section.
• Christopher Nolan — director of the adaptation; existing wiki page covers his earlier work (Batman Begins) as Kyle’s introduction to auteur theory.