Review: Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is a reminder why we build giant cinemas

Forget Athena, Zeus and Poseidon. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is an ode to a temple that has a five-storey-high screen and an earthshaking sound system.

The new epic from the director of Oppenheimer and Inception is not a faultless piece of drama, but the way it looks, moves and sounds is an immense feat of 21st century film-making.

And "21st century" is important because in adapting one of the oldest tales in the Western canon, Nolan has opted for a retelling that aims for subversiveness and wears its modern sentiments openly. It has new things to say.

But equally it never loses sight of the fact it's a fantasy story laden with monsters, magic and ghosts.

This Odyssey sticks to the structure and story of Homer's 3000-year-old epic poem closely in many respects - including telling it out of order (it is Nolan, after all) - as the mythological king Odysseus' (Matt Damon) battles to return home after the Trojan War.

While he’s caught in a seemingly never-ending series of fights with giants, sea wrecks and witchy traps, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) try to repel off the suitors after Odysseus’ throne back home.

Above all else, it look and sounds great.

The sound design is bold and nearly worth the price of admission alone.

There is something ancient and powerful in the booming note that rings out every time Odysseus' legendary bow is plucked. The creaking of ship masts in gales is bone-chilling. The sounds of soldiers being eaten by the cyclops Polyphemus are delightfully gross.

Ludwig Göransson's score fuses Ancient Greek instruments, synth and modern orchestras. It does a tremendous amount of heavy lifting on the emotional front and carries many scenes.

Meanwhile, an impressive array of visual effects compellingly fuse the fantastical elements of the plot to its earthier ones - including one mesmerising moment of outright magic that surprisingly treads into body horror.

It’s pleasant, in the year 2026, being surprised by a trick you feel like you haven’t seen before.

The - many - fight sequences are clear and kinetic. The sailing is tense. The costumes are tactile, the sets feel real. You can smell the leather and iron.

This surprisingly thorough telling of Homer's epic does not shy away from the meandering structure of the poem, and some of its fundamental silliness, as it stretches to nearly three hours.

But it doesn't allow even a moment of rest, through sheer aggressive pacing.

It moves so fleet-footedly that occasionally it's almost disappointing a bit more time can't be spent admiring the handsome work of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk, Oppenheimer).

Nolan opts for modern dialogue - a choice that's easy to forget about five minutes in.

The performances and script largely work in service of the moving the story forward over all else - prepare for plenty of exposition - occasionally drifting towards moments of clunkiness.

A bearded and slightly loose-skinned Damon (Bourne Identity, The Departed) is convincing in a restrained performance as a gritty, war-weary version of Odysseus. Hathway (The Devil Wears Prada, Princess Diaries) - as loyal queen Penelope - swings a lot bigger and misses occasionally.

The rest of a cast is huge: Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, Zendaya and Charlize Theron to only name a few - and they're all solid, but not outstanding.

With that many names and a plot that moves so quickly, a good chunk of the characters are left flat and difficult to attach to emotionally.

If you’re looking for a more nuanced take on the story - at least it’s second half - you might be better off with 2024’s The Return.

The Odyssey’s real standout is perhaps, Samantha Morton (Synecdoche, New York, Minority Report) whose brief appearance as the witch Circe carries a lot of emotional heft.

And there are also some real, rewarding emotional stakes built into the plot beyond just what you'd expect from a retelling of Homer's Odyssey.

There are some real-gut punch reveals.

And it has things - new things - to say about conflict, legacy and what the Homer's epic may be about - albeit is bit bluntly at times.

Of course you'll only get to learn what they are towards the end, because, well, it's a Christopher Nolan film.

None of this really threatens to wreck the ship, though.

The Odyssey is not Nolan's smartest film nor his most elegant and its translation to smaller screens may fare worse. Arguably, it has more in common with his Batman films than Oppenheimer.

But it’s a spectacle so impressive that it’s nearly undeniable. It is a reminder of the kind of experience big cinemas are built for.

Boris Jancic is a member of RNZ's digital team and reviews films.