# The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan

50 Hacker News commenters recommended The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan and 37 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a fun, engaging, visually grand adaptation that many enjoy in IMAX. Critics say it strays far from Homer's poem and lacks depth.

## Why people recommend it

- Sends viewers back to Homer (2 comments): "vindicates Homer and makes me want to read the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49082630)) "the movie inspired me to read The Odyssey" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49080842))
- Strong, above-average blockbuster (2 comments): "The film is really pretty good and far above any avg blockbuster." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48944274)) "Nolan made some strong choices and the result is a great film" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48978990))

## What people warn about

- Strays far from Homer's original (4 comments): "Odyssey has very little to do with the original story or the worldviews and values described by Homer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49089680)) "who has enjoyed it very much" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49091131)) "The movie is essentially a total rewrite that uses nothing more than the poem's title and character names." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48964811))
- Mocap and green screen look fake (2 comments): "It's not fine to film your entire movie with mocap bodysuits on green backgrounds" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49012847)) "Too sharp and kind of fake looking, almost like TV." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49122275))
- Cuts Cyclops and Circe encounters (2 comments): "The Cyclops encounter was indeed deeply disappointing, because I recall vividly through retellings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48976096)) "They take out all his tricks!!! No overcoming the Cyclops through trickery, no deceiving Circe!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48976035))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Perfect Days (2023 film)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/perfect-days.md): 19 recommend
- [The Secret Agent (2025 film)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/secret-agent.md): 18 recommend
- [One Battle After Another](https://hackerapproved.com/p/one-battle-after-another.md): 17 recommend
- [The Rocky Horror Picture Show](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rocky-horror-picture-show.md): 15 recommend
- [Star Wars original trilogy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/star-wars-original-trilogy.md): 14 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan", https://hackerapproved.com/p/odyssey/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).