This summer, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will take audiences on a wild and epic journey as Matt Damon’s Odysseus fights man, gods and the elements to return home in the decade after the Trojan War ended. With months to go before this highly anticipated action epic lands on the 2026 movie schedule, this adaptation of Homer’s ancient poem is drawing the ire of a portion of the internet, who waste no opportunity to complain about the movie and its historical inaccuracies.
From complaining about the armor not being accurate, to the Bronze Age, to complaints about certain words not being in the original text, a growing number of online commentators are going wild with the hate. Since I don’t want to let these Debbie Downers rain on my parade with all this nitpicking, I need to tell these folks to cool it down.
This All Started With The First Look Image Of Matt Damon
Shortly after the image made its way to social media, the Independent published a roundup of people crying foul concerning the depiction of the King of Ithaca. It didn’t take long for someone to go on X and start complaining about Odysseus being described as wearing a leather helmet with boar tusks instead of the broom helmet shown in the picture. It was pretty much this ad nauseam in the weeks that followed. But it wasn’t over there…
The New TV Spot Brought On Discourse About The Word ‘Dad’ Being Used
Though the trailer has seemingly been scrubbed from the internet in the days that followed, Variety and other outlets have described it in detail. However, I’m not talking about that, but instead one comment I found on X that I’m convinced was either someone digging too deep or pulling off some Tim Robinson-level irony when they went on a rant about the word “Dad” not being invented until 2,000 years after The Odyssey was written.
Like, what is going on here? This is a movie, not a peer-reviewed PhD thesis. It’s a big blockbuster that’s going to bring millions of folks to the theater this summer to be entertained. I understand that some people are annoyed or upset by the supposed inaccuracies, but again, this is a movie that’s meant to entertain, not be an accurate history lesson.
What’s Next, People Complaining About The Movie Not Being In Greek?
I’m only halfway serious here, but what’s next, complaints about The Odyssey being in English instead of Ancient Greek? You know, I’m not even going to dig around online to find an answer to that because I don’t want to know about such complaints. Though there have been movies that adopt the original language over the years, I honestly think that would be a detriment to the movie’s success here in the United States and other countries that use English. If anything, just wait for the home release and change the language there. Easy fix, right?
The thing is, this is Christopher Nolan’s project, and he can take as many liberties with the story, costuming, cast, and structure as he wants. Sure, it’s Homer’s text, but it’s Nolan who’s adapting it, and his track record speaks for itself. I won’t be surprised if Nolan has some sections where Ancient Greek is spoken or written, but just let the man cook.
If You’e Not Interested In The Odyssey, Don’t Talk About It
I know complaining and airing out grievances is a major problem part of social media and the internet at large today, but you don’t have to say anything if you’re not interested in seeing The Odyssey or just want to whine about it. We need less gatekeeping when it comes to beloved texts like this, not more of it. All these comments are doing, besides making it look like people are having a competition to be the most pedantic person on the planet, is flooding the culture with absurd complaints when some of us are really excited about what’s coming ahead.
There are so many movies, shows, books and other pieces of media that I have no interest in talking about, both in my professional life and personal time. Do you know what I do? I shut up and talk about the things I like, or at least things I want to learn more about. It’s not that hard. Plus, life is a whole lot more enjoyable.
Though I had some problems with The Return and its lack of mythology a couple of years ago, I had a feeling going in that the Ralph Fiennes-led drama would be taking some liberties. It’s just the way it is when it comes to adaptation. That’s something we should keep in mind with The Odyssey coming out in a few months.
If I wanted a more accurate version, I would simply go back and re-read The Odyssey again (which I plan on doing anyway). That said, I’m going to be there day one to see what Christopher Nolan has in store with this one.
