The Odyssey
HeartGuard score
How suitable a title is for Christian viewers, from 0 to 100. It weighs the content meters and the worldview.
- 80–100Recommended
- 60–79Watch with care
- 35–59Think it throughThis film
- 15–34Strong caution
- 0–14Not recommended
HeartGuard score
How suitable a title is for Christian viewers, from 0 to 100. It weighs the content meters and the worldview.
- 80–100Recommended
- 60–79Watch with care
- 35–59Think it throughThis film
- 15–34Strong caution
- 0–14Not recommended
Worldview score
What the story celebrates or condemns.
Why 0 for this film
The story honours faithfulness in marriage, a son's loyalty and the duty of hospitality, and it takes guilt for war crimes seriously, but it sits within a pagan world of fate, sacrifice and vengeful gods. The mix of real moral weight and a pagan framework leaves it balanced.
- +2Affirms faithPresents faith in God positively and as true
- +1Positive valuesHonesty, sacrifice and family win out
- 0Mixed or neutralThis filmNo clear stance
- −1AmbivalentShows sin without judging it either way
- −2Glamorises sinMakes sin look attractive and rewarding
Age guide
How suitable this film is for each age group.
Why 15+ for this film
Brutal battle violence with stabbings and beheadings, man-eating monsters and body-horror sorcery are intense. Brief nudity, implied sex, necromancy and animal sacrifice add to the concerns.
- Under 8No
- Ages 8–12No
- Ages 13–15Check first
- Ages 16–17Yes
- AdultsYes
A grand, violent retelling of Homer's epic that weighs guilt, loyalty and homecoming. Expect brutal battles, frightening monsters, pagan sorcery and brief nudity.
Watch guide
What's in it?
LanguageA handful of swear words
Swearing is limited to a small number of words, including an f-word, a few uses of 's**t' and 'bastard'.
BlasphemyNone noted
Characters speak often of the Greek gods, Zeus and Athena, but no misuse of God's or Jesus' name is known.
Sex and nudityImplied sex, brief nudity
A couple kiss, sometimes in a bedroom, and sex is implied but not shown. Many men appear naked in one scene without graphic detail, a man's backside is seen briefly, the Cyclops is unclothed, and the Sirens pose seductively at a distance. Sexual violence is mentioned briefly but not shown.
RelationshipsInfatuation, abuse
Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island while his wife Penelope waits faithfully and fends off pressuring suitors. Helen is in a violent marriage and has been disfigured by her husband.
ViolenceBrutal war and monsters
Men are stabbed, have throats cut, are beheaded, beaten, crushed and drowned, and a giant devours soldiers, though the camera often cuts away. Animals are killed, including goats sacrificed with their blood collected. A large battle breaks out late in the film.
Frightening scenesMonsters and the dead
A witch reshapes men into pigs by force, a six-headed serpent attacks, man-eating giants strike, and dead soldiers rise and drink sacrificial blood in the underworld. These scenes are intense and could distress younger viewers.
Drugs and alcoholDrinking, drunkenness
Characters drink, and some scenes show drunkenness, including the suitors' feasting. Magic flowers rob Odysseus of his memory.
AttitudesDeceit and war crimes
Odysseus relies on deception and carries guilt for atrocities at Troy, while the suitors scheme to murder his son. The story treats these wrongs as having real costs and weighs guilt and forgiveness.
OccultPagan gods, necromancy
Within a mythic world, a witch casts spells, Odysseus visits the dead and consults a prophet's shade, and animal sacrifice is offered. The gods are shown as real powers controlling fate.
- To knowContent to know about
- Skip for kidsSkip for younger viewers
- DiscussWorth discussing
- Early
Monster violenceSkip if under 13
A giant traps Odysseus's crew in a cave and eats several of them before they blind him and escape. The camera often cuts away from the worst of it, and the giant is shown fully naked.
- Early
Nudity
Many men appear naked in one scene, not graphically, and a man's bare backside is seen briefly. Sirens pose in seductive positions at a distance.
- Mid
Witchcraft and frightSkip if under 13
A witch forces men into pig form by pushing her arms down their throats and twisting their faces and bodies. It is a body-horror scene with magic presented as real power.
- Mid
Necromancy and animal sacrifice
Odysseus performs a blood sacrifice of goats, and the dead rise to drink the blood and speak with him, including a prophet's shade. The underworld is treated as real within the story.
- Mid
Violence and peril
A six-headed serpent makes a fatal attack on the crew, and men drown or are crushed as ships are wrecked by storms and giants.
- Mid
Drunkenness and abusive relationships
Suitors feast and drink heavily at Penelope's home, pressing her to choose a husband. Elsewhere a king's wife is shown disfigured by his abuse, and sexual violence at the fall of Troy is mentioned in the dialogue but not shown.
- Late
Battle violenceSkip if under 15
A large battle in the hall brings stabbings, throat-cutting and beheadings, with the camera often cutting away.
How to play
- 1. Draw a cardOne person reads the question out loud.
- 2. Everyone answersThere are no wrong answers. Listen before you reply.
- 3. Pass it onThe next person draws, until the deck is done.
Faith & story
What does it say?
What's it about?The plot, without the ending
Twenty years after the Trojan War, Ithaca has no king. Odysseus has not come home, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus hold out hope while a crowd of suitors presses Penelope to remarry and takes over the household. Telemachus sets out to learn what became of his father. Odysseus meanwhile struggles to return across a perilous sea, meeting monsters, sorcery and the gods' anger, and carrying the weight of what he did in the war. Homer's epic is retold on a vast, violent scale, asking what a man owes to those he has wronged and to those who wait for him.
Through a faith lensHow it connects to the Bible
This is a pagan story: its gods are capricious powers who punish and bless by whim, and fate is something people endure rather than answer for to a loving Father. Yet the film takes guilt seriously. Odysseus carries the weight of what he and his army did at Troy, and his journey home is shaped by deception, pride and its costs. The Bible knows that pattern. Jacob won his blessing by deceit and then lived with the consequences for years. David hid his sin until he was confronted and then confessed it. The film's longing for a faithful homecoming recalls the father who watched the road for his returning son. Penelope's patient loyalty, and the duty to welcome the stranger, echo Scripture's call to hospitality. The summoning of the dead and the sorcery shown are the kind of practices Scripture warns against, and the film frames them as real powers. Families may want to talk about where forgiveness can truly be found, since the film's characters seek it from fate and from each other.
Fruit of the SpiritWhich fruit does it show?
5 out of 9 fruits ripe in this film
Ripe grapes are shown in the film, buds are missing
- Joy
- Peace
- Goodness
- Gentleness
Penelope shows faithfulness and patience, holding the household together for twenty years while the suitors press her. Telemachus and Eumaeus show faithfulness and love in their loyalty to a father and master others have given up on, and Eumaeus shows kindness in his care for a stranger. Odysseus shows self-control in hard moments at sea, resisting temptations that destroy his crew. On the other side, Circe and Calypso practise sorcery, and the characters worship gods through sacrifice, which is idolatry. Antinous and the suitors show jealousy, envy, rivalry and hatred in their scheming and violence, and they give themselves to drunken revelries and strife in Odysseus's hall. Sexual immorality appears in the suitors' pressure on Penelope and in the sexual violence that is spoken of at Troy. The film's weight falls on loyalty and the cost of wrongdoing, though harm and deceit are everywhere.
The charactersExamples to follow or avoid
OdysseusMatt DamonThe clever king of Ithaca, long lost at sea. He relies on cunning and deception and is haunted by his actions in the Trojan War.
PenelopeAnne HathawayOdysseus's wife, who stays loyal and resourceful while the suitors press her to give up hope and remarry.
TelemachusTom HollandOdysseus's son, who has grown up without his father and goes in search of him, learning courage along the way.
AntinousRobert PattinsonThe most aggressive of the suitors, ruthless and scheming, and a danger to Penelope's household.
EumaeusJohn LeguizamoA loyal, half-blind servant who keeps faith that Odysseus will return.
How Christians are portrayed
No Christians or church appear; the story is set in a pagan world of Greek gods, sacrifice and prophecy. Faith in the biblical sense is not portrayed, and the gods are shown as powerful and self-interested rather than as a loving God.
Community
What other Christians think
What did you notice?
Strong language (the f-word or similar)?
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Review
Helpful reviewer
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Given to members whose reviews 25 or more people have marked Helpful.
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Details
Film details
- In theatres
- Jul 17, 2026
- On streaming
- Nov 17, 2026
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Studios
- Universal Pictures, Syncopy
- Genre
- Adventure, Action, Fantasy
- Run time
- 2h 53m
- Age rating
- US R · UK 15
How we analysed this
We gathered the plot and reception, and facts that independent sources agree on, then rated each content area against our rubric and worldview scale, using AI models calibrated on reference titles. Not yet reviewed by our team. Confidence: low.
Score = 100 − 16 × content concern (3.29) + 8 × worldview (0) = 47
This is a guide to help families choose with wisdom, not a verdict on anyone's conscience ().
Updated 2026-10-14