“The Odyssey” is so long that I could feel my beard growing.

My beard didn’t get as long as the beard on the face of Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, Greek King of Ithaca, in “The Odyssey.”

Of course, Odysseus grew his beard for 20 years, which is the length of time that it took him to return from the Trojan War to Ithaca, Greece.

Waiting for him were his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway), Queen of Ithaca, and their son Telemachus (Tom Holland), Prince of Ithaca.

“The Odyssey” movie is nearly three-hours long.

Reading the Greek epic poem, “The, Odyssey,” could take about 10 hours.

Seeing the movie, ahem, shaves about seven hours off of reading the poem.

The movie is based on the epic Greek poem attributed to Homer circa the 8th or 7th century B.C. Mostly, the poem is an amalgam of oral tradition.

The performance of the poem, “The Odyssey,” is represented in the movie by a bard (Travis Scott, the rapper), as he bangs a pole on the Ithaca castle floor to emphasize the rhythm and beat while he recites the verses.

Talk about beat poetry. It may have been the first slam poetry contest.

“The Odyssey” is directed by Christopher Nolan (two-time Oscar winner: “Oppenheimer,” 2023; eight-time Oscar nominee, including for “Dunkirk,” 2017; “Inception” 2010; “Memento.” 2000; director, “Interstellar,” 2014; “The Prestige,” 2013; “The Dark Knight Rises,” 2012; “The Dark Knight,” 2008; “Batman Begins,” 2005)

Nolan directs “The Odyssey” from the screenplay he wrote based on the poem. The screenplay stays true to the original poem in characters, plot and tone.

Odysseus must negotiate a sea voyage in a traditional long boat with billowing sail and rows of men pulling oars.

They encounter a giant cyclops, Polyphemus; a witch Circe (a spooky Samantha Morton), giants called Laestrygonians, who attack them; the Sirens, and Scylla and Charybdis.

The story is told in a nonlinear narrative style. There are several flashbacks, including the storming of the city of Troy involving the Trojan Horse, with Odysseus and his soldiers hiding inside.

On the island, Ogygia, the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron) drugs Odysseus with Lotus flowers and detains him for seven years.

The goddess Athena (Zendaya), seen only by Odysseus, appears throughout the movie, counseling him and encouraging him.

There is castle intrigue in Ithaca, led by Antinous (Robert Pattinson), one of many suitors of Penelope in Odysseus absence.

The huge cast of characters includes Helen of Troy (Lupita Nyong’o), wife of Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), the king of Sparta.

There’s also Eumaeus (John Leguizamo), a blind shepherd; Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), the Greek king; Eurylochus (Himesh Patel), Odysseus’s second-in-command, and Sinon (Elliot Page), a Greek soldier.

As befits a swords and sandals genre movie, there’s a lot of action. The violence is not that graphic, with few depictions of blood. The film includes elements of a horror film, science fiction yarn, and creature feature.

There’s lots of hand-held camera work, giving an immediacy and visceral sense to the numerous fight scenes. “The Odyssey” is said to be the first feature movie filmed entirely on 70mm film.

Cinematographer is Hoyte van Hoytema (Oscar winner, cinematography, Oppenheimer”: Oscar nominee, cinematography: “Dunkirk”).

Production designer is Ruth De Jong (Oscar nominee, “Oppenheimer”).

Costume designer is Ellen Mirojnick (Oscar nominee, “Oppenheimer”).

Composer is Ludwig Göransson (Oscar winner, “Sinners,” 2026; “Oppenheimer”; five-time Oscar nominee, including “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” 2021).

Matt Damon (Oscar winner, actor, “Good Will Hunting,” 1998; five-time Oscar nominee, including: “The Martian,” 2016; “Invictus,” 2010; “Manchester by the Sea,” 2017) is stoic, with a quiet intensity and rarely if at all breaks into his trademark big grin.

Anne Hathaway (Oscar winner: supporting actress, “Les Misérables,” 2013; Oscar nominee, lead actress, “Rachel Getting Married,” 2009) is sweetly romantic as the long-suffering Penelope.

Tom Holland successfully starts out as a naive youth and segues into determined manhood.

“The Odyssey” is epic cinema in every way imaginable. It’s film-making as in the Golden Age of Hollywood. It’s a journey that you should consider taking to the movie theater to see it.

“The Odyssey,” MPA rated R (Restricted: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian; features adult material) for violence and some language; Genre: Epic, Action, Adventure, Fantasy; Run time: 2 hours, 52 minutes. Distributed by Universal Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “The Odyssey” was filmed Feb. 25 to Aug. 5, 2025, in Morocco, Western Sahara, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland and the United States.

At The Movies: “The Odyssey” was seen in IMAX at AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, Aug. 14-Aug. 16: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continued at No. 1 for a third week, with a still solid $70 million in 4,539 theaters, $785.8 million, three weeks. 2. “The Odyssey” continued at No. 2 with $23.2 million in 3,217 theaters, $504.6 million, five weeks. 3. “The End of Oak Street,” a science fiction survival film starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, $21 million in 3,446 theaters, opening. 4. “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie,” an animated adventure comedy film based on the television series “Paw Patrol,” $20.5 million in 3,545 theaters, opening. 5. “Katseye: Wild Hearts,” a documentary about the girl group, $3.9 million in 754 theaters, opening. 6. “Six: The Musical Live!,” six original West End cast queens, $3 million in 1,462 theaters, opening. 7. “The Brink of War,” Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev discuss arms control, $2.6 million in 2,083 theaters, opening. 8. “Toy Story 5” dropped four places, $2.3 million in 1,925 theaters, $475.4 million, nine weeks. 9. “One Night Only” dropped six places, $2 million in 3,012 theaters, $9.8 million, two weeks. 10. “Vishwanath and Sons,” an Indian Tamil-language romantic drama, $1.6 million in 350 theaters, opening.

Movie box office information is from Box Office Mojo as of Aug.16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, Aug. 7-Aug. 9: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continued at No. 1, with a still impressive $144.2 million in 4,487 theaters, $654.3 million, two weeks.

2. “The Odyssey” continued at No. 2, with a solid $31.7 million in 3,603 theaters, $461.3 million, four weeks. 3. “One Night Only,” a romantic comedy starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, $5.5 million in 3,012 theaters, opening. 4. “Toy Story 5” dropped one place, $4.2 million in 2,660 theaters, $470.6 million, eight weeks. 5. “Super Troopers 3,” written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy team, $4 million in 2.760 theaters, opening. 6.“Minions & Monsters” moved down two places, $3.5 million in 2,451 theaters, $176.3 million, six weeks. 7. “Moana” dropped two places, with $2.9 million in 2,465 theaters, $121.6 million, five weeks. 8. “Ice Cream Man,” a slasher film in which children consume sweet treats that turn them into homicidal maniacs, $2 million in 1,682 theaters, opening. 9. “The Invite,” $717,568 in 342 theaters, $24.2 million, seven weeks. 10. “CatVideoFest 2026,” a compilation of cat videos culled from submissions, music videos and the internet, $568,414 in 255 theaters, opening.

Movie box office information is from Box Office Mojo as of Aug.9.

Unreel, Aug. 21:

“Tony,” MPA rated R; 1 hour, 46 minutes. Matt Johnson directs Dominic Sessa Antonio Banderas and Emilia Jones in the Biography, Comedy, Drama. Synopsis: A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown, Mass., and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.

“Mutiny,” MPA rated R, 1 hour, 35 minutes. Jean-François Richet directs Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Adrian Lester and Ben Cartwright in the Crime, Action, Thriller. Synopsis: After his billionaire industrialist boss is murdered in front of him, Cole Reed is set up to take the fall for the crime, leaving him on the run as he works to uncover an international conspiracy.

Movie opening information is from Internet Movie Database as of Aug. 16.

Four Popcorn Boxes Out Of Five Popcorn Boxes