While director Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of "The Odyssey" has achieved significant box office success, grossing over $260 million worldwide on its opening weekend and earning praise from critics, some scholars and translators are questioning its fidelity to Homer's epic.

Emily Wilson, whose 2017 translation of "The Odyssey" has seen a surge in popularity due to the film, expressed that while she celebrates increased public awareness of the poem, Nolan's movie missed essential themes. Daniel Mendelsohn, another translator, admired Nolan's cinematic style but felt the director remade the hero Odysseus in his own image, stripping him of his characteristic cleverness and wit. Gareth Hinds, creator of a graphic novel adaptation, echoed this sentiment, noting the transformation of Odysseus into a haunted protagonist.

Scholars like Wilson also pointed to specific omissions and changes, such as the absence of gods like Zeus and Poseidon, a thinned-out role for Penelope, and a perceived catering to modern sentimentality. Despite these criticisms, both Wilson and Mendelsohn acknowledged Nolan's ambition and recommended seeing the film, particularly on a large screen.