Tala

I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't really judge whether it works without that moment. My instinct is to say no, but I can't say that with certainty until I've actually watched it.

What does irritate me is the article calling it a "3,000-year-old joke."

Because it's not just a joke.

It's a trick. It's a deception.

It's there because it demonstrates Odysseus's approach to problem solving. He's manipulative. He weaponizes language. The famous "Nobody" moment isn't memorable because it gets a chuckle. Because it's just a "good laugh". It's memorable because it's a perfect encapsulation of Odysseus as a lying trickster.

The article does eventually call it a trick towards the end, but only after spending most of it insisting it's just a joke or, as Nolan puts it, "a pun."

It misses why the moment has endured for three thousand years in the first place. It's not just because people thought, "Ha, that's a good one."

It's because they thought, "Of course that's how Odysseus would solve this problem."

also

I'm pretty sure not many people are aware of the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, so I invite everyone to do some research on the subject, especially if you support the Palestinian cause, then you should also know about the Sahrawis who, like the Palestinians, never got their freedom.

https://jacobin.com/2026/07/nolan-odyssey-western-sahara-morocco-colonialism

https://festivalsahara.org/en/the-odyssey-manifesto/

On another note, y'all should also watch this YouTube video of Farya Faraji, where he talks about the west centric/eurocentric retelling of Nolan's Odyssey (very good constructive criticisms) :

They shot in the illegally occupied Western Sahara as reported by Middle East Eye (thanks to @fuckyeahdavidandyonatan for bringing that up)

They dumped their props into a protected area of the Italian sea after shooting (thanks to @godslop for finding the article in English)

Zendaya wearing looted 3000 years old Iranian earrings for the premiere of the movie + having her stylist fly on a private jet just to get her a dress for the premiere in London

No Greek actors in a movie about Greek heritage

While people mentioned that Anne Hathaway was flown in to the set every day, apparently it was not on a private jet but on a helicopter that was being used anyway to fly in equipment.

None of these things are new in Hollywood or exclusive to the Odyssey, its director or its actors, but I do think we as audience should start holding Hollywood accountable when it disrespects our culture, heritage, environment, especially when it's movies that are this big and have a huge budged that would allow for more conscious choices.