Tom Holland Slammed for Basic Telemachus Role

The reviews are in for 's $250million epic The Odyssey, but 's performance has come under fire from some critics.

The British actor plays Telemachus, the son of the central Greek hero Odysseus, played by and has called the film 'one of the toughest jobs I've had'.

, there has been criticism of the filmmaker's choice to modernise the dialogue and deviate from Homer's ancient source material.

The contemporary spin on the classic, largely materialises on screen in Holland's performance. 

Financial Times' Danny Leigh writes that Holland's use of the word 'dad' was jarring throughout.

'"My dad's coming back!" Holland scowls, like a furious puppy. Nolan has called using contemporary language "a no-brainer". Respectfully, in this case, I would argue it was a brainer. Every "dad" of several jarred me out of the past.'

Leigh added that whilst some performance like Lupita Nyong'o's Helen of Troy are  'vivid and bristling' 'Holland, still playing boys at 30, is comic-book basic.'

David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter had a similar take in his review of the 'questionable casting choices,' deciding that 'while he is always an appealing screen presence, [Holland] is wrong for the role.'

 'The Brit actor plays his character with an American accent. But he comes across as, well, Peter Parker in a tunic, sapping the gravitas from Telemachus' path to maturity.' 

Time's Stephanie Zacharek in her scathing review said the actor is 'so bland he’s practically unreadable' whilst Inverse Hoai-Tran Bui said 'it’s difficult to point out a weak spot, but Holland’s Telemachus suffers from being just fine; the actor mostly offers a solid foundation off of which the other scenery-chewing actors can bounce off.' 

Deadline's Gregory Nussen disagreed though, calling Holland's performance 'his strongest one to date.'

'His performance certainly seems tinged with the courageous naivety of Spider-Man, insisting on trying to influence those much more cunning and physically capable than he,' he wrote. 

'Holland may be playing a child, but his performance is bursting with a newfound maturity.'

Nolan has defended his decision to use contemporary language, explaining that he was more concerned with using 'language that has emotional not intellectual meaning to people.”'

'I was maybe being naïve,' the filmmaker conceded, 'it might bite me on the a**, but I wanted an earthy narrative. To me it was a no-brainer.'

Holland meanwhile insisted the use of the word 'dad' was 'no less accurate', telling Channel 4 News: 'I wouldn’t have even said "father" back in the day, would I? It would’ve been Greek.' 

Holland was persuaded by his wife and co-star Zendaya to say yes to the part, with the actress joking she'd leave him if he turned down the movie. 

'To be honest, when I got home after our meeting, I sat down with Z and was like, "I've been offered this movie," Holland told People. 

'And she was like, "By who?" And I was like, "It’s the big one." And she was like, "Chris?" I was like, "Yeah, it’s Chris Nolan."'

'And then we had Spider-Man that was literally scheduled to go the same day that we would start shooting,' he added. 'Z said, "I’ll leave you if you don’t do The Odyssey."'

Holland managed to persuade Sony Pictures' Tom Rothman in a 'very uncomfortable conversation' to shift the production dates for Spider-Man, a franchise jointly produced by Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios.

'Any other director, it might have been a slightly different conversation,' Holland said of Nolan's influence in the industry.

The Odyssey is in cinemas from July 17.