We’ve been waiting for this one, guys. We’re present little than 2 weeks distant from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hitting the 2026 movie calendar — the director’s archetypal task since Oppenheimer — and helium virtually couldn’t person chosen a much epic tale. First reactions are present for the phantasy flick, which comes with a staggering runtime and massive budget. But by these critics’ accounts, Nolan fans should commencement getting excited.
So what are radical saying aft catching aboriginal screenings of The Odyssey? Critic Perri Nemiroff says Christopher Nolan expertly weaves the communicative unneurotic to marque you consciousness similar you’ve experienced a important information of the characters’ lives. Her X (Twitter) station continues:
THE ODYSSEY is simply a filmmaking feast. A expansive and gripping rendition of Homer’s epic, and 1 that feels uniquely Christopher Nolan. It’s sincerely hard to ideate immoderate different filmmaker connected the satellite being capable to bring that root worldly to surface with this overmuch scale, scope and heart.
David Ehrlich of IndieWire notes that The Odyssey is “less despairing” than the Academy Award Best Picture victor from 2023, and contempt immoderate druthers, it’s a thrust worthy going on. In Ehrlich’s words:
The Odyssey: a amazingly earthy (and little despairing) Oppenheimer follow-up astir a antheral haunted by defying the gods & dooming civilization - this 1 fights to avenge his ain hubris. IMAX evidently immense. excessively clunky to beryllium S-tier Nolan, but the past enactment rewards the journey.
Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture wrote an epic absorption of his ain connected X, praising Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland’s performances. He besides writes that this level of storytelling is uncommon and deserves to beryllium honored. The station reads, successful part:
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of THE ODYSSEY is arsenic epic arsenic movies get with immoderate of the astir breathtaking acceptable pieces he’s ever attempted. A colossal accomplishment of scale, adjacent by Nolan’s standards, its committedness to capturing arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable in-camera utilizing caller IMAX cameras is simply a staggering method feat worthy of this sprawling yet intimate communicative of 1 man’s travel to instrumentality home, the load and consequences of leadership, and the eternal conflict betwixt mortals and gods.
Jeremy Mathai of SlashFilm gives his stamp of approval, and portion calling The Odyssey’s formed list lengthy would beryllium an understatement, Mathai casts his ballot for the astir impactful performance, writing:
The Odyssey has the goods. Christopher Nolan's Ten Commandments, boasting a scope and standard that ne'er intrudes connected its intimacy. A grounded (but faithful) instrumentality connected the epic myth, with immoderate clever revisionist flair. Himesh Patel the MVP!
For professional Simon Thompson, it was 2 different actors — successful summation to Matt Damon — to gully praise successful a movie that helium calls “flawless filmmaking.” He says:
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is flawless filmmaking, each inch arsenic epic arsenic you'd expect. Leading a stellar cast, Matt Damon gives Odysseus everything successful a career-best powerhouse performance. Robert Pattinson is outstanding arsenic Antinous and John Leguizamo's Eumaeus is sublime.
Clayton Davis of Variety notes immoderate of the tweaks Christopher Nolan made to the root material, calling retired adjacent much of the movie’s stars similar Robert Pattinson and Samantha Morton arsenic helium declares The Odyssey “another deed for Nolan.” His station reads:
In an epic way, The Odyssey feels similar the Christopher Nolan instrumentality connected Hamilton. A multicultural, generational formed anchors this sword-and-sandal epic. Matt Damon leads with grit, portion Tom Holland brings the sensitivity and heart. Robert Pattinson's suave villain feels chopped from the aforesaid cloth arsenic Alan Rickman successful Robin Hood. Samantha Morton delivers different one-scene wonderment (can we springiness her much to do?). It's different deed for Nolan, 1 his die-hards volition digest for decades to come.
Erik Davis says everyone gets a accidental to shine, though Robert Pattinson steals the amusement for him. Overall, Christopher Nolan’s latest is “the must-see cinematic lawsuit of the summertime -- and rather perchance the year,” Davis says, writing:
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is an implicit triumph and a crowning cinematic accomplishment from 1 of the large filmmakers of our time. It feels similar everything Nolan has been moving toward with IMAX has culminated here. The accumulation plan is incredible, the enactment is breathtaking, and the standard is dissimilar thing he's done before. What truly amazed maine is however overmuch helium embraces horror. Some of the film's biggest moments are genuinely unsettling, adding a full caller magnitude to his filmmaking portion ne'er losing show of the humanity astatine the story's core.
I mean, if those archetypal reactions don’t get you pumped for this movie, I don’t cognize what will. We’ll larn much erstwhile afloat reviews travel out, but these comments are promising to work successful the last days earlier the movie’s release.
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