Following Monday night's world premiere for Sir Christopher Nolan's eagerly anticipated film The Odyssey, critics have shared their initial reactions, praising the movie as 'an absolute triumph,' 'staggering,' and 'a filmmaking feast.' While full reviews remain embargoed until July 15, social media reactions flooded online late last night after the embargo lifted, following the film's unveiling across two separate IMAX cinemas in London.
Star-Studded Cast and Epic Source Material
The film stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Samantha Morton, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo, and a host of other Hollywood talent. It adapts Homer's 8th century BC epic, a cornerstone of classical literature rarely translated for cinema. Nolan, coming off his biggest Academy Awards haul to date with Oppenheimer (seven Oscars) in 2024, kept The Odyssey carefully under wraps, only teasing a small portion of Damon's journey in trailers. However, early viewers confirm the ambitious film delivers on all fronts.
Critics Rave: 'Absolute Triumph' and 'Watershed Filmmaking'
Fandango's Erik Davis called it 'an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great filmmakers of our time,' praising the 'breathtaking' action and scale, as well as the cast's performances, noting that Pattinson as the villainous suitor Antinous 'absolutely stole the show.' Time Out's global film editor Phil de Semlyen tweeted: 'Believe the hype(rbole): The Odyssey is that film. Dense but accessible, packed with career-best work from the stacked cast – Samantha Morton is extraordinary – it's a dizzying mix of craft and spectacle that's built to last.'
Metro's film reporter described it as 'watershed filmmaking. Simultaneously the most Christopher Nolan movie ever while being completely different to anything he's done before. Simply epic,' adding: 'Damon commands the screen in a gruelling role but there's room for exceptional acting from Pattinson, Hathaway and Holland especially.' Collider's Perri Nemiroff wrote: 'The Odyssey is a filmmaking feast. A grand and gripping rendition of Homer's epic, and one that feels uniquely Christopher Nolan. It's sincerely hard to imagine any other filmmaker on the planet being able to bring that source material to screen with this much scale, scope and heart.'
Mixed but Enthusiastic Responses
IndieWire's chief film critic David Ehrlich observed: 'A surprisingly natural (and less despairing) Oppenheimer follow-up about a man haunted by defying the gods and dooming civilisation – this one fights to avenge his own hubris. IMAX obviously immense. Too clunky to be S-tier Nolan, but the last act rewards the journey.' LA Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf added: 'Earthy, ghostly, weighty, touched by humour and grandeur alike. It's pure cinema. Obviously the story is about returning home, but in a larger sense, this is also a return home to the robustly entertaining action movies that cinema was invented to tell.' The Independent's critic Clarisse Loughrey shared: 'As someone who has always been obsessed with the ancient world but has never had particularly strong feelings about Christopher Nolan… I am genuinely gobsmacked at how good The Odyssey is.'
Plot and Premiere Details
The Odyssey follows Odysseus's wanderings across the Mediterranean as he attempts to return home to Ithaca after a decade fighting at Troy. His home is under siege from suitors seeking the hand of his wife Penelope (Hathaway) and tormenting his son Telemachus (Holland). The world premiere took place Monday with a themed blue carpet and replica Trojan horse in London's Leicester Square, before the cast and creatives moved to the BFI IMAX in Waterloo, where they introduced the film and watched it with the audience. Nolan paid tribute to the cinema as a 'very special venue,' noting it was where he first met his late friend and IMAX mentor, David Keighley, who died after working on the film. The Odyssey is the first film in history shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. It releases in cinemas on Friday, July 17.
