While tickets for 70mm IMAX screenings sold out a year in advance, indicating strong anticipation, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has now received early reviews confirming that the film meets the high standards audiences expect from the director of Oppenheimer.
Early reactions arrived today, delivering a wave of superlatives from both fanboys and professional critics. Such responses should always be viewed with some caution, however.
L.A. Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf called the film “staggering—earthy, ghostly, weighty, touched by humor and grandeur alike. It’s pure cinema.” He added that it feels “like a return home to the robustly entertaining action movies that cinema was invented to tell.”
Time Out critic Phil de Semlyen raved, “Believe the hype: The Odyssey is that film.” He described it as “dense but accessible.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw wrote, “Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a colossal origin‑myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence.”
Indiewire’s Anne Thompson highlighted the film’s award potential: “Matt Damon could win Best Actor and a bevy of supporting thesps and noms will follow. This is the picture to beat for Best Picture.”
Indiewire’s chief film critic, David Erlich, offered a more tempered view, noting it is “less despairing” than Oppenheimer but “too clunky to be S‑tier Nolan, though the final act rewards the journey.”
The Odyssey opens on July 17, with initial domestic projections between $80 M and $100 M; those numbers could shift if the positive buzz continues.
Further reactions can be found in the posts below.
THE ODYSSEY is staggering. Earthy, ghostly, weighty, touched by humor 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.
— Joshua Rothkopf (@joshrothkopf) July 6, 2026
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. pic.twitter.com/cwpN4HvG73
— Phil de Semlyen (@PhildeSemlyen) July 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence witnessed by the dead. Review later
— Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) July 6, 2026
My high expectations were met at Chris Nolan’s stunningly mounted The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm. Matt Damon could win Best Actor and a bevy of supporting thesps and noms will follow. The BP to beat.
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) July 6, 2026
The Odyssey: a surprisingly natural (and less despairing) Oppenheimer follow-up about a man haunted by defying the gods & dooming civilization – 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.
— david Ehrlich (@davidehrlich) July 6, 2026
Nolan does a remarkable job weaving the episodes of the story together, and does it all while never skipping a beat. He hits that magical balance of crafting a movie that flies but also leaves you feeling as though you’ve just experienced a significant portion of the characters’…
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) July 6, 2026
Breaking my Twitter hiatus to say that, yes, #TheOdyssey has the goods. Christopher Nolan’s Ten Commandments, boasting a scope and scale that never intrudes on its intimacy. A grounded (but faithful) take on the epic myth, with some clever revisionist flair. Himesh Patel the MVP! pic.twitter.com/NyZbVYGcyn
— Jeremy Mathai (@Somthin_Tookish) July 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is MONUMENTAL on so many levels. Yes, it really does attempt to condense nearly all of Homer inside of 3 hours. But it also tackles with more heart than any Nolan film since Interstellar his greatest muse… 1/3
— David Crow (@DCrowsNest) July 6, 2026
Tis emotionally layered, but must admit not the masterpiece of Oppe. It crams so much, including overly cautious fantasy elements & curious real Greek history like the SEA PEOPLE (classic profs just gasped!), that it’s scope outpaces even 70mm IMAX. But is gorgeously outstretched
— David Crow (@DCrowsNest) July 6, 2026
The Odyssey truly delivers. Christopher Nolan’s film is a huge action‑adventure spectacle full of blood and thunder. Matt Damon a worthy hero and big performances across the board with Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page and Samantha Morton my picks. Ace. pic.twitter.com/U7fxdwwe4A
— Lou Thomas (@London_Lou) July 6, 2026
#TheOdyssey is monumental filmmaking, its interpretation of Greek mythology electrifyingly uncanny. Staggering scale, thrillingly staged action, rich emotional throughlines. The cyclops and Circe sequences are among the best of Nolan’s career.
— Jordan Farley (@JordanFarley) July 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s #TheOdyssey is flawless filmmaking, every inch as epic as you’d expect. Leading a stellar cast, Matt Damon gives Odysseus everything in a career‑best powerhouse performance. Robert Pattinson is outstanding as Antinous and John Leguizamo’s Eumaeus is sublime. pic.twitter.com/NDrr95vrnE
— Simon Thompson (@ShowbizSimon) July 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s #TheOdyssey is an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great filmmakers of our time. It feels like everything Nolan has been working toward with IMAX has culminated here. The production design is incredible, the action is… pic.twitter.com/yLxocUEEdn
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) July 6, 2026
THE ODYSSEY is as epic as its source material with that level of Christopher Nolan spark that makes it something special. It’s a story of love and loss and takes you on quite the journey in only the way Nolan knows how. Breathtaking, bold, and perfection. pic.twitter.com/ycJ2zHEDsQ
— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) July 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is INCREDIBLE.
I’m really blown away by this film. Everything from the flawless performances to the way Nolan embraces the supernatural is just perfect.
If you can, SEE IT IN @IMAX 70mm. It’s a jaw dropping experience.
It’ll be great… pic.twitter.com/UXEAjF8cKk
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 6, 2026
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