Christopher Nolan has a 13th film, and the early verdict from critics is as close to unanimous as these things ever get: The Odyssey is extraordinary. Following a premiere screening at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, members of the film press who attended rushed to share reactions that ranged from enthusiastic to rapturous. The film is being called one of Nolan’s best ever — which, given the catalogue behind that comparison, is a substantial claim.
The film, which opens July 17th, adapts Homer’s epic poem with Matt Damon as Odysseus — the Greek hero navigating mythical creatures, divine interference, and desperate loyalty on his long journey home from the Trojan War. The cast around him includes Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, and Charlize Theron. It is the first film ever to be shot entirely in IMAX.
What Critics Are Saying
The praise clusters around a few consistent themes: the scale of the production, the horror elements Nolan has deployed for the first time in his career, the performances — particularly Hathaway, Pattinson, and Morton — and a final act described as among the best work of Nolan’s career.
Variety‘s critic called it “an astonishing achievement” and “a triumphant, spectacular epic,” singling out the performances as “genuinely grand” — and for some cast members, “truly the best of their entire careers.” Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes critic Erik Davis called it “the must-see cinematic event of the summer — and quite possibly the year,” with particular praise for Robert Pattinson’s work as the film’s villain: “He’s so conniving, manipulative and endlessly entertaining to watch. Pattinson leans all the way into the character’s villainy, and it results in one of my favourite performances of his.”
Collider described being “blown away,” especially by the way Nolan “embraces the supernatural,” and said IMAX is the only format for “a jaw-dropping experience.” The Hollywood Reporter noted a first for Nolan — “a fleshed out horror sequence” — backed by what DigitalSpy described as a “soul-rattling score” and “spectacular set pieces” building to a final act “as good as anything Nolan’s done.” IndieWire’s critic posted simply that “the last act rewards the journey.”
Time Out’s reviewer saw the film twice and took something different from each viewing: “a chilling vision of brutalized men seeing themselves in the eyes of women, a study of leadership and an old-school sweeping adventure tale. Even the Cyclops got me in the feels.” Samantha Morton received particularly striking praise from Discussing Film, which said her sequence in the film “is perhaps the best of the entire film and we’re going to be talking about it for years to come. Nolan tapping into a side he hasn’t really shown before.”
Best Picture and acting nominations are already being mentioned as likely. The full review embargo has not yet lifted — these are social media reactions ahead of the formal critical response — but as a collection of first impressions, they could not be more favourable.
The Context — and the Controversy
For context on what “one of Nolan’s best” actually means: his catalogue of 12 films to date includes The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento, and Oppenheimer — a run of work that contains some of the most acclaimed and commercially successful films of the past 25 years. The lowest-scoring film in his catalogue on Rotten Tomatoes is Tenet at 69% — a score most directors would accept for a career highlight. His most recent film, Oppenheimer (2023), won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, earned Nolan the Best Director Oscar he had long been denied, and grossed close to a billion dollars worldwide.
The film is not without pre-release controversy. The trailer became one of Nolan’s most-disliked promotional videos on YouTube, fuelled by complaints about costuming, trailer dialogue, the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, and inaccurate rumours about Elliot Page playing Achilles — claims that have since been confirmed to be false. These concerns all precede public access to the film itself. Every critical voice who has actually seen it reports a different experience.
The real test arrives July 17th, when audiences make their own judgement. But Nolan has never made a film that critics or audiences have deemed outright bad, and the people who have seen The Odyssey are not suggesting this one will break that record.
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