Here we go. 10 days out from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the first reactions are arriving.
Usually, the first swathe is the online influencers, then the online outlets, and finally the serious critics. Not quite this time. They have forgone the influencer screenings.
These reactions come from a mix of online outlets and journalist critics, so they are not as easy to dismiss as people overawed by the experience of simply being invited to a screening.
So here is what the summary pages had to say as the reviews made their way online:
“Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence witnessed by the dead.”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Monumental on so many levels… more heart than any Nolan film since Interstellar. It crams so much, including overly cautious fantasy elements & curious real Greek history, that its scope outpaces even 70mm IMAX. But it is gorgeously outstretched. Anne Hathaway is the sincere anchor of the film and is phenomenal.”
David Crow, Den of Geek
“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, Indiewire
“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.”
Phil de Semlyen, Time Out
“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, The LA Times
“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.”
Simon Thompson, Gold Derby
“THE ODYSSEY is monumental. This is Nolan operating on a singular, accelerated level. Its spectacular cast, practical effects and gigantic scale come together to create a spin on Homer’s epic that might surprise people. A beautiful cinematic achievement, and a true masterpiece.”
Erin Mussett, Little White Lies
“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. All the supernatural elements were great, surprisingly faithful considering how abstract parts of the story are, but he finds a way to make it work for his style/voice”
Clarissa Loughrey, The Independent
“Staggering scale, thrillingly staged action, rich emotional throughlines. The cyclops and Circe sequences are among the best of Nolan’s career.”
Jordan Farley, Games Radar
“Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of THE ODYSSEY is as epic as movies get with some of the most breathtaking set pieces he’s ever attempted. A colossal achievement of scale, even by Nolan’s standards. I grew up loving grand, sword and action dramas such as “Gladiator,” “Braveheart,” “The Last Samurai,” and yes, even “Troy.” I’m beyond thrilled to say Nolan’s ambitious dissection of myth and legend looms large over them all.”
Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Sounds like all the fuss over casting might fade away in the face of some epic filmmaking. We will find out for ourselves very soon.
Awards contender, then? Worth the IMAX bump?
The Odyssey lands in theaters on July 17th.
