First Reactions To Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Have Everyone Saying The Same Thing

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is finally almost upon us, and the first reactions from critics who have seen the film early have hit the internet. /Film's Jeremy Mathai is among them, and his reaction, which praises it as "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," is very much in line with the general sentiment so far, which — unsurprisingly, given all the talent behind this film — is positively glowing. (Jeremy also gives a specific shout-out to Himesh Patel, whom he calls the MVP of the movie.)

Nolan has been wanting to make a film set in this period for years; he initially developed the 2004 movie "Troy," starring Brad Pitt, before Wolfgang Petersen ended up directing that project. But it sounds like his version of "The Odyssey," which gave him the chance to fill a cinematic gap, was well worth the wait. Esquire writer Anthony Breznican says, "The film is magnificent. But it's so textured and provocative that it will only deepen and grow in esteem with future viewings," and the final line of his missive contains an idea that echoes throughout all of these reactions: "This for sure: [Nolan] didn't let us down."

Variety's Jazz Tangcay calls the film "an astonishing achievement," "a triumphant, spectacular epic," and says "the performances from Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, John Leguizamo, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong'o are genuinely grand." Collider's Perri Nemiroff says the movie is "a filmmaking feast" and states, "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."

Freelancer Simon Thompson says, "'The Odyssey' is flawless filmmaking, every inch as epic as you'd expect." Fandango's Erik Davis agrees, saying it's "the must-see cinematic event of the summer — and possibly the year," and praising it as "a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great filmmakers of our time."

Multiple critics, including freelancer Esther Zuckerman, point out that the movie is "more of a companion piece to 'Oppenheimer' than you might expect," with The Wrap's William Bibbiani saying it's "essentially, an absolutely necessary sequel to 'Oppenheimer.' This gigantic war/monster movie picks up the thematic threads Nolan's Best Picture-winner left dangling and fully explores them, making space for genuine damnation and spiritual growth." (He also refers to it as Nolan's "most mature and sensitive motion picture," if you needed any extra convincing.)

Even IndieWire's David Ehrlich, who seems a bit more muted than some of his contemporaries, says it's "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." Ehrlich states that it's "too clunky to be S-tier Nolan, but the last act rewards the journey."

"The Odyssey" opens on July 17, 2026. In the meantime, you can listen to actor Dan Stevens read the audiobook.