Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is an epic in all senses of the word – and now it has first reactions from critics to match its towering ambition.
Our own entertainment editor Jordan Farley wrote, "#TheOdyssey is monumental filmmaking, its interpretation of Greek mythology electrifyingly uncanny. Staggering scale, thrillingly staged action, rich emotional throughlines." Better still, "the cyclops and Circe sequences are among the best of Nolan’s career." It's time to get very excited.
Elsewhere, the praise is as effusive as you might come to expect from a director of Nolan's caliber. Writer Douglas Greenwood was among several critics and audience members to pile on the praise, stating The Odyssey is "gutsy, and absolutely the work of a visionary."
He added, "There are a handful of set pieces so viscerally realised that watching them feels like flirting with death. Aims for the heart and plunges its dagger a few inches lower than it would like to, but otherwise excellent."
Others point towards Nolan's use of IMAX – already at a world-class, pioneering level – as another string to the movie's bow.
Erik Davis tweeted, "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 breathtaking, and the scale is unlike anything he's done before."
Even those who haven't warmed to Nolan's work can count themselves as a convert in The Odyssey. Critic Clarisse Loughrey said, "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."
Collider's Perri Nemiroff took time to sing the praises of Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus' son Telemachus in the sweeping epic.
Nemiroff wrote, "I’m often wowed by his work, but there’s something about seeing him jump from scene partner to scene partner in The Odyssey that had me in awe of his screen presence, his chemistry with his co-stars, and how clearly he’s able to elevate scenes in a unique way with each and every one of them."
Journalist Erin Mussett felt "Anne Hathaway and Samantha Morton are the absolute stand-outs", with others predicting Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, and Zendaya could all be netting Oscar nominations early next year.
The Odyssey hits cinemas on July 17. For more, check out the rest of 2026's biggest movie release dates and our current ranking of the best Christopher Nolan movies.
