Tom Holland can't believe Christopher Nolan's movie magic on "masterpiece" The Odyssey, despite being in the middle of it: "How on earth has he done that?"

Tom Holland has seen Christopher Nolan's upcoming historical epic The Odyssey – and his verdict is in.

"I can tell you that it is an absolute masterpiece, and I’m taking myself out of that equation," Holland, who plays Odysseus's son Telemachus in The Odyssey, told GQ.

"Chris Nolan’s movie is fantastic. It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever seen before. I think when I saw the movie, I found myself asking a question that I haven’t asked about a movie for a long time, which is, 'How did you do that?'"

Of course, Nolan's practical mastery is the stuff of legend. From planting 500 acres of corn for Interstellar to crashing a Boeing 747 in Tenet, if the director can do it for real, then that's the only option. He probably would have folded up an actual city in Inception if he could, such is his eye for ensuring everything on screen looks authentic.

For Holland, Nolan's work on The Odyssey has become the antidote for an audience perhaps little fatigued by CGI in big summer blockbusters.

"Chris is obviously trying to do everything as practically as possible in camera. And there were certain sequences in the movie where I’m watching it and I’m just sort of thinking like, 'How on earth has he done that? That has to be CG.' And then after the movie asking him, #That was definitely CG, right?' And he’s like, 'No, no, no, that’s all in camera effects. Very planned, very prepared.'

Holland, who also returns as Peter Parker this July in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, added, "So I think fans are going to be really, really blown away by the set pieces and sequences throughout the movie, because even as someone that was there on the day and was in the film, I was absolutely blown away by the scale, the scope, his ability to navigate such an intricate and heartfelt story in the middle of this insane kind of action movie. So it’s one of my proudest achievements as an actor and I’m so touched that Chris gave me the opportunity to be in the film."

The Odyssey, a retelling of Homer's epic, also stars Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Lupita Nyong'o.

The first trailer for The Odyssey was released last December, and saw Damon's Odysseus at the beginning of his mythical, years-long journey home to his wife, Penelope (Hathaway).

Nolan's next movie, then, is an epic in every sense of the word – right down to the fact the director shot almost 2 million feet of footage and spent several months in production on the open seas with "real waves."

The Odyssey hits cinemas on July 17.

For more, check out the movie release dates coming your way soon, plus our ranking of the best Christopher Nolan movies.