Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is not even in theaters worldwide yet, but the first wave of reviews has already turned the film into opening-weekend conversation fuel.
The movie premieres globally on Friday, July 17, with Matt Damon leading a star-heavy cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Himesh Patel, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron.
The pitch is enormous even by Nolan standards. The film is being billed as the first full-length movie shot entirely on IMAX film, and theaters including AMC have been scheduling late-night and early-morning screenings as demand builds.
Now the review embargo has lifted, and the early verdict is mostly enthusiastic, with a few caveats. Critics praised the scale of the production, the look of the film and the ensemble, while some said the story can feel uneven as Nolan wrestles with Homer’s sprawling ancient poem.
Guy Lodge called it “a genuinely grand, gutsy vision,” while Scott Collura said the film is not perfect but still delivers as a moviegoing experience. Stephanie Zacharek was more cautious, arguing that the story may have worked better with less packed into it.
Others leaned into the old-school spectacle. Manohla Dargis described the film as polished studio entertainment with Old Hollywood appeal, and David Rooney said the ensemble helps lift the movie even when it wobbles.
For Nolan fans, that mix of awe and argument is familiar territory. Oppenheimer turned a talk-heavy historical drama into a box-office event. The Odyssey is arriving with gods, monsters, war trauma and a cast list that looks engineered to dominate fan edits for weeks.
The test now moves from critics’ screenings to packed IMAX rooms, where a 3,000-year-old journey home gets its biggest modern stage.
