The Odyssey Review: Nolan’s Epic Is Thrilling but Uneven

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon as the wandering king of Ithaca, has premiered to broadly positive reviews that praise its breathtaking ambition and visual grandeur while noting it can feel emotionally aloof. The $250 million epic, shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, opens in theaters on July 17 in the US and UK after its world premiere in London on July 6.

A Homecoming for Nolan

Critics have widely described the film as a culmination of Nolan’s career-long thematic obsessions. NPR’s Justin Chang calls it “a homecoming” for the director, noting that “Nolan has been telling versions of Homer’s epic for decades. His films are about men trying to find their way home, even when home — and the world around them — has become almost unrecognizable.” Chang describes the film as “thrilling but uneven, though it moves pretty swiftly for being so overstuffed.”

The film marks Nolan’s first project since Oppenheimer (2023), which won him his first Academy Award for Best Director and grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. It reunites him with frequent collaborators including cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, editor Jennifer Lame, and composer Ludwig Göransson.

Critical Consensus: Ambition and Emotion

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw awarded the film a perfect five stars, calling it “a gigantic, shimmering mirage, a mysterious three-hour vision of crazy episodes that does not yield up wisdom or contentment, but only a grim resolution to continue with the fight.” Bradshaw praises Nolan for “doing full justice to the Homeric legend” with “thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair.”

USA Today’s Brian Truitt gave the film a perfect four-star rating, declaring it “not only the greatest work on the iconic director’s noteworthy résumé” but also the film that tops Matt Damon’s career. Truitt calls it “brutal, beautiful and a bit bonkers” — a “Trojan Horse of filmmaking” that packs a war movie, history lesson, monster mash, and father-son tale into one spectacular package.

Variety’s Guy Lodge offers a more measured take, writing that while “there’s nary a dull moment” and the film is “consistently involving and frequently dazzling,” it’s “never exactly moving.” Lodge notes that the film “keeps the eyes and ears so lavishly occupied… you almost don’t notice, or mind, that your heart isn’t quite in it.”

Deadline’s Gregory Nussen calls the film “a thunderous, anti-war screed on the persistent damage of patriarchal arrogance” and Nolan’s “most achingly humanistic film” since The Prestige.

Damon’s Career-Best Performance

Across multiple reviews, Matt Damon’s performance as Odysseus is singled out as among his finest work. Damon underwent extensive preparation for the role, growing a full beard for a year and reducing to 167 pounds. Chang notes that Damon “fully conveys” Odysseus’s regret “in a terse, plain-spoken performance.” Nussen writes that Damon’s “eternal boyishness is utilized to its logical end-point” as he plays Odysseus as “a simple man” whose “knack for survival is pockmarked by an incessant need to prove his mettle.”

The all-star supporting cast includes Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Robert Pattinson as the conniving suitor Antinous, and Zendaya as Athena. Samantha Morton’s performance as Circe has drawn particular praise, with Lodge calling it “the film’s most indelible performance.”

Box Office Prospects

The film is projected to open to $85-100 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide, according to Deadline’s box office preview. Advance ticket sales have been robust, with sellouts at IMAX 70mm venues that went on sale a year in advance.

What Critics Are Saying

Common praise across reviews centers on the film’s visual grandeur — shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras — Ludwig Göransson’s pulse-pounding score, and the spectacular set pieces including the Trojan Horse sequence and encounters with the Cyclops and Circe. Common critiques note some uneven pacing, emotional aloofness in middle sections, and a non-linear timeline that can be disorienting.

As Chang writes, “For him, no less than for Odysseus, The Odyssey feels like a homecoming.” The film opens in theaters July 17.