Key Takeaways

  • First reactions out of The Odyssey world premiere are raves, with critics calling it staggering, monumental, and Nolan’s biggest film to date.
  • Matt Damon is getting career-best buzz as Odysseus, and Robert Pattinson is apparently the scene stealer as Antinous.
  • It hits theaters July 17. If you can get an IMAX ticket, get an IMAX ticket. This was shot for that screen and nothing else.

Jump to:

What People Are Actually Saying

The first reactions to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey landed last night after the world premiere, and they are about as good as reactions get. Variety rounded them up, and the words being thrown around are “breathtaking,” “flawless filmmaking,” and “perfection.” The Hollywood Reporter’s roundup called it staggering and Nolan’s biggest film to date.

I’ve been burned by premiere-night hype before, so I read these with a squint. But the specifics are what got me. People are saying the set pieces are legitimately terrifying, that Nolan leaned all the way into the horror side of Greek mythology instead of sanding it down. The Cyclops sequence is apparently the stuff of nightmares. Good. That’s what the source material deserves. The Odyssey is not a gentle story, and a version of it that plays safe would be a waste of a quarter-billion dollars.

More than one reaction compared the scale to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. That’s not a comparison critics make lightly. That’s the comparison you save for something special.

The Odyssey official trailer. Watch it on the biggest screen you own.

The Cast Is Still Absurd

I wrote about this cast when it was first announced and I stand by what I said. It’s absurd. Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo. That’s not a cast, that’s a draft class.

The early word says Damon gives a career-best performance, which is saying something for a guy with his resume. But the name that keeps popping up in these reactions is Pattinson as Antinous, the head suitor camped out in Odysseus’s house trying to marry his wife. Pattinson playing a smug parasite you can’t wait to see get what’s coming? That’s casting a fastball down the middle. And Leguizamo as the loyal swineherd Eumaeus is getting called sublime, which makes me happy. He’s been underrated for thirty years.

If the movie sends you back to the source, do yourself a favor and grab Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey. It reads like a page-turner, not a homework assignment. I wish it existed when I was in high school.

Why the IMAX Part Matters

Nolan shot this thing entirely on brand new IMAX film cameras. Every frame. No mixed formats, no cropping games. Multiple reactions said it feels like everything he’s been building toward with the format finally paying off in one movie.

Here’s my take as a guy who drives past three multiplexes to get to the good screen: this is exactly the kind of movie theaters need right now. A big swing, from a filmmaker people trust, that you physically cannot replicate at home. Oppenheimer proved people will show up for that. A mythic sea monster epic should be an even easier sell than three hours of physicists talking in rooms.

The film opens July 17, per the official release info. IMAX showtimes in Chicago are going to disappear fast. I’m setting alarms like it’s a Death Row reissue drop.

My One Grain of Salt

Premiere audiences are the friendliest audiences on earth. Not everyone was fully in the tank, either. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called parts of it clunky, even while admitting the last act rewards the journey. That tracks with Nolan for me. His movies sometimes take the long road to the payoff, and the payoff is usually worth it.

So no, I’m not declaring this the movie of the decade off tweets from a premiere. I’m just saying the signal is strong, the specifics are convincing, and my expectations went from cautious to fully unlocked. Ten days to go.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does The Odyssey come out in theaters?

The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026, with IMAX engagements expected to sell out early.

What are critics saying about The Odyssey?

First reactions from the world premiere are largely raves, calling it staggering, breathtaking, and Christopher Nolan’s biggest film to date, with some critics noting the pacing takes time to pay off.

Who plays Odysseus in The Odyssey?

Matt Damon plays Odysseus, and early reactions are calling it a career-best performance. Tom Holland plays his son Telemachus and Anne Hathaway plays Penelope.

Was The Odyssey really shot entirely in IMAX?

Yes. Nolan shot the entire film with new IMAX film cameras, the first time he has used the format for every frame of a movie.