The Odyssey First Reactions Are Finally Here

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has been one of the most anticipated films of 2026 since 70mm IMAX tickets sold out more than a year before release. On Monday, the first wave of critical reactions arrived. The verdict is overwhelmingly positive. Critics and film enthusiasts alike are calling the film a monumental achievement and an early frontrunner for major awards attention.

The film opens on July 17. Initial domestic box office projections place its opening weekend between $80 million and $100 million. Those numbers could rise further if the positive reaction sustains through release.

What critics are saying

The praise for the film is wide-ranging and enthusiastic. Los Angeles Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf called the film staggering, earthy, ghostly and weighty. He described it as pure cinema and a return to the kind of robustly entertaining action filmmaking that cinema was invented to tell.

Time Out film critic Phil de Semlyen told readers to believe the hype, calling The Odyssey dense but accessible and praising what he described as career-best work from its stacked ensemble cast. He singled out Samantha Morton as extraordinary and called the overall film a dizzying mix of craft and spectacle.

Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw framed the film as a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence, describing it as witnessed by the dead. His full review was still to follow his initial reaction.

IndieWire awards editor Anne Thompson was among the most effusive, declaring that her high expectations were fully met. She predicted that Matt Damon could win Best Actor and that a range of supporting nominations would follow. She called The Odyssey the Best Picture to beat heading into awards season.

IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich offered a more measured take. He called the film a surprisingly natural follow-up to Oppenheimer and less despairing in tone. While he found it too clunky to rank alongside Nolan’s best work, he acknowledged that the final act rewards the patience required to get there.

Breakout performances and standout sequences

Multiple reviewers pointed to Matt Damon as the film’s anchor, with several calling it his best screen performance. Himesh Patel received specific MVP recognition from reviewer Jeremy Mathai. Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton also drew repeated praise across multiple reactions.

Reviewer Jordan Farley called the cyclops and Circe sequences among the best of Nolan’s career, describing the film’s interpretation of Greek mythology as electrifyingly uncanny. Collider’s Steven Weintraub urged audiences to see it in IMAX 70mm, calling it a jaw-dropping experience that builds on everything Nolan has developed with the format across his career.

David Crow offered a nuanced reaction, calling the film monumental and emotionally layered while acknowledging that its scope occasionally outpaces even the 70mm IMAX format. He noted that the film attempts to condense nearly all of Homer within three hours while also incorporating real Greek historical elements that some classical scholars may find surprising.

What the film covers

The Odyssey adapts Homer’s foundational epic poem, following a man haunted by defying the gods and attempting to reckon with the consequences of his own hubris. Nolan frames the story as a grounded but faithful take on the myth with what multiple reviewers describe as clever revisionist elements woven throughout.

The world premiere took place on July 6 in London, with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Travis Scott among those walking the red carpet. The film represents Nolan’s first project following his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer and arrives with considerable commercial and critical expectations attached.

Based on these early reactions, it appears ready to meet both.

Source: Deadline