Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Receives Acclaim
The Odyssey, the newest film from Oscar-winning director Sir Christopher Nolan, has garnered enthusiastic reviews from critics worldwide.
Adapted from Homer's ancient Greek epic poem, this film marks Nolan's first project since his 2023 release, Oppenheimer, which secured the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Telegraph hailed The Odyssey as the "film of the year," while Metro asserted that the movie would "change cinema forever." The Times described it as "a masterpiece in every way," and the Standard lauded it as a "colossal piece of cinema."
The Odyssey is set to premiere in the UK on Friday and features a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong'o.
Plot and Cast Details
The narrative follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, on his arduous and dangerous journey home after the Trojan War to reunite with his wife and son, portrayed by Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland respectively.
Throughout his fantastical voyage, Odysseus encounters various mythical creatures and challenges. Meanwhile, the antagonist Antinous pursues the queen during Odysseus's absence.
Critical Reception and Highlights
Variety's Guy Lodge praised the film as "a genuinely grand, gutsy vision," noting that The Odyssey "thrills generously for the bulk of its near three-hour running time." He added,
"Every few minutes, it seems, it throws at its audience another mighty setpiece that, in almost any other summer studio spectacle, would be a climactic standout."
Nick Howells of the Standard described the set pieces as "staggering," calling The Odyssey "a far more astonishing experience" than Oppenheimer.
Metro's Tori Brazier awarded the film five stars, calling it "a watershed moment for filmmaking." She commented,
"It's somehow both the most Nolan-esque film I've seen, while being nothing like Oppenheimer, Inception or anything he's previously made."
Tom Holland's Performance and Ensemble Cast
The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney noted that while the film was somewhat "uneven," the ensemble cast delivered strong performances.
"Damon is superb, going to dark places seldom if ever explored in his previous roles," Rooney said. "Hathaway is a model of steely self-possession masking vulnerability; Pattinson bites into his character's villainy with gusto."
Deadline's Gregory Nussen highlighted Tom Holland's portrayal, stating,
"Holland's performance certainly seems tinged with the courageous naivety of Spider-Man, insisting on trying to influence those much more cunning and physically capable than he. Holland may be playing a child, but his performance is bursting with a newfound maturity. It is his strongest one to date."
Dialogue and Audio Considerations
Some critics noted challenges with hearing the film's dialogue clearly, a frequent critique of Nolan's films due to his preference for using on-set audio recordings rather than post-production dubbing.
There was also skepticism regarding the dialogue's language. Danny Leigh of the Financial Times remarked,
"The use of certain words jarred me out of the past. Nolan has called using contemporary language 'a no-brainer.' Respectfully, in this case, I would argue it was a brainer. Maybe it only clangs because the rest of the dialogue doesn't, and even a harsh judge is soon distracted. As Odysseus sets sail for Homer's adventures, Nolan's spectacle slips into gear... he is a very talented action director."
Nolan's Signature Style and Adaptation Approach
Nolan's previous works include Interstellar, Dunkirk, Inception, Memento, and The Dark Knight trilogy.
Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent observed,
"Nolan's stamp is all over the film – this is intellectual, brutalist, muscular Hollywood fare – yet it never wavers in its commitment to, and comprehension of, its source text. There's not a single decision here that's been thoughtlessly made, nor that I imagine Nolan himself couldn't easily defend."
Amy Nicholson of the LA Times described the film as "epically satisfying," though she noted deviations from the original text and a reduction in the character's ego and lust.
"Damon's Odysseus is stubborn, overconfident and sacrilegious, but doesn't bear that much resemblance to the conniving, hypocritical egotist of lore who fretted over his wife's fidelity," Nicholson wrote. "The chasteness of Nolan's version bugs me as it's insulting he doesn't trust audiences to grapple with this hero's moral complexity - and I'm gut-sick that he's probably right."
Production and Budget
The Odyssey was filmed entirely using IMAX cameras and had an estimated budget of $250 million (£185 million).
Robert Pattinson, who also stars in the film, previously collaborated with Nolan on 2020's Tenet.
Box Office Expectations and Cultural Impact
Universal Studios anticipates strong box office performance following the success of Oppenheimer, which grossed $975 million (£723 million) worldwide.
Oppenheimer's success was partly attributed to the viral 2023 "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, which encouraged audiences to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day.
Additional Critical Acclaim
Peter Bradshaw of awarded The Odyssey five stars, describing it as a film with "thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair." He added,
"There are some broad-brush moments in the dialogue, yes, but even these are applied with a muscular flourish."
Empire's John Nugent also gave a five-star review, calling The Odyssey "the definition of epic." He stated,
"The scale and scope here is, frankly, jaw-detaching. It is filmmaking at a magnitude few modern directors could ever realistically imagine, demand, or execute."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin, awarding five stars, wrote,
"Nolan and his collaborators have constructed a strange, fearsome and trailblazing machine of a movie – by some distance, the best of the year so far. Its creator is known for playing tricks with time, and this may be his grandest yet: turning one of the oldest stories in literature into a vote of confidence in blockbuster cinema's future."
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