Ever since Christopher Nolan announced The Odyssey, the hype for the movie has been unlike anything. Every little detail and every little update about the film was celebrated as if it had already secured the epithet of a classic. However, the first reactions to the film validate the immense anticipation and the extraordinary expectations for the film. The early reviews for Christopher Nolan’s historical epic are here, and they tell the story that fans already envisioned when the project first began taking shape.

The first reactions were released on Monday. Superlatives are pouring from the keyboards of both movie critics and fanboys. However, these should always be taken with a grain of salt. Los Angeles Times film editor Joshua Rothkopf calls the film “staggering. Earthy, ghostly, weighty, touched by humor and grandeur alike. It’s pure cinema.”

“Dense but accessible, packed with career-best work from the stacked cast – Samantha Morton is extraordinary – it’s a dizzying mix of craft and spectacle that’s built to last,” Time Out film critic Phil de Semlyen raved.

“Nolan’s biggest film to date. This film has about triple the number of huge set pieces than any of Nolan’s previous films, and every single one of them is breathtaking in their own way,” The Independent.

There are many more such reactions blessing the movie with heaps of praise. They are also making for its Oscar buzz, which the movie will eventually secure. These are just examples of remarks regarding Nolan's epic, which narrates the tale of the Greek hero Odysseus (Matt Damon). The Greek King embarks on an arduous journey back home after the Trojan War.

A very different approach was taken for the early reviews of The Odyssey, and a break from the pattern of Universal.

Universal changed its ways for The Odyssey 

For The Odyssey, Universal is managing the initial reactions a little differently. Professional journalists and others who have seen the film at its London premiere and other press screenings will be included in the first reaction wave (along with some influencers who participated in press junkets), rather than having special "word of mouth" screenings that allow influencers and fan bloggers to respond to the film first on social media.

The Oscar buzz with the early reviews has further set the tone for the actual movie’s release. And they are also a reprieve for Christopher Nolan, who has been facing some backlash for some of his casting choices in the film, like Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Sinon, a Greek soldier. 

Are you excited for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey? Share your thoughts.   

Written by

Harshit Kumar

Edited by

Hriddhi Maitra