'The Odyssey' reviews: critics praise Nolan's IMAX epic
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey arrives in theaters July 17, 2026, with early reviews framing it as a must-see IMAX event—and search interest around the odyssey rotten tomatoes is climbing as critics weigh in. The Atlantic calls it a genuine pleasure shot entirely on IMAX, while Variety reports fans crossing states for scarce 70mm tickets after year-ahead sellouts.
Key Takeaways
- The Atlantic says Nolan delivers Hollywood's first proper big-screen Odyssey, balancing mythic scale with Matt Damon's haunted, human Odysseus.
- Variety documents an IMAX 70mm ticket frenzy, with year-ahead sales, crashed sites, and fans flying cross-country for opening weekend.
- The film is the first shot entirely on IMAX cameras, with practical effects and minimal CGI on real waves and on-set transformations.
- Early praise highlights Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, and John Leguizamo alongside set pieces from Troy to Circe's island.
- Universal expects a box-office juggernaut as Nolan fans treat the release as the summer's defining theatrical happening.
What are critics saying about The Odyssey?
The New York Times published its review on July 15 under the headline "Passion in Every Frame," adding to a wave of pre-release praise. In The Atlantic, David Sims writes that Nolan "successfully brings the epic into the IMAX era," calling the result "a genuine pleasure to behold." Sims argues the director finds idiosyncratic angles on Homer without losing adventure, centering a complicated man who wonders whether he deserves the civilization he fought for.
Sims praises the earthy, practical craft: ships battered by real waves, Polyphemus rendered through old-fashioned camera trickery, and Samantha Morton's Circe morphing faces with mechanical on-screen effects. He notes Damon plays Odysseus as a taciturn thinker haunted by Troy, while Hathaway's Penelope and Holland's Telemachus anchor the Ithaca storyline. Pattinson's Antinous and Leguizamo's Eumaeus deepen the postwar themes Nolan explored in Oppenheimer.
Why are fans racing to buy IMAX 70mm tickets?
Variety reports that Nolan's decision to film Homer's epic entirely with IMAX cameras—the first feature to do so—has triggered a near-frenzy for 70mm showings. Universal put tickets on sale a full year ahead; most screenings sold out within hours. A June restock brought hours-long queues and crashed theater websites.
Fans are going to extremes. Amber Connaghan, a tech editor in the California desert, bought her ticket more than a year ago and plans a three-hour drive to the nearest IMAX 70mm venue. Tim McHugh is flying from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to see it at Universal CityWalk. New York attorney Simon James purchased 18 IMAX 70mm tickets at AMC Lincoln Square across the film's first three weeks.
Is The Odyssey worth seeing on the biggest screen?
Both outlets converge on the same answer: scale is the point. The Atlantic says the blockbuster is "best seen projected onto a mountain-size screen," while Variety quotes moviegoers who treat Nolan's format advocacy as gospel—rewatching his puzzle-box films partly because IMAX elevates the experience.
With limited 70mm-capable auditoriums nationwide, many fans settle for late-night showings or multiple formats just to be part of the moment. Variety expects the film to dominate the box office this opening weekend, cementing Nolan as Hollywood's most consistent blockbuster auteur since The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer. For more release-week coverage, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.