Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey reviews out - critics call it 'cinematic triumph'

It's almost time to enjoy Christopher Nolan's cinema again, and this time, it's the grandest. For the first time, the Oscar-winning director has stepped into the period drama with The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's great epic. Set to hit theatres on July 17, the embargo on reviews was lifted two days before release, and the first reactions to the movie are out. As expected, everyone has just fallen in love with it.

Nolan’s epic tells the story of Greek hero Odysseus (Matt Damon), who embarks on the final journey home from the Trojan War to reunite with his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland). But it is this journey that makes The Odyssey, and Nolan makes it grandest with his vision.

‘The Odyssey’ first reactions

Being called Nolan’s 'biggest film to date,' the R-rated movie has earned a 96% Tomatometer score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The film is Nolan’s first to be shot entirely in IMAX, and it features an ensemble cast led by Matt Damon, with Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland also starring.

Before the release, Nolan and his entire team went to London, France, India, and the US to promote the movie, showing media and influencers their version of the epic.

As the embargo lifted for critics across the globe, the reviews are out, and it is being called an epic and Nolan's astonishing achievement.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote,''The result is a meditative action movie both immense and intimate, albeit one whose flow is impeded by the inherently episodic nature of the nonlinear source material and some questionable casting choices. Still, audiences hungry for the kind of brawny all-star spectacle now largely confined to sci-fi and comic book tentpoles should turn out for this bold retelling of Homer’s epic poem,''

David Ehrlich of IndieWire: “The Odyssey: a surprisingly natural (and less despairing) Oppenheimer follow-up about a man haunted by defying the gods & dooming civilization — this one fights to avenge his own hubris. IMAX obviously immense. Too clunky to be S-tier Nolan, but the last act rewards the journey.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote wrote in the headline of his review, ''Nolan goes god-tier with breathtaking epic of men, monsters and moral metamorphosis.''

''The result is a gigantic, shimmering mirage, a mysterious three-hour vision of crazy episodes that does not yield up wisdom or contentment, but only a grim resolution to continue with the fight, to make sense of ruined lives, to re-enter the scorched battlefield of loss,'' Peter wrote.

Manohla Dargis of Nytimes called the movie, a passion in every frame.

''one of the most Nolan of Nolan spectacles in its thematic concerns, formal playfulness, kinetic thrills and unabashed showmanship. Few directors close the divide between the art film and the blockbuster like Nolan does; fewer still give the audience something to not simply look forward to but also be excited by. Even as he has continued to refine his filmmaking, notably in his narrative experimentation, he always aims to please.''

David Ehrlich of Indiewire called Christopher Nolan's biggest film so far is also one of his best, and hailed Matt Damon's work as career-defining performance.

‘’A densely layered and nonlinear saga about a hyper-capable but profoundly heartsick middle-aged man whose job isolates him from his loved ones — and indeed from humanity itself — to such an extreme that it becomes the only viable means by which he might ever make his way back home, “The Odyssey” is so foundational to Nolan’s interests and instincts as a storyteller that I feared it would be a waste of time for him to tackle it head-on.''