Almost two weeks before the release of The Odyssey on July 17, the social media embargo on the film has lifted, allowing critics to share impressions after an early screening. Social media mini-reviews are a somewhat odd, new-era phenomenon where critics are allowed a small tweet-size review, though are not allowed to give a score that would feed into the Rotten Tomatoes machine. The full review embargo will be later. But now? We can see that things are shaping up phenomenally for The Odyssey.
These early critic reviews are uniformly positive. Not just positive, but in most cases, glowing. The film is being called one of Nolan’s best ever, one of the best Greek myth adaptations ever, a frontrunner for Best Picture and full of potential nominations for its sprawling cast, with Anne Hathaway and particularly Samantha Morton singled out.
There is skepticism among some in the public. Early reviews can often be more positive than final ones. And while there was a public declaration that no “influencers” would be screening the film early, the debate over who qualifies as an influencer among this group is ongoing.
There is also a widespread campaign against The Odyssey before the film has come out, with the trailer becoming the most-disliked for a film in YouTube history, short of Snow White last year. Much of the anger comes from the supposed casting of transgender actor Elliot Page as Achilles, though it has since been confirmed he is not playing that part. Similarly, there is pushback on the “race-swapping” of Helen of Troy, played by Lupita Nyong’o. There are complaints about a lack of Greek actors, awkward trailer dialogue, odd costuming and so on. Though again, all of this is before anyone except this recent group of critics has seen the film.
There is no reason to think that in the wider public, The Odyssey will be anything but a success. It is shaping up to be another Christopher Nolan hit, perhaps echoing his multi-Oscar-winning Oppenheimer in 2023, which won Best Picture and nabbed him Best Director. That film also made close to a billion dollars worldwide. There’s also the fact that, at least critically, Nolan has never made a film widely declared as “bad” among either critics or fans. The lowest is Tenet, but even that is not “rotten.” Here are the Rotten Tomatoes scores for his film catalog:
- Oppenheimer (2023) – 93% critic score, 91% audience score
- Tenet (2020) – 69% critic score, 76% audience score
- Dunkirk (2017) – 92% critic score, 81% audience score
- Interstellar (2014) – 73% critic score, 86% audience score
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 87% critic score, 90% audience score
- Inception (2012) – 87% critic score, 91% audience score
- The Dark Knight (2008) – 94% critic score, 94% audience score
- The Prestige (2006) – 76% critic score, 92% audience score
- Batman Begins (2005) – 85% critic score, 94% audience score
- Insomnia (2002) – 92% critic score, 77% audience score
- Memento (2000) – 93% critic score, 94% audience score
- Following (1998) – 83% critic score, 85% audience score
As for the critics giving their takes on The Odyssey, here are some of the most-shared ones going around right now:
- Discussing Film – “Now that the social embargo is up I can say that Samantha Morton’s sequence in THE ODYSSEY is perhaps the best of the entire film and we’re going to be talking about it for years to come. If you know, you know. Nolan tapping into a side he hasn’t really shown before.”
- Variety – “I have seen Christopher Nolan’s #TheOdyssey, and it is an astonishing achievement. A triumphant, spectacular epic. The performances from Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, John Leguizamo, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o are genuinely grand. And for some, truly, the best performances of their career!”
- Eric Davis – “Christopher Nolan’s #TheOdyssey is an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great filmmakers of our time. The production design is incredible, the action is breathtaking, and the scale is unlike anything he’s done before. What really surprised me is how much he embraces horror.”
They go on like that for a long, long time. The true test will be audiences and the box office, but as first impressions go, without question, they could not be better.
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