First Reactions: Cineplay Reporters and Film Journalists Rate 〈The Odyssey〉

Nolan delivers a supremely confident film. Though rooted in a classical source, it is one of his most violent works and carries a strong tone of horror, producing a surprisingly taut tension. Nolan's experimental streak with form and structure steps back a bit here, making the film easy enough to enjoy. The cinematography is strong, but I recommend seeing it in a theater with good low-frequency sound. Through the classic, the film speaks to a chaotic modern age where trust has collapsed. The long running time is still demanding, but the film leaves a complex, hard-to-define aftertaste.

Whether you know the story or not, it's entertaining! In an era constantly hungry for a gripping story, it's remarkable that Nolan can keep delivering one gripping story after another and sustain a three-hour runtime so compellingly. To those of us addicted to Reels and Shorts, Nolan seems to say that the most entertaining stories already exist in the oldest classics. Just as he examined an individual rendered powerless in the enormous whirlpool of war in his previous film 〈Oppenheimer〉, Nolan borrows myth in 〈The Odyssey〉 to offer an unexpectedly human story.