The Odyssey has been hailed as Christopher Nolan’s “best film to date” in a string of glowing reviews.
The blockbuster is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, with Matt Damon starring as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, as he makes his perilous 10-year journey home after the Trojan War.
It also stars Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.
Ahead of its release on Friday, reviews have been released for the film, which has largely been praised by critics.
Awarding it five out of five stars, The Independent stated that the film being shot entirely on massive IMAX 70mm film cameras meant it was a “blockbuster of literally unprecedented scale”.
“As a feat of pure adaptation, Nolan has achieved something I admittedly thought was near impossible. His stamp is all over the film – this is intellectual, brutalist, muscular Hollywood fare – yet it never wavers in its commitment to, and comprehension of, its source text,” it added.
“It is also Nolan’s best work to date. It deserves to be the film that defines him.”
Also giving the film five stars, The Guardian said it had “thrilling ambition, boldness, seriousness, generosity and flair”.
“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,” it added.
Another five-star review came from Empire, which called it the director’s “most ambitious film yet”.
It summarised: “A worthy new translation of an ancient text, and yet another monumental piece of work from one of our boldest filmmakers. Watch it on the most colossal screen you can find.”
The Financial Times called The Odyssey a “dazzling, imperfect film”, but awarded it four stars.
Indie Wire said it was a “magnificent epic” that was “so fresh and burning with urgency that you can almost smell the walls of Troy as they crumble into cinder”.
However 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.”
Variety said: “Nolan’s take on Homer is thorough, robust and attentive both to scholarly detail and old-school moviemaking craft; it’s likewise no surprise that it’s been reshaped to fit the director’s predilection for trickily non-linear storytelling.”
It added that the film “gets away with its slightly aloof, soul-skirting chill… we leave it feeling that we’ve been to hell and back, and exhilaratingly so”.
Nolan has previously helmed films including Memento, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet and Oppenheimer.
The Odyssey is released in cinemas in Ireland on Friday, July 17th.