Nolan's New Triumph: The Odyssey Earns Near-Perfect Reviews from Critics

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.

If Oppenheimer was Nolan shedding the trappings of genre to reach new heights with a science-heavy biopic, then in The Odyssey, Nolan puts away his trusty tools to shape cinematic history with his bare hands.

While the future may be predetermined, this world is still the sum of what we choose to make of it. To surrender our role in that is to forfeit our humanity, and the opposite will always be true as well. The gods speak obtusely, even in Nolan’s script, but this magnificent epic leaves us with the ability to heed their meaning.

Nolan prides himself on being a storyteller, and here he pays tribute to the medium that made him a prolific figure in pop culture. He wouldn't be here without a story to tell, so it's only fitting that he has told a story that has endured throughout the eons as only he can. The fact that he executed it at this level is certainly a feat that others will tell their own stories about.

The Odyssey isn’t perfect, but it’s a pretty great moviegoing experience all the same.

There's nary a dull moment in the director's typically muscular, temporally complex interpretation, but despite a fine, bone-weary turn from Matt Damon as the wandering king of Ithaca, it's more sensually than emotionally felt.

Nolan, energized by the self-restraining power of modern morality, turns an epic poem prosaic.

In the end, I just wanted The Odyssey to feel like an epic, grand adventure, and, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I wanted this story to say something about humanity. Anything that felt inspiring or profound. Instead, we just got this grand adventure all for the sake of being a grand adventure. Sure… many will find that enough for a fun summer movie, but what we really want is a great movie. One we’ll remember for decades to come. We’ll be lucky to remember this film a month from now.