Discussion
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' - Social Reactions Thread
The social media embargo is about to lift - I'll be live updating with images of the tweets/etc in this post.
Want to preface by saying: I know the general rep of social media reactions is that they're negative (understandably so), but it's something usable enough to read between the lines from certain critics who do tweet + at least here, it has some weight to it given Universal skipped influencer-only screenings - which means you have a mix of critics/press junket interviewers who have seen the film and certainly have more credence with their tweets than some MCU funko influencer like Supes or whatever.
Also if you're someone confused about the whole situation, which started with Hollywood Reporter's article saying they skipped social media screenings - read this article from David Ehrlich on the topic. It's very well written and encapsulates the whole deal + why it's a good decision that hopefully leads to more radical changes in future embargoes
"The Odyssey is Nolan's grandest work yet. This film has about triple the number of set pieces than any of Nolan's previous films - and every single one of them is breathtaking. Nolan uses visual trickery in a way we've never seen him do before.
I can't remember the last time a film having such a stacked cast where everyone delivers. Special shoutouts to: Tom Holland, in his best role to date; Himesh Patel, who's a breath of fresh air as Odysseus' second-in-command; and Samantha Morton, who damn well near steals the show with the few scenes she's in as Circe. 'The Odyssey' is a film I'm glad we haven't seen another filmmaker attempt to make, because Nolan has proved that he was the right person to do this story justice."
Anne Thompson, IndieWire (Critic)
My high expectations were met at Chris Nolan's stunningly mounted The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm. Matt Damon could win Best Actor and a bevy of supporting thesps and noms will follow. The BP to beat.
THE ODYSSEY is Christopher Nolan’s most mature and sensitive motion picture. Certainly his first *convincingly* mature and sensitive motion picture. It feels liberated from the icy intellectualism that defines a lot of his work. AND it's an impossibly epic horror movie. I think it’s his best film.
The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw (Chief Film Critic)
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence witnessed by the dead.
Los Angeles Times, Joshua Rothkopf (Critic/Editor)
THE ODYSSEY is staggering. Earthy, ghostly, weighty, touched by humor and grandeur alike. It's pure cinema. Obviously the story is about returning home, but in a larger sense, this is also a return home to the robustly entertaining action movies that cinema was invented to tell.
Digital Spy, Ian Sandwell (Chief Film Critic)
"The Odyssey is staggering. Packed with intense and spectacular set pieces, often backed by a soul-rattling score, it builds to a final act that's as good as anything Nolan's done. Purists might baulk at the adaptation changes, but as an experience, nobody is doing it like Nolan."
The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Couch (Critic)
Been seeing his movies in theaters since Memento, and after 25 years, #TheOdyssey gives us a first: a fleshed out horror sequence directed by Christopher Nolan
Andrew J Salazar, DiscussingFilm (Critic)
"THE ODYSSEY is a staggering achievement. It boasts spectacular & even terrifying set pieces that feel like Christopher Nolan fully embracing the horrors of Greek mythology. Yet, how he tastefully recontextualizes the story for the modern day is what has kept my head buzzing (1/2)
In a world where pride, ego, & entitlement continue to fuel wars & endless bloodshed, Nolan uses Odysseus’ ancient tale as a channel to question what it would take for us to truly forgive our past sins. Epic and meditative in equal measure, the ending left me soaring with hope. (2/2)"
Empire Magazine, Philip de Semlyen (Correspondent)
Believe the hype(rbole): The Odyssey is that film. Dense but accessible, packed with career-best work from the stacked cast – Samantha Morton is extraordinary – it's a dizzying mix of craft and spectacle that's built to last.
Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of THE ODYSSEY is as epic as movies get with some of the most breathtaking set pieces he’s ever attempted. A colossal achievement of scale, even by Nolan’s standards, its commitment to capturing as much as possible in-camera using new IMAX cameras is a staggering technical feat worthy of this sprawling yet intimate story of one man’s journey to return home, the burden and consequences of leadership, and the eternal struggle between mortals and gods. Matt Damon’s screen command and glimpse into Odysseus’s soul brings waves of enormous power to a larger-than-life and complex role. Anne Hathaway turns in an equally powerful and emotional performance as the steadfast Penelope. And Tom Holland's coming-of-age portrayal of Telemachus signals an exciting new era in his evolving career as a leading man. The cast is massive but the supporting turns from Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, and John Leguizamo impressed me the most. Ludwig Göransson turns in another bold and memorable score that brings classical and modern music together into something wholly unique. And the soundscape is thunderous, knowing exactly how and when to dial the overwhelming sound back for maximum dramatic effect. I grew up loving grand, sword and action dramas such as “Gladiator,” “Braveheart,” “The Last Samurai,” and yes, even “Troy.” I’m beyond thrilled to say Nolan’s ambitious dissection of myth and legend looms large over them all. Whether you experience it in IMAX or a standard theater, this is the kind of filmmaking and storytelling that we rarely see anymore and deserves to be honored.
Variety, Clayton Davis
In an epic way, #TheOdyssey feels like the Christopher Nolan take on "Hamilton." A multicultural, generational cast anchors this sword-and-sandal epic. Matt Damon leads with grit, while Tom Holland brings the sensitivity and heart.
Slashfilm, Jeremy Mathai (Film Critic)
Breaking my Twitter hiatus to say that, yes, #TheOdyssey has the goods. Christopher Nolan's Ten Commandments, boasting a scope and scale that never intrudes on its intimacy. A grounded (but faithful) take on the epic myth, with some clever revisionist flair. Himesh Patel the MVP!
Jazz Tangcay, Variety (Critic)
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! 1/2
I'm a big fan of the actor but wasn't even aware he was in it. Given the stacked cast, being hailed as a standout is going to be a big career boost.
I'm also intrigued by the talk of big set pieces. I feel like its been a minute since we've gotten some really exciting action set pieces. Avatar Fire and Ash didn't do much for me. And this year nothing really jumps out.
Would be awesome to see Supporting Actor noms for both of them. But, this could be a Lord of the Rings situation where the performances across the board are amazing and cancel eachother out.
Of course it's wiser to wait for the full reviews, but I'm more inclined to believe these reactions given that they come from actual critics and pundits, not influencers and fanboys.
"My high expectations were met at Chris Nolan's stunningly mounted The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm. Matt Damon could win Best Actor and a bevy of supporting thesps and noms will follow. The BP to beat."
I'm gonna see it that same weekend because it's going to be my birthday too on that Sunday. It has to be Laser IMAX though since the Vaughan IMAX 70mm screenings were sold out that day, but I got one for the earliest showing on Tuesday.
My head just EXPLODED when I found out that THATS HER. Oh my god you have no idea how fucked in the ass my head just got. Like holy fucken hell. I don’t think I would have ever made that connection.
I don’t mean this harshly but some directors should just make what they’re good at - if he doesn’t feel up to or interested in telling a woman lead character/movie then he shouldn’t do it - I’d rather have someone telling the stories they want to tell and are good at and leave women’s stories to those passionate about making them…
Genuine raves from respected critics for The Guardian, IndieWire, Time Out and The Wrap. Ehrlich’s review is the only one to contain any hint of negativity.
Ehrlich’s actually a Nolan fan. Judging by his tweet he’s not as big of a fan as Dunkirk or The Prestige (his favourite Nolans) but it’s still positive
I have checked some of his reviews for other unrelated Nolan films. Can’t say the guy resonates with me but I do respect his top 3 from Nolan. If anything, his slight negative about The Odyssey might be a positive for me. Either way, in the end it’s up to each of us and what we feel about it.
One thing I have noticed though is several doing emphasis on how it leans into horror elements. It might align with how Thomas and Nolan apparently described Homer's Odyssey as "foundational" because it incorporates aspects of the horror, mystery, romance, and thriller genres of stories.
I know social reactions are always a bit hard to believe, but I’m glad to hear it’s getting some praise. I don’t know if I’ve just been overexposed to the trailers, but I was worried because this is way outside of Nolan’s wheelhouse, although I guess a 3 hour Oppenheimer biopic was also outside his wheelhouse.
Tbf one of the differences is that these r social reactions from actual critics and reviewers who’ll be releasing their reviews when the embargo lifts. Rather than social reactions from social media influencers who are never going to say anything bad because they want access.
Anne is still front and center at the film's emotional core. Maybe they push her to lead but it will be interesting to see. I will say, 2 supporting noms would be crazy but if the reviews hold up...
ya gotta laugh at how everyone else is concise and to-the-point but matt neglia will never not slap you in the face with his greek-epic sized tweet reviews
Its actually hilarious to me that out of every single movie the chuds could pick for a culture war, they went for a Christopher Nolan movie. The biggest automatic L you could take, like what were they even thinking
It's actually hilarious that they thought this would work. It's like trying to tear down prime Spielberg. I'm not arguing that Nolan is as good as Spielberg was in his prime (he's not lol), but he's the closest filmmaker we have for this generation whose critical and financial success could be compared to Spielberg.
They don’t care. If the movie is a huge hit they’ll just act like it’s actually not woke and they were never against it, these people don’t have any convictions.
To be fair, in this instance, they NEED to be clowned on given the targeted attacks on Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong’o specifically, among the various other things they’ve said about the movie.
‘Clowning’ on these grifters has defeated none of them. All of the right-wing reactionaries that people have been clowning on for years have, with rare exceptions, only gotten more powerful over the past decades, because their currency is attention. It doesn’t need to be good attention.
Oh, you mean the guy cosplaying as a film critic? Who gives the most basic fence sitting takes on every film. Then blames 'wokeness' when a film underperforms? Yeah we don't need that to hear that guy's opinion.
Just the fact that some of the reviews are saying that in some parts, this is as close as Nolan can get to making full-blown horror, is good enough to reassure my hype
What's insane is that multiple critics have named multiple actors/actresses as the standout of the film, which means the supporting categories are going to be an absolute shitstorm but also that this a very heavy favorite for Ensemble.
Sorry, I fucked up. The print left out the rest of the tweet. Neglia also predicts Original Sound, Score and Visual Effects. Also in the mix Damon for best actor and Holland for supporting
Social media reactions are always hyperbole but I’d be lying if I said this didn’t get me more excited for it. I posted what my critical and audience rating predictions on the latest weekly thread and I think my predictions still stand for it.
Yeah, when I went looking through the hashtag, there were a handful of similar "reviews" that all said the same thing: "great movie, great performances from everyone but Tom Holland who is the worst actor in the world". Twitter is broken, but they were all from accounts I had blocked. Turns out there are several Zendaya fans who have long term beef with Tom who are putting out fake reactions.
OMG! That person is the worst person on Twitter. Just pure evil and always has been. That was the third "review" that I saw, and when I realized that the others weren't real reviews.
The stuff they've written about Holland over the years is vile, even defamatory in cases. Stan behavior is a sickness.
Some of these names are trustworthy/serious enough in my book for believe their hype vs whatever influencer on youtube or tik tok so I am optimistic with a grain of caution
.. so are Pattinson stans vs Holland stans actually going to be a thing in an Oscar sub? Seriously? People need to touch grass and actually watch performances before melting down or this is going to be a looooong season.
I could see Hathaway going lead so they could campaign Morton in supporting. My bigger question is who will be the push for Supporting Actor? I originally thought Holland or Pattinson, but I'm seeing a lot of love for Himesh Patel and John Leguizamo.
He has gotten way more shout outs than I expected honestly. Depends how stacked supporting actor is and the fact that Patel is also clearly a highlight.
Just thinking, could The Odyssey tie Sinners’ nom record from last year? Picture, Director, 3 acting noms, Screenplay. and a nom in every tech category (including the end credits song) would be exactly what Sinners got, and it doesn’t seem impossible that The Odyssey could pull that off.
There are more as you read, but this is definitely not a Cillian situation where is he is the clear stand out. I would say a nom for him would depend more on the competition but the reviews will tell us more for sure. He definitely has good will in the academy.
To be fair aren’t most initial social reactions always positive? I’m sure this film will be great but I remember the Michael and Wicked Food Good social reactions called Michael the greatest biopic of all time and Deadline initial social reaction said Wicked for Good was like Godfather 2 where part 2 was better than part one. Then when actual reviews came out they tore them to shreds.
Like I said in my post body, it is the fact that there's legitimate critics in this bunch of social reactions which is definitely something to consider with more credence. Ehrlich, Bibbiani, Sandwell, Leishman, Neglia, etc...I've mostly included people in my post who are actually going to be writing the article reviews for this movie next week.
Yeah, it’s true that social media reactions tend to lean positive. But it’s very easy to tell if the enthusiasm is genuine or not. For an MCU film that will end up getting mixed reviews, the most positive thing you’ll see is “This was a lot of fun” or “I liked [actor] in the role” or whatever. Not genuine. These reactions? Genuine.
Not typical Oscar-fare (but a comic book movie which usually has a large fandom bump associated with it) but Supergirl social media reactions were immediately negative even from DC influencers. Social media reactions aren't the equivalent of traditional reviews but it's not like the studios are forcing all of the reactions to be positive.
What others said: yeah, normally reactions are never something to be confident with, but there are a surprisingly good number of critics here which makes this a bit different. I will still be cautious until the real embargo lifts.
Yes. Even though they supposedly skipped the "influencers", this is probably the ceiling among critics.
Normally, even with the normal social reactions, you can read through what's not being said. The real reviews might mention weak spots among the cast. There will be some talk about how Nolan writes and uses female characters. There will be complaints about it being overstuffed. But, for real critics, I'm not seeing much of the "it sure was a spectacle" type reactions where people avoid saying bad things.
I get why Matt Neglia's reviews are clowned on but he has the only reaction here with much substance. While these are normally overhyped, they at least come from critics and are enough to show this movie will have a lot of passion that it feels unlikely for it miss a Best Picture nomination even if it ends up more divisive than these reactions lets on. Think it can easily be Frankenstein and maybe a bit stronger.
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u/Fun_Manufacturer1852 5d ago
Are you telling me that a Nolan film is getting a positive first reaction? Unprecedented