The Odyssey Hits Theaters Tomorrow with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes

But oh, were there some pies thrown on the way!

Christopher Nolan on the set of The Odyssey. Courtesy of SYNCOPY.

Well, the reviewers have all seen the film now — and later today in some places, theaters will start pre-opening screenings, and then tomorrow, wide release will begin. Critics have given this film one of the highest ratings ever: a 98 on Rotten Tomatoes, with glowing reviews in every major news outlet in the world.

And this, after barrages of racist screed from white supremacists—Elon Musk chief among them—and a solid smearing from the comments sections attached to the trailers on YouTube.

But first, lets hear from the guy who thinks that white people from South Africa need protect migrant status—or, lets keep those white breeders coming to our fair shores!! We wrote about it here:

The Most Hilarious Comments Section — EVER!

Attendant to the final trailer release, these comments did not portend a great love of the film.

• I paid nothing to see this trailer and I already want my money back

• First time I’ve ever walked out of a trailer

• There is more Greek in the yogurt in my fridge than in this movie

• I would never imagine that I would enjoy the comments more than the trailer

• The Odyssey : San Andreas

• I’m surprised they forgot the rap music

• It’s like one of those 2006 funny parodies but without the fun.

• Peak Hollywood Garbadge

• The face that left a thousand seats

• “The loser keeps Helen.”

• We should be paid to see this trailer

• The Odyssey: Downtown LA edition.

• How to spit in the face of one of the greatest epic stories of all times.

• I just found out that Homer is a rapper, history lied to us!!

• I’m sure Homer himself would enjoy the movie. He was blind.

• Hollywood owes Greece an apology.

• “Yo daddy ain’t comin’ home boy!” Homer, 725 BC.

• “If they played this on a plane I would still walk out.”

• As of July 15, 84k like to 795k dislike = WILD

• “THIS IS AMERICA” screamed Leonidas before throwing himself into the pit.

• This makes Meet the Spartans look like a documentary

• GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

• I never thought I would see the day when a movie about Greek mythology would come out and I wouldn’t want to see it

• Odyssey : From the hoods of Chicago

• Where’s Kratos when you need him......

• “The gods can eat my shorts”, said Bart son of Homer. - The Odyssey (2026)

• Now we just need Pedro Pascal as Aphrodite.

• Nolan lived long enough to see himself become the villain

• “Official countdown” Is that a threat?

• Nolan will soon discover that, in Greek thought, hubris never goes without consequences.

• The trailer that launched a thousand laughs.

• Nolan just said: hold my bud light

• ホメロスがこんなポリコレフルコースのオデュッセイア見たら墓から飛び出してくるな。

• The Audacity

• The face that launched a thousand refund requests.

And yet!!!!

As The Guardian summed up reviews:

“Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is a colossal origin-myth story of postwar disillusion and a loss of innocence witnessed by the dead,” wrote the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, ahead of the reviews embargo lifting next Wednesday and next Friday’s worldwide release.

And … IndieWire editor-at-large Anne Thompson called the film

… the best picture contender to beat, and added that Matt Damon “could win best actor”. “My high expectations were met,” she added, calling the film “stunningly mounted”.

Erik Davis called the film …

“an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of the great film-makers of our time. It feels like everything Nolan has been working toward with Imax has culminated here.” The film was shot entirely using large-format Imax film cameras, although it will also be screened in non-Imax cinemas. … [The\

“the action is breathtaking, and the scale is unlike anything [Nolan has] done before. What really surprised me is how much he embraces horror. Some of the film’s biggest moments are genuinely unsettling, adding a whole new dimension to his film-making while never losing sight of the humanity at the story’s core.”

See it.

Despite the snark on YouTube and Elon Musk’s nakedly racist diatribe, this treatment by Nolan is clearly first-rate.

AND there’s a reason why this story has not been “out of print” for 2,600 years!!!!!!! It is profoundly archetypal, and it is the quintessential example of the Hero’s Journey. More on that tomorrow!!

See ya ‘round the universe.