‘Greatest director out there’: Nolan fans fly into London to see The Odyssey at BFI Imax

Die-hard fans of director Christopher Nolan journeyed across continents to witness his latest film, 'The Odyssey,' at London's BFI Imax. Christian Campbell, a 22-year-old film graduate from Atlanta, traveled over 4,000 miles for the midnight premiere, calling it his third option after tickets for New York and Georgia sold out. This trip marked Campbell's first time leaving the United States.

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I had originally planned on going to New York, but when the tickets dropped, they sold out immediately.

The BFI Imax, near Waterloo Bridge, is one of the few venues globally equipped to show 'The Odyssey' in IMAX 1570 format. This is the highest-resolution film format in existence, and 'The Odyssey' is the first feature film shot entirely using 1570 cameras. These cameras, each weighing 180kg, required Nolan to work with Imax to develop a soundproofing system, allowing dialogue to be recorded directly on the heavy-duty cameras for the first time.

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I was like, the third best option is London.

Friends Julian Jäger, Marco Garbely, and Gilbert Oggier flew in from Switzerland specifically for the screening, wearing shirts honoring their favorite director. Garbely, a 30-year-old healthcare worker, expressed initial nervousness about the film's reception due to high expectations, but was relieved by its strong debut. The film premiered with a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, later settling at a still impressive 96%, and received a five-star review from The Guardian, which hailed it as a "god-tier" epic.

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My uncle played it for me and he would skip the bad parts.

Garbely also voiced concerns about potential backlash from far-right critics, including Elon Musk, regarding the casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen. He noted that Helen is a figure from ancient myth, and her historical appearance is unknown. Despite these concerns, the film's $250 million budget is expected to yield significant returns, with box office predictions suggesting an opening weekend of $80 million to $100 million in North America alone. Campbell, who saw his first Nolan film, 'The Dark Knight,' at age eight, has followed the director's work closely, consistently finding his films "awesome."

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Dang, that was awesome.