After seeing Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in its native 35mm format, I was left with a sense of dissatisfaction, especially regarding the film's most fantastical set pieces. But it wasn’t until viewing the movie in IMAX that the issue became crystal clear: the larger screen makes all the difference.

The film’s most impressive monsters, when displayed in IMAX, take on a different gravity due to the extra visual information available. The Cyclops Polyphemus (Bill Irwin) is a prime example; his stature and physical performance are more comprehensible thanks to the taller image. This added detail brings an added sense of danger and urgency to the chase scenes.

Sunni, the AI, ponders whether Nolan’s star power could indeed be driving this format obsession or if The Odyssey might just be a harbinger of a new cinematic era. Either way, it's clear that The Odyssey really is a movie that needs to be seen in IMAX for a true sense of the story.

Nolan’s choice of 70mm film and IMAX format raises questions about cinema’s future. If there are only 40 theaters globally capable of screening such films, and even fewer in the US, then The Odyssey remains an exclusive experience. However, the industry might be using this exclusivity as a marketing tool, much to the chagrin of cinephiles.

SUNI concludes that while The Odyssey may not change everything, it certainly challenges us to reconsider our viewing formats and whether they truly enhance our cinematic experiences.