Let’s get this out of the way: I loved The Odyssey. The new Christopher Nolan film, which finally hits the 2026 movie schedule this weekend, isn't perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed the full three-hour runtime of the epic. I applaud the technical achievements made by Nolan and the crew. However, there was one thing that completely pulled me out of the movie, and that was the Automatic Dialogue Replacement (ADR) in some scenes. I noticed it multiple times in the movie, and I know why it was necessary, but I need to make note of it. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)Penelope And Telemachus On The BalconyI first noticed it early in the movie in a scene between Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and Telemachus (Tom Holland). They are standing on the balcony of their castle, overlooking Ithaca, and Hathaway’s dialogue is clearly overdubbed. It completely distracted me for the whole scene. If you’re not familiar with the term, ADR is when actors overdub their lines in post-production because the on-set microphones don’t pick up the dialogue clearly due to any number of circumstances. There are probably a couple of things at work in this scene that required the ADR from Hathaway. IMAX cameras are notorious for being loud and can be problematic when trying to pick up sound. Nolan and company mitigated this problem somewhat with a custom-built soundproof box for their cameras when filming the movie, but that could still be part of the issue. The other is a simpler explanation: it was windy on the wall overlooking the island. My guess is that it was a combination of the two, and while ADR is very common in modern filmmaking, it doesn’t usually stand out as much as this did to me. The same was true a few other times in the movie.(Image credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Univesal Pictures)Overall, The Sound Quality Surprised MeI saw The Odyssey in IMAX, so theoretically, I was seeing and hearing the movie in the perfect format. However, I was a bit surprised by how all over the place the sound was in the movie. In addition to the dialogue issues, I was also taken aback by how loud some moments were. I’m a music fan, and I see a lot of concerts, so loud doesn’t usually bother me, but at least in my screening, the sound was louder than I’ve ever experienced in a movie. I’ve seen many movies in the same theater and never heard anything like this. At one point, my friend sitting next to me actually covered his ears. I can’t say whether this is due to the sound mixing in the movie or due to the theater I was sitting in, but it was LOUD to the point of being uncomfortable at times. Christopher Nolan movies are often controversial, but generally perfect when it comes to sound, so hearing both the ADR issues and the general volume of some of the action sequences wasn’t something I expected. Let me be clear: as I was in the beginning, I still love the movie, and I think everyone should experience it in an IMAX theater, or at least on the biggest screen they can find. It’s visually stunning, and sound aside, I don’t think it will be nearly the same on even a big TV at home. I hope Nolan goes big like this the next time he makes a movie.