by Experiencing 4DX for the First Time
I’ve been looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s new epic The Odyssey for quite some time now. This past winter I read through Homer’s Iliad and followed it up with The Odyssey. It was a cold winter here in New York, so I buckled down and read through these epics and completely fell in love with them. I never read these books in school, vaguely knew what they were about, and had watched the 2004 film Troy countless times growing up. We have Troy, but after reading The Odyssey I couldn’t help but wonder how, besides the decades-old TV miniseries and the 1954 Ulysses, there has never really been a quintessential big-screen adaptation of The Odyssey
Well, after 3,000 years of Homer’s poems existing, and cinema existing for about 130 years, we finally have the classic Greek mythology tale up on the big screen right here and now in 2026.
Me and a couple of my longtime buddies have a longtime tradition of going to the movies on Discount Tuesdays. Rarely—and I mean very rarely—do we ever go to the movies on any other day of the week. We call movies that aren’t playing on Tuesdays “Premium Flickies.” After the release of The Odyssey this past Friday, we thought we could hold out until Tuesday, but by Friday evening we started mobilizing to go see The Odyssey that very night on opening weekend.
The nearest IMAX theaters to me are in New Rochelle and at Lincoln Center. I had a gut feeling all of them were going to be sold out, and I was right. Lincoln Center IMAX is sold out till August. Regal New Roc IMAX and RPX were completely sold out, maybe with the exception of the front row. There were some standard showings open for the three of us, but I didn’t want to pay Premium Flickies prices for a film like this and then watch it on a standard screen. There was one more option though: a 10:30 PM showing of The Odyssey in 4DX.
Aside from some amusement park 4D experiences, I had never watched a full motion picture in 4DX in an actual movie theater. I knew it had been around for a while, especially at Regal theaters, but I never went out of my way to try it because I always suspected the effects might be too cheap, distracting, or gimmicky.
The decision had to be made on whether we were going to the movies or not. Thirty dollars for a ticket isn’t just Premium Flickies, it’s ULTRA Premium Flickies. A film doesn’t always justify a Tuesday admission, let alone a Premium Flick admission, and especially not an ULTRA Premium Flick 4DX admission.
But we decided to roll with it. The movie magic was in the air, and the stars were aligned with three perfect seats right in the middle row, with nobody sitting beside us for a 10:30 PM showing.
I got a nice workout and pump beforehand because, for a movie like The Odyssey, it’s only right to get some blood pumping in the arms and chest before viewing, and then I picked my friends up at 9 PM and we headed to Regal New Roc.
I was a bit hungry since I hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner, so I grabbed a couple of slices of pizza before the movie. When we sat down in the theater, I was a bit skeptical about how comfortable the seats were going to be, but I hoped it’d be alright. Then the second half of the trailers played and the 4DX effects kicked in. Me and my buddies couldn’t stop laughing.
The chairs rocking back and forth, water squirting in our face, little drops falling from the ceiling, bursts of air shooting at our ears from the back of the seat. It was so unusual and so goddamn funny.
For years we’re used to sitting in a movie theater where the chairs stay in one position and we just watch the movie. But this time, it felt like the theater itself came alive. The chairs, the ceiling, the wind, the water—everything became part of the experience. It was something me and my buddies had never experienced together before.
To be honest though, I wasn’t used to it at first. I had just eaten two slices of pizza and had a couple of drinks, and during the trailers, where they always show the most action-packed scenes from upcoming movies, the seats were already throwing us around. It started to get a little unpleasant. I began feeling a bit of motion sickness, and I honestly started wondering if we had made the right decision. Was this whole 4DX thing going to ruin my experience of The Odyssey?
Good thing we didn’t bring any popcorn. We almost did, but the concession lines were long, we weren’t that hungry anyway, and we just snuck a couple of snacks into our pockets instead. Looking back, that popcorn would’ve been flying all over the place. I don’t know how some people came to the showing with trays of food and hot dogs.
But then the trailers ended.
I was still a little skeptical about how this was all going to work out, but once the movie started, everything changed. To be honest, it ended up being one of the most fun and immersive movie experiences me and my buddies have had in quite a while.
During the shipwreck scenes, we were laughing and grabbing onto each other. We genuinely felt like we were part of Odysseus’ crew while Poseidon was crashing down on us. During the quieter moments, when the ship was sailing across the sea or the crew was passing through the mountains, a cool gust of wind would blow through the theater, and it felt very refreshing.
I honestly don’t know what movie would’ve been better to experience 4DX for the first time than The Odyssey.
Whoever worked on this 4DX presentation did an amazing job. The water, the chair movements, the wind, the little pokes in the back, the lightning, the fog—everything was lined up perfectly with what was happening on screen. Somewhere, a whole team of people had to sit down and sync every single effect with the movie, and they absolutely nailed it.
After about twenty or thirty minutes, I was completely immersed. I just sank into my seat and let the movie take me along for the ride with my friends.
I’m really happy we decided to go with the 4DX showing because it completely defied my expectations. Going in, I honestly thought I’d probably be disappointed with the effects and would just have to overlook them the best I can. Instead, the 4DX experience became part of what made the night so memorable.
If you have the chance to see The Odyssey in 4DX, I’d definitely recommend it. If you can get tickets for IMAX 70mm, I still think that’s probably the first choice, and I’ll definitely be making the trip down to Lincoln Center to see it that way too whenever a spot opens up. But 4DX is its own animal. For a movie like this, I honestly think it was the perfect fit.
My first 4DX experience was fun, thrilling, and way better than I expected. I don’t know when the next time I’ll watch a movie in 4DX will be, but I’ll definitely keep it in mind as an option for future summer blockbusters and big action-adventure movies.
