Oppenheimer review

OPPENHEIMER: 

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN CRAFTS A POWERFUL AND HAUNTING REMINDER OF THE IMPACTS OF WAR AND DESTRUCTION! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer

 

            Writer-director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, Dunkirk) goes back to war in his new film Oppenheimer, a biopic based on the real-life story of J. Robert Oppenheimer AKA The Father of the Atomic Bomb. This marks Nolan’s first film to earn an R rating since 2002’s Insomnia and the first without any involvement from Warner Bros. since 2000’s Memento due to controversy surrounding the release of his last film, Tenet during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

            I love Christopher Nolan and think he’s a phenomenal filmmaker who really cares about both his craftsmanship and the art of cinema. He shoots all his movies on actual film, utilizes practical effects over CGI, and in Oppenheimer’s case not a single use of CGI is in the entire film which is astounding. 

            I was hyped for this movie as soon as I first saw the teaser trailer last year in front of Jordan Peele’s Nope and Nolan had already proven himself to be a brilliant war filmmaker with 2017’s Dunkirk which I claimed was his best film since The Dark Knight. So, I had very little doubt that this wouldn’t be a riveting cinematic experience and boy, Oppenheimer delivers. 

            This is a powerful and completely captivating 3-hour epic that makes the bold decision of not just being about the creation of the bomb, but rather the man who made it. And yes, it stands among Christopher Nolan’s best work. 

            The film is set during World War II and follows J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy-Red Eye, The Dark Knight trilogy, Peaky Blinders), a physicist tasked to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project under the order of Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. (Matt Damon-Bourne franchise, The Departed, Air). Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing the atomic bomb which comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion thus changing the course of history forever. 

            The film also stars Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau, Edge of Tomorrow, A Quiet Place 1 and 2) as Oppenheimer’s wife Katherine “Kitty”, Robert Downey Jr. (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2) as Lewis Strauss, and Florence Pugh (Little Women (2019), Black Widow, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) as Jean Tatlock. 

            Overall, Oppenheimer is an extraordinary cinematic achievement not just on a technical aspect, but on a storytelling one as well that demands to be seen on the largest screen possible with the best sound. This could have easily just been about the creation of the bomb, but what I love about it is that it is not the main focus of the story (It is an element of it, but that’s not what the entire film is about), the focus is always on the titular man himself, Oppenheimer, the events leading up to the bomb, the impact, and the aftermath which is a lot more compelling and fascinating than how the bomb was developed. 

            I was captivated by Oppenheimer’s character and a lot of that is because of Cillian Murphy’s incredible performance. This might be, hands-down the best I’ve ever seen Cillian Murphy in any film and what I especially love about his performance is that unlike some other Christopher Nolan protagonists, Murphy portrays his character like a real human being. 

            It helps that Murphy looks eerily similar to the real-life Oppenheimer and the resemblance between the two is surreal and not once did I feel like I was watching an actor play a real person, it’s a similar feeling I had when Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed Lincoln. Murphy is fully committed and gives a very endearing performance as a man who wanted to help the world and ended up making things worse, his emotions are flawlessly conveyed both vocally and through his spectacular eyes, I would be so angry if this man doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this. 

            There is only one other force in this movie just as powerful as Cillian Murphy and I don’t mean the bomb. I am, of course talking about Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss who is almost unrecognizable as this despicable naval officer and philanthropist like if Tony Stark never had a heart, it’s great to see Downey play an antagonist role again and the film has some of the best acting you’ll ever see from him whenever he’s onscreen. 

            The film is filled with a star-studded cast who make the best of their screen-time, Matt Damon is also excellent as the general who recruits Oppenheimer for the project and Emily Blunt gives a stellar performance as Oppenheimer’s wife that only lasts for a short amount of time. Others like Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, and Jason Clarke to name a few don’t have much time in the spotlight, but every one of them makes an impression with what they have and if I spend all this time listing and describing them all, this review is going to be longer than the actual movie. 

            Like any other Nolan film, the visual effects, production design, musical score, sound editing (and editing I general), and camera work are incredible and lead to phenomenal scenes that will stick with you long after the film ends. One of my favorite scenes is towards the end after the nuclear bomb goes on when Oppenheimer walks into a room filled with a crowd of people and if you’ve seen the movie, you already know what I’m talking about, but if you haven’t it’s one of the most brilliantly edited and haunting scenes, I had ever seen in any film that’s made even better on the IMAX screen. 

            Oppenheimer not only is the best IMAX/theater experience I had so far this year and not only is it one of Christopher Nolan’s best films, but it has dethroned Barbie in a day as the second-best film I’ve seen in 2023. It’s an incredible experience with a powerful story, captivating characters, and a 3-hour runtime that does not feel like 3 hours, I was invested, exhilarated, and on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. 

            Whether you’re seeing it in IMAX, 70mm, 35mm, Barbenheimer double-feature with Barbie, or just a normal theater, this is something that must be seen on a large screen and ONLY on a large screen. If you are watching this on streaming or on DVD then you are doing cinema wrong.