It’s July 18th on the day that I saw Oppenheimer and starting writing this review. That was the day that The Dark Knight came out back in 2008 and exactly 15 years ago on that day (Can’t believe it’s already been that long!). It was during that weekend which also saw the release of Mamma Mia!, directed by Phyllida Lloyda, a movie that was by design entirely different than that of the dark and gritty Batman movie that would change comic book movies for better and worse (mostly worse) for the next 15 years ago. Yet, here we are again in 2023 where we see another flick made by the Nolanminer himself (I promise that’s the only time I’ll use that term) releasing on the same weekend as another flick made by a female director which by design is suppose to be a much different movie tonally and likely aiming for an entirely different demographic.
I bring all of this up is because it’s always nice whenever you have two big movies opening together that is of high quality, completely different from one another, and is able to appease the kind of audience they are going for. (I haven’t seen Barbie at the time of this writing but if the early stellar reviews are any indication, we’ve hit another jackpot.) It’s weeks such as the upcoming one with the Barbieheimer are ones that are greatly needed for theaters to keep going strong. Just constantly giving mainstream audiences reasons to want to see a movie that is suppose to be seen for the big screen instead of just waiting another two to three months to show on their favorite streaming service. I know studios don’t like to release big movies on the same weekend because of how badly it could affect the box office during the opening weekend but the fact that Universal and Warner Brothers committed to releasing their highly anticipated films in the same weekend is something I greatly admire.
As for Oppenheimer itself, it’s once again another masterfully made and perfectly directed film by the great Christopher Nolan himself. It’s able to tell exactly the kind of sprawling epic story that it aspires to be by acting as a character study first and a biopic second. Every single member of it’s highly recognizable cast is able to completely disappear into their roles and captured their performances perfectly, it does a good job of exploring the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer as not just “the destroyer of worlds” but as an impactful man himself, the three hour runtime is put to good use, and even the sound mixing is actually quite good for once even if it can be a bit too loud. For just about everything that it sets out to do, Oppenheimer succeeds greatly.
Premise: Oppenheimer is a feature documentary based around the man of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). It explores how one man’s brilliance, hubris and relentless drive changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria, and how, subsequently, the same man’s attempts to co.
(I’m not gonna go to deep into the plot since this is an early review and also this is based off of a true story.)
Like with plenty of Nolan’s films, Oppenheimer is one that certainly leaves a lot to unpack. It’s during it’s 180-minute long runtime that it constantly moves along from scene to scenes and throws as much characters and dialogue exchanges at you as possible. With a lesser director at the helm, this could make for a very overwhelming and even unsatisfying experience. Once again, Christopher Nolan is able to work his magic and skills behind the camera to make it all work and have it fire on all possible cylinders.
As I stated near the beginning of the review, the movie feels like a character study first and a biopic second. The documentary aspects are still there and (likely) completely faithful to the true story it’s adapting but it makes sure to make Oppenheimer stand out in a compelling way that feels justified in spending three hours with him. The film does a good job of going into great details of who J. Robert Oppenheimer is, where he came from, why he got to where he was, and how what he accomplishes was able to impact the world and himself mentally. Showing how not only creating the first nuclear weapons in the atomic bombs was able to make Oppenheimer the destroyer of worlds but how it might’ve destroyed himself in the process.
It’s not necessarily in the sense that the film tries to go the whole “good man turn evil” thing like some have claimed but it’s more of how the very desire one has in accomplishing their goals can get the better of them and those connected to him. Whether that person is good or bad, the ambition with what they are trying to can bring the death and destruction of themselves and others. The story of Oppenheimer is always one that met those metrics as one man’s mistakes lead to dire consequences for everyone else. This is always interesting subject matter to tap into and Nolan is able to make the ideas he has with this work in the best ways possible.
Of course, we have to talk about the cast here. This might have the most celebrity-heavy cast I’ve ever seen for a movie that was not directed by Denis Villeneuve or Rian Johnson. There is so much talent in front of the camera that it could easily come across as a distraction. As if the director doesn’t have faith in the film itself and has to bring in as many big names as possible to get people’s interest in it. However, not only is it not a distraction in the slightest, every single notable cast member is able to fit their roles perfectly and feel exactly like the characters they are suppose to play.
The man leading the charge is that of Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer himself. This is easily the best performance Murphy has ever given and is basically the first Christopher Nolan film which he is able to stand out as being among the film’s absolute highlights as oppose to an afterthought. He’s able to capture every single aspect of the man that J. Robert Oppenheimer was and never just feels like some actor playing him. He’s engaging and mesmerizing in about every scene he’s in, perfectly conveying every emotion he has to and will likely have an Oscar nomination come the next time the Academy will actually be able to host the Oscars. Some of the standouts scenes with him include the drama he deals with his personal life, the detonation of the atomic bomb, the aftermath of it, and ESPECIALLY the final sequence of the film. Even if the film didn’t have an all-star supporting cast, Cillian Murphy would be able to carry the whole thing perfectly on his back with no help needed.
However, there is a fact an all-star supporting cast and every single one of them are equally flawless in their roles. To go through every single notable actor or actress would take an eternity but the two main ones that stand out the best is Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer. Robert Downey Jr. is extraordinary as Strauss, completely escaping the mindset of just being an elderly Tony Stark and able to fit the role flawlessly as being as the chairman of the AEC. He has great chemistry with Alden Ehrenreich when the two appear on screen, is an absolute delight to watch on screen, and will certainly bein in the running for a well deserved Oscar nomination. Emily Blunt is also able to stand out greatly as Kitty Oppenheimer with at least two scenes that seems solely design to give her an Oscar nomination as well. Florence Pugh is also a great standout early on as Jean Talock, even if she is a part of the scenes that likely gave this film it’s R-rating. The entire cast is brilliant over all and it’s to the true strength of Christopher Nolan as a director that he was able to use their talents to perfection without it ever taking you out of the movie.
From a technical standpoint, this could very well be the very best from Nolan to date. The craftsmanship is on full display without anything going to complete waste and everything feeling completely real no matter how you may spin it. The cinematography is spot-on and is able to capture the era that this move is set in incredibly well. The sound design is effective, especially during the sequences involving the atomic bomb. The editing will likely get plenty of awards as it’s able to beautifully translate from scene to scene without much confusion. And thank goodness for once that I was able to completely hear ever bit of dialogue that the characters were saying without unnecessarily added music getting in the way. Finally, although it is weird to have a Christopher Nolan movie without Han Zimmer’s presence, Ludwig Goransson is still able to provide great work here with his score that is able to capture the tone and the mood of the film perfectly. It’s so refreshing in a summer filled with blockbusters that cost so much money to make yet so little of it is shown on the big screen that we got to see what a true cinema is suppose to look like with a hundred million dollar budget.
When it comes from a cinematic perspective, Oppenheimer is basically perfect at everything it sets out to do. So much so that the only flaws you can poke at it are mostly minor little details that I didn’t even really think about until I had to come up with some negatives. First off, there are times during the scenes involving the atomic bomb or Oppenheimer’s PTSD that it feels too loud. Thankfully, they don’t come during parts of the film where you are suppose to hear what the characters are saying but for those with hearing problems or troubled ears, you might want to bring some earplugs with you. There are also some odd directional choices made, particularly with nearly every scene with Downey Jr.’s Strauss being completely in noir while the rest of the film is in full color. None of those are enough to bring the film down in the slightest but I do feel those things are worth addressing, especially in regards to how loud this film can get.
Oppenheimer is yet another marvelous addition to the filmography of Christopher Nolan. It’s able to tell the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer in an interesting way that will delight those that known the history and possibly even intrigue those that don’t know the history. It’s beautifully made, the entire cast is perfection, the three hour runtime is used very well without any scene being wasted, every single penny of the budget is put to good use, and is able to add the notion of how important the overall theatrical experience is along with why theaters still serve a purpose. I’m not quite sure where I ranked it among Nolan’s other films (I will have a ranking very soon!) but this is certainly one of the very best, most well made and expertly crafted films the man has ever made. As someone who didn’t care for Tenet and was lukewarm at best on Dunkirk, it’s so nice to see Nolan return to stellar form and prove once again why he’s one of the greatest directors working today!
Better watch out Across the Spider-Verse! You might have some competition for best film of 2023!
Other comments:
- I was considering having the subtitle of this review: Nolan Drops a Bomb of a Movie but that would honestly be quite a dishonest take on the movie.
- Btw, there is no action in this movie to speak of. Despite this being about a man’s actions during the war, there are no actual war scenes in it. There’s only one main sequence with the atomic bomb along with only a few other scenes with it acting as hallucination sequences. This might seem obvious to some but for those unaware, just don’t expect a movie like Dunkirk and be more in for a thriller like Bridge of Spies.
- We also need to have a discussion one day of Bridge of Spies being one of Spielberg’s criminally underrated/overlooked films. It’s just great!
- It’s cool to not only see Josh Peck in big movies but also that his character is the one that gets to activate the bomb.
- I sure can’t wait to hear stories about high school teachers showing their students this film during history class and how it took literally weeks to finish the whole thing!
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