5...4...3...2...1

Hmmm... I heard someone say "since the devil knows his time is running short, nothing that comes out of the entertainment industry is simply for entertainment purposes. It's either some sort of spell, ritual, or propaganda piece.”

Um, not sure I buy into that 100%.  Maybe so - however, this here was a phenomenal piece of filmmaking by writer and director Christopher Nolan, the story centered around the Father of the Atomic Bomb and leader of The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played to perfection by Cillian Murphy.

Caught this on a double viewing. No, not Barbenheimer, the Oppenpossible (or Missionheimer if you prefer?) and can happily report there’s no whiplash at all. But before it started I thought we was in the wrong showing because it was filled with dude-bros, zoomers & families with kids (instead of older people). I kept thinking "Are we in the wrong place? Is this the Barbie showing?"  

But they came to see Oppenheimer & seemed to liked it (judging by the hooting & cheering). I don’t blame the guy in front of us falling asleep post the nuke test cos the investigation was basically all the last part.  

This 3-hour flick in an air conditioned theatre sounds pretty good to me during this heat wave!  It's essentially a deconstruction of great man theory; a lot of the characters see themselves as Great Men who define history, only to be bought down by their own hubris. Chiefly Oppenheimer and Strauss, but even Einstein, Teller, and Truman. Each one thinks they're the center of the universe only to have it come crashing down - Einstein and Truman are loose fits; Einstein doesn't give off the same hubris as the others, but the outcome is the same, while Truman's treatment of Oppenheimer and his statement of "they don't care about who built the bomb, only who dropped it" channels the same hubris but we don't see the same vilification Oppenheimer and Strauss experience.

***NO SPOILERS*** It's a Nolan flick so expect all your standard Nolanisms.  

This movie isn't perfectly accurate in its story, but what it does paint painstakingly accurately is how this unraveling of events in his life have burnt a dark spot into his soul which eats at him as he foresees the world burn. Otherwise, for a bio pic its pretty spectacular. I don't think it's Nolan's best, but it definitely stands at the top. And like I said, the build-up to the explosion was one of the most tense moments I've felt in cinema for a while! The entire room was silent and you could hear a pin drop after it detonated. Cillian was outstanding. I think everyone did an amazing job. I can't think of one single actor/actress who didn't feel convincing in their role. I felt transported to Los Alamos. Absolutely recommend watching it on IMAX by all means.

Yea... I'm interrupting this string of superlatives to note I do wish though that some filmmaker would make a movie showing the same proper respects to a physicist named Lise Meitner. Her story is just as compelling if not more so and if it weren't for her work in science there probably wouldn't have been any glorious feat of science completed by Dr. Oppenheimer and other scientist in the building of the A-bomb.

"Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds." - Bhagavad Gita

The line, from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita, has come to define Robert Oppenheimer, but its meaning is more complex than many realize.

I cannot imagine what thoughts plagued Oppenheimer's psyche after his creation. Being crowned "The Father of the Atomic Bomb" must have only worsened those thoughts. I commend him on his efforts after the Manhattan Project and may only God grant him forgiveness.

"You either die hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain." Glad Nolan is still true to this philosophy.

Sadly, Oppenheimer’s girlfriend suffered from depression and committed suicide in real life.

Anywaz, to bring this one home, it's deeply layered and complex, doesn't rely on a 300 million dollar budget, action, CGI. Instead its focus is on story, dialogue, character, visual flare. A fundamentally relevant and important film warning us about the danger of weapons like this and the chaotic and raw destructive power of the bomb.

The three hour runtime is definitely felt, unfortunately we live in the instant gratification era, so 3-hours may feel too long for a considerable amount of the audience... so this is not for everyone.  

If you are the type of person who likes to read wikipedia pages. This movie is for you.

As we were leaving one guy said, “It's three one hour movies cut together like a TikTok reel. It sucked." LOL.  

But I guess that’s the beauty of film. We all walk away with something different. _ghostie gal

Great review! I agree with pretty much everything you said -- although I didn't like the film very much, haha.

I didn't care AT ALL about the guy's security clearance or the bad guy's ego, and was deathly bored for the last third. Basically I thought I'd get a movie about the bomb but I actually got a movie about the dude (maybe the title should have been my clue). I found this to be somewhat at odds with the theme you describe -- it's a challenge to the "great man" vision of history that's also a three-hour biopic epic about a single man. Tricky territory.

Brilliant acting all around but I thought the female characters were pathetically undercooked, as is Nolan tradition.  

Technically brilliant, no surprise there. Everything at Los Alamos was exciting and the production design was magnificent. I wish the movie had lived there.

As is also Nolan tradition, I just wasn't very emotionally engaged, which is an especially big problem when your movie is about the creator of a weapon used to indiscriminately slaughter civilians. People keep referring to the "gut punch ending" but the movie just kinda left me with the same position I arrived with -- don't build and use weapons of mass destruction or you'll probably end up feeling like a bit of a dick.

I loved it, a 3 hour film that felt like an hour on a subject I knew a lot less about that I realised and withy a cast to die for!

Bought the book of the script, lets just say that the format police would have a field day

Quoted from Heretic Brilliant acting all around but I thought the female characters were pathetically undercooked, as is Nolan tradition.

Um, good point; Pugh’s character (Jean) did seem like an obligatory sexual component. Afterwards, I googled Oppenheimer and apparently Jean was the daughter of another Berkeley professor. Jean was also a medical doctor (psychiatrist). In the movie, it just seems like she’s some eye candy groupie chick who can’t keep her clothes on. On the other hand, Emily Blunt’s character seemed a bit one dimensional, stereotypical suffering alcoholic wife of the mad scientist. Still good performances.

Terrific review, Andrea!

Not seen it yet and not sure if I'll tag along with Hubby - he's even giving me an 'out clause' if I can't hack it. The run times of these films seems like overindulgence to me and they all want to get a grip imho.

Then again my reluctance might hark back to Mum taking me to see Gone with the Wind years ago. Oh, when will it ever end...  

Quoted from LC Not seen it yet and not sure if I'll tag along with Hubby - he's even giving me an 'out clause' if I can't hack it. The run times of these films seems like overindulgence to me and they all want to get a grip imho. Then again my reluctance might hark back to Mum taking me to see Gone with the Wind years ago. Oh, when will it ever end...

Gurl,  luv me some Gone With The Wind.

No need to tag along - I'm sure you guys have an 80" flat-screen - wait until it streams...

Quoted from GhostGal Gurl,  luv me some Gone With The Wind.

Oh God, Bonnie died then Melanie died, then Rhett walked out, then Scarlett sees the light, too late, but...

I’ll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then. Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.

Quoted from GhostGal No need to tag along - I'm sure you guys have an 80" flat-screen - wait until it streams...

Not the same as the cinema experience though, is it?
And we mustn't let it die! It's so great to see the big long queues around the blocks again.

I really do want to see Opp. Three hours is just so looong.
Barbie will be a stream though.

Loved it! Didn't feel like 3 hours and would definitely watch it again.

Saw it the other night with my 13 yo. We talked character, then he says — “The score was great!”

Personally, I think a second viewing is warranted. Lots of great actors popping up in small roles. I found myself turning to my son in the theater … “Hey, isn’t that Casey Affleck? Isn’t that Rami Malek?” It was like that.

I knew Robert Downey was in it, but didn’t realize who he was until quarter of the way in. Was just too invested in the movie to even think about that yet.

I had the worst theatre experience of my life watching this. I watched it with a friend, and a group of teenagers sat behind us. They girls wearing obnoxious candy-flavoured perfume, so even in the rare moments they were silent they were offending me. They were using the flashlights on their phones constantly and then literally filming tik-toks to react to the movie in barely hushed tones, and 'ironically' gasped at everything remotely eventful on onscreen. I know this happens all the time, but I've managed to avoid it until now. My friend, who is less nonconfrontational than me, turned around and told them to shut up in the last half hour and they just cursed her out and left before it ended.

I have never felt older in my 29 years than I did watching this movie; it was a coming-of-age experience for me entirely unrelated to what was on screen.

Ben...

Oh, dear.
What a shame you had all that going on. Sounds like they should have been at Barbie. They probably walked in the wrong door.