Oppenheimer Review

*It’s a true story

IMDB Synopsis

During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

“Amateurs seek the sun. Get eaten. Power stays in the shadows.”

Finally, finally I am writing again. I took a long break because I had a child (I know congrats on the sex) and when you have a child it is very hard to get to the theater to see new movies. But, Christopher Nolan (The God) brought me back to the theater during COVID for TENET and now he brought me back to the theater for OPPENHEIMER.

I love History, I love learning about it because you can try and maybe put yourself in those situations and try and decide if you would have made the same decisions as some of these historical figures made. Of course, with the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer that is amplified to the nth degree. He enabled President Truman to make arguably the most important decision in history, not knowing if it would destroy the earth, to drop a nuclear bomb on two cities in Japan. Would I have been able to make those decisions? Would you have been able to make those decisions? This is really what is at the heart of this incredible story.

Like all Nolan movies, he plays with time again here, really having three separate timelines we are following in Oppenheimer’s life. The first 2 hours of the movie mostly deals with the young Oppenheimer and his journey to creating his team in Los Alamos and how they created the Bomb. The last hour deals with the fallout with his security clearance and the confirmation hearing for Lewis Strauss trying to become a cabinet member. So in a sense it is a biopic but it is very Nolanfied, if that makes sense.

In a technical sense the movie is masterful. Nolan and his DP Hoyte Van Hoytema filmed this movie with IMAX cameras mostly and is noted as the first person to shoot black and white in IMAX. Of course, it looks and feels spectacular, but it also immerses you in the story way more than if it was just filmed in a normal classic way. The score though by Ludwig Goransson steals the show for me. It is so intense and so pulsating that it makes scenes with two guys sitting in a room talking, feel like action scenes. I just remain so impressed every single time Ludwig puts out a unique score with every new entry into his resume, nothing feels the same at all.

Stock Watch

Stock Up – Cillian Murphy

His stock has been high for like a decade at this point, but this feels like the moment he really goes to the next level. He is so stunning in every frame of this movie that he completely disappears in the role. I really think this launches him into the Bale, Driver zone and he is one of our number one movie stars in the world now.

Stock Neutral – Christopher Nolan

I know you will be shocked by me saying this, but he is still a God.

Stock Neutral – Robert Downey Jr.

I would say this is his first major role since the MCU, Dolittle notwithstanding. He mostly is in scenes that are in black and white, but he shows the chops that made him one of the most exciting actors in the world in the 90’s and early 2000’s. His character is revealed more and more throughout the movie, but I felt like he has a chance at a best supporting Oscar with his performance.

Stock Neutral – Matt Damon

I mean at this point for me he can really do no wrong. I assume he will be taking a break from acting based on his recent comments, but whatever he wants to do when he is back, I am in.

Stock Neutral – Emily Blunt

She has a signature moment but I do not think she has a big enough part to really move the needle in this one.

Who’s That Guy/Gal?

This movie literally has maybe every actor alive (kind of a joke but not really) in this movie so I will just run them down here for you. All of them get incredible moments and every time someone new comes on screen you just cannot believe how many people are in this movie that you know.

Rami Malek (BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY)
Gary Oldman (DARKEST HOUR)
Benny Safdie (UNCUT GEMS)
Josh Hartnett (40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS)
Josh Peck (DRAKE & JOSH)
Jack Quaid (THE BOYS)
David Krumholtz (SANTA CLAUSE)
Alden Ehrenreich (HAN SOLO)
Matthew Modine (VISION QUEST)
Jason Clarke (JERRY WEST)
Tony Goldwyn (TARZAN)
Michael Angarano (SKY HIGH)
Casey Affleck (MANCHESTER BY THE SEA)
Gustaf Skarsgård (THE THIRD SKARSGARD BROTHER)
Kenneth Branagh (MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS)
Alex Wolff (JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE)

*A couple other tidbits

The actual trinity test scene is truly breath taking
The movie is three hours but truly flies by because of the incredible pacing

What can you say other than this is yet another gem from The God Christopher Nolan. Everything he touches turns to gold, because, of course he has incredible talent, he just cares so much about every single from of his stories. You can see it oozing out of the screen and it makes you never want to take your eyes off it. Oppenheimer was a complicated figure, but Nolan is able to humanize him and make the audience look at the world in a different way. Not many people can do that.

Juice Rating: