REVIEW #304 Oppenheimer (2023)

During World War 2, the United States Military hire Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, to build the first atomic bomb. Tasked with completing it before the Nazis and put an end to the war.

Oppenheimer is yet another hit from director Christopher Nolan who has created a captivating biopic surrounding the biggest turning point in modern warfare. This is by no means glorifying the atomic bomb and its destruction, actually it’s quite the opposite. The movie highlights the horror whilst also presenting the moral standing points for both sides of the debate, before finally leaving the audience with the notion that this weaponry is likely to be the end of humanity. Cillian Murphy puts himself into Oscar contention with a brilliant performance, if you didn’t appreciate or realise his talent before Oppenheimer, you certainly will now. Murphy wasn’t the only showcase performance either, with the likes of Robert Downey Jnr and Emily Blunt delivering memorable performances too. The sheer amount of talent in this cast is incredible, with big names appearing left right and centre, even in the smallest of roles!

Nolan’s ability to utilise practical effects, with intricate storytelling is second to none and the way he pieced this movie together is nothing short of spectacular. You then throw in contributions from cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and composer Ludwig Goransson and the entire film just became this cinematic experience that was great to witness! 

There’s no real criticisms for Oppenheimer from me, I loved it and I do believe it was a story deserving of the Hollywood treatment, especially presented in the way it is. As a person who loves long films, the three hour run time was a welcome sight, however for a person who struggles with that length, I can see why perhaps they could believe that the film was a little slow and a little too long. It’s a fair criticism if that’s your preference, but if you’re like me and appreciate the longer films then you won’t be bored in the slightest for the full film. It’s one to witness in the theatres, so get out to watch it if you can and by the looks of it, most people are, which is great to see! The barbenheimer movement is really unique time for cinema, which is great for the industry. Especially for Oppenheimer because although Nolan and the cast are household names, an R rated biopic might not usually attract the kind of attention that it has right now, so hopefully it’ll expand audiences tastes and studios will back more and more movies like this. 

Overall (9.2/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan