Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

---

Oppenheimer

• Rotten Tomatoes 96% (49 Reviews)
• Metacritic: 97 (7 Reviews)

---

Reviews:

The Hollywood Reporter:

his is a big, ballsy, serious-minded cinematic event of a type now virtually extinct from the studios. It fully embraces the contradictions of an intellectual giant who was also a deeply flawed man, his legacy complicated by his own ambivalence toward the breakthrough achievement that secured his place in the history books.

Variety:

“Oppenheimer” tacks on a trendy doomsday message about how the world was destroyed by nuclear weapons. But if Oppenheimer, in his way, made the bomb all about him, by that point it’s Nolan and his movie who are doing the same thing.

Deadline:

Oppenheimer is the most important motion picture of 2023, and maybe far beyond. Producers are Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.

IndieWire (B):

But it’s no great feat to rekindle our fear over the most abominable weapon ever designed by mankind, nor does that seem to be Nolan’s ultimate intention. Like “The Prestige” or “Interstellar” before it, “Oppenheimer” is a movie about the curse of being an emotional creature in a mathematical world. The difference here isn’t just the unparalleled scale of this movie’s tragedy, but also the unfamiliar sensation that Nolan himself is no less human than his characters.

IGN (10/10):

A biopic in constant free fall, Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan’s most abstract yet most exacting work, with themes of guilt writ-large through apocalyptic IMAX nightmares that grow both more enormous and more intimate as time ticks on. A disturbing, mesmerizing vision of what humanity is capable of bringing upon itself, both through its innovation, and through its capacity to justify any atrocity.

Total Film (5/5):

Even as Oppenheimer grips in the moment, Nolan ensures the aftershocks of its story reverberate down the years, speaking loudly to today.

The Guardian (4/5)

Oppenheimer is poignantly lost in the kaleidoscopic mass of broken glimpses: the sacrificial hero-fetish of the American century.

Collider (A):

Oppenheimer is a towering achievement not just for Nolan, but for everyone involved. It is the kind of film that makes you appreciative of every aspect of filmmaking, blowing you away with how it all comes together in such a fitting fashion. Even though Nolan is honing in on talents that have brought him to where he is today, this film takes this to a whole new level of which we've never seen him before. With Oppenheimer, Nolan is more mature as a filmmaker than ever before, and it feels like we may just now be beginning to see what incredible work he’s truly capable of making.

Empire (5/5):

But the film is never visually stronger than when it is inside Oppenheimer’s head, especially during its lengthy closing act, when apparitions of his creation’s life-snuffing effects bleed into his waking life with such nightmarish potency, they’ll be hard to shake for days.

---

Synopsis:

The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Cast:

• Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Emily Blunt as Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer
• Matt Damon as Leslie Groves
• Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss
• Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock
• Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence
• Casey Affleck as Boris Pash
• Rami Malek as David Hill
• Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Screenplay by: Christopher Nolan

Produced by: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan

Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema

Edited by: Jennifer Lame

Music by: Ludwig Göransson

Running time: 180 minutes

Release date: July 21, 2023

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Planning to see it this weekend. Hype levels are off the charts.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Nolan haters btfo. Can't wait to see it.

 

[The Skull]

Got my IMAX ticket for Friday. The hype is real.

 

[3liteDragon]

Seeing it on Monday in IMAX 70mm, hyped.

 

[Fake]

Only movie this year I want to watch.

 

[EviLore]

Day 1.

Music by: Ludwig Göransson

Tenet's soundtrack is so great. Curious to hear what he has in store this time.

 

[IDKFA]

This is looking like it'll be not only contender for the best film of the year, but also possibly Nolan's best work to date.

I can't wait to experience it.

 

[EviLore]

Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema

^ DP on Tenet, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Nope, Her, Ad Astra

 

[jufonuk]

Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema

^ DP on Tenet, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Nope, Her, Ad Astra

 

[balls of snow]

Nolan finally surpasses the dark knight. Got my imax tix for tomorrow while the wifey goes shopping.
Drop a nuke on me Mr Nolan.

 

[pauljeremiah]

Ticket booked for Friday night, going to London next week to see it at the IMAX at Waterloo.

 

[LordCBH]

Had my 70MM imax tickets booked since the day they went up for sale. So damn ready

 

[pel1300]

I heard that

Spoiler

The bombing isn't in the movie

If true, I'm gonna skip it.

 

[Punished Miku]

Going next week.

 

[FullMetalx117]

Common Nolan masterpiece

 

[FunkMiller]

Probably the only big time director still worth a damn in the shit pit of Hollywood.

 

[DKehoe]

Probably the only big time director still worth a damn in the shit pit of Hollywood.

Nah. There's still plenty doing good stuff.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Nolan haters btfo. Can't wait to see it.

I'm not a big fan of Nolan's movies with some exceptions but Oppenheimer looks really good. I won't be seeing it in theaters but I'd love to see it when it comes out on streaming.

I'm almost going to bet this will win an Oscar for movie of the year.

 

[scoobidoo112]

I heard that

Spoiler

The bombing isn't in the movie

If true, I'm gonna skip it.

Maybe Fast X is more your thing... lots of things that go BOOM.

 

[John Marston]

Just finished watching now it's out on digital.

I love it when actors are ACTORS.

Let me explain.
Back in the day when I watched a movie featuring Demi Moore all I saw was Demi Moore.
I knew when the director yelled "Cut!" she would be swarmed by 3 assistants and bitch about her Evian water and how horrible her trailer was.

Also Julia Roberts. I see Julia Roberts not her character.
And as much as I love Keanu Reeves I never really see his character. Hey it's Keanu!

But this movie damn. The whole cast brought their A game.

Bob Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branaugh, Emily Blunt & Jason Clarke.

Even minor characters like young Han Solo, the creep from Suicide Squad and that goofball from Community showed up for real.

With great directing, sound and editing this was a great adventure.

ACTORS

 

[6502]

In a 3 hour movie which is 99% talking, why the hell is the music twice the volume of the speech?

Made it a painful watch.

 

[JohnnyPhats]

Love this movie. Last hour was absolutely gripping.

 

[DKehoe]

In a 3 hour movie which is 99% talking, why the hell is the music twice the volume of the speech?

Made it a painful watch.

Because I'd had that experience with Tenet I had wondered if that would happen with this but I didn't have any issues with it.

 

[kurisu_1974]

Not a big Nolan fan and this didn't change my mind. Felt like a three hour trailer more than an actual movie.