Oppenheimer

2023, R rating, duration: 3h

On this Friday (24.7.) I decided – just like many other people – to visit a moving pictures place, because two so-called „cult“ movies happened to be opening on this very day and therefore gained the nickname „Barbenheimer“. This important premiere day offered two top movies, and one of those, namely „Barbie“, had been labelled „ridiculous“ by critics before its release. This day, therefore, was quite special.

First Oppenheimer…
In case some readers here don’t know: during the Second World War, battles were raging on in Europe and all over the world on almost every continent. And this was the time when this famous scientist Julius Robert Oppenheimer gathered other scientists and colleagues to develop the nuclear bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA (Manhattan project). The Oppenheimer movie therefore is as much a drama movie as it is a biopic.

When it comes to the drama aspect, Oppenheimer works really well, although Christopher Nolan has so far taken on Action movies (Batman, Tenet etc) exclusively. The drama develops quite smoothly step by step in this seemingly long movie, which stars a number of well-known actors. Cillian Murphy in the title role is faced by antagonists: his wife, played by Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon as Lt. General. A really multi-dimensional film with many twists and turns, and despite the drama, there is a massive amount of tension built on top of a huge secret operation. An over-the-top US patriotism is absent or barely visible in the plot, which is a relief, and they have not indulged in uncomfortable war depictions either. Another plus, the film has been shot in the historically accurate locations.

Review: Jussi Raatikainen

⇒ continued with “Barbie” review

Director – Christopher Nolan
Writers – Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin

Cast
Cillian Murphy – J. Robert Oppenheimer
Emily Blunt – Kitty Oppenheimer
Robert Downey Jr. – Lewis Strauss
Matt Damon – Leslie Groves
Alden Ehrenreich – Senate Aide
Kenneth Branagh – Niels Bohr
Matthias Schweighöfer – Werner Heisenberg
Josh Hartnett – Ernest Lawrence
Florence Pugh – Jean Tatlock
etc