Of all the subjects for a three hour long epic biographical movie, choosing J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb” is a sure win. There are plenty of biographical dramas of varying quality about important figures in history. But it is impossible to overstate how the advent of the nuclear age irrevocably altered the trajectory of our species, and there are few figures as central to the rush into that age as Oppenheimer. (For those interested in the dramatic consequences of the atomic bombs and the nuclear age, I recommend Hardcore History’s lengthy episode on the subject.)
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed. A few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture…Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds…”- J. Robert Oppenheimer
“Oppenheimer” as a film is so powerful precisely because it thoroughly grapples with the most calamitous benchmark of technological progress mankind has ever known. With such naturally rich dramatic material, Christopher Nolan weaved a near masterpiece narrative of the complex moral costs of the development of the atomic bomb, primarily cast through the perspective and views of Oppenheimer. Through the context of this central event, we also see the political intrigues surrounding his rise and fall.
It also helps that “Oppenheimer” has a banger (no pun intended) cast list with numerous great actors in roles of varying depth, but with the excellent headline supporting actors including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh. The film is unequivocally the performance of Cillian Murphy’s career. Perhaps the one fault of the script is that despite Downey Jr.’s great performance, his character had the air of a cartoon villain with his bluntness in the final act.
Nolan, forever obsessed with time and cleverly bending non-linear arcs towards each other with stunning real visual effects and crack editing, created a film representing a near perfection of his craft, easily entering the echelon of his top films. A resoundingly intense and coherent biopic that shrugs off the ambitious mediocrity of Nolan’s past film, Tenet (and blessedly properly sound mixed), “Oppenheimer” is the worthy prophesied return of the epic summer blockbuster.
9.4/10
As AJ Thinks 