Is Oppenheimer Worth the Hype?

I don’t think there was a more hyped-up film this year than Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. In a time when the movie industry had been pretty disappointing for most, Oppenheimer was the savior that both the audience and studios needed. People were acting like this film was the next Godfather and would radically change the film industry and cinema forever. One couldn’t feel excited watching Oppenheimer with all this news and fanfare.

I was one of many with a very high exception for this film. I was interested to see if all the talk and hype was well deserved for the film or if it would fall on my exceptions. On a hot Tuesday afternoon sometime in mid-July, I walked into my local movie theater to watch Oppenheimer. What are my thoughts on the film?

For all it’s worth, Oppenheimer is a great movie and, in many ways, has lived up to and even surpassed my exceptions. Starting with what is the most striking part of the film, which is the film’s cinematography. The cinematography in this film feels dramatic like there is a sense of importance in every shot. I especially thought that using black and white helped build this almost bleak world that was changed by introducing nuclear weapons. It is filled with petty people who are only consumed with their own vie for power. The explosion scene in the film is the film’s highlight in terms of cinematography. It’s hard to explain the scene’s beauty, but I would compare it to the documentary style of Werner Herzog.

One could only talk about the cinematography of the film by mentioning the fabulous music score of the film, which greatly complements the shots. I think the music elevates the dramatic attitude of the shot composition. The music has an excellent feeling of impending doom, like a great disaster is about to occur. It fits the story well and aligns with the theme of the film.

The story is another highlight of the film. In typical Nolan fashion, the film’s story is confusing and convoluted while still riveting. Like in many of these films, it’s a non-linear story flipping back and forth to the bleak and infernal present and the tense race of the past. The film’s first two acts are amazing, but the third alienates me from the past two. It went from the whole nuclear bomb ethics and impact to Lewis Strauss’s backstabbing plot against Oppenheimer. I would like the third act to tackle more of the effect of dropping the atomic bomb. This is not to say that the third act is terrible, but it felt unnatural and confusing to follow. But still, it was an excellent way to finish the film.

The acting all around was outstanding. Cillian Murphy was phenomenal in his role as Oppenheimer, and he was just the perfect person to play a role like this. Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss was also a fantastic performance, and it was refreshing to see him play a role that wasn’t a Marvel hero or some goofy Disney character. Emma Blunt, Rami Malak, and Matt Damon also had great performances. And I can confidently predict that there will be many Oscar nominations for best performance and some wins for the actors in this film.

Oppenheimer could be a better movie, and the film has many glaring flaws. The first and most apparent is the dialogue in the movie. Christopher Nolan has been known to have trouble when it comes to showing and not telling and often has lengthy conversations explaining things in the movie. Oppenheimer is no different, and it is especially shown in this film. With less action, this type of writing can sometimes get boring to watch.

Overall Oppenheimer is a great film, not a perfect one but still a fantastic one. It’s a film that receive praising critical reception and a huge box office at 850 million dollars and a billion a great likely in the horizon. All of this from a biopic film, which historical hasn’t been a huge finically success as the other movie genre has been. It may have not been this savior film, as people were predicting it would be. It is still hard to know if Oppenheimer will have a lasting effect on the film industry that is noteworthy. But I like to think that Oppenheimer might be a sign for a change in the film industry to a more original time. 

My Rating: 9.0/10

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