A Movie Review By Anthony Ritter
Oppenheimer, the highly anticipated Bio-pic directed by Christopher Nolan, delves into the life of the brilliant physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy. The movie focuses on his pivotal role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. This 3-hour film hopes to shed light on Oppenheimer’s reasoning for developing a bomb that would one day take the lives of hundreds of thousands.
What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Oppenheimer.
The Good
One of the biggest highlights of Oppenheimer is undoubtedly the acting performances by the entire cast, which were beyond exceptional. Leading the way was Cillian Murphy who delivers a spot-on portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Murphy effortlessly captures Oppenheimer’s inner turmoil, moral dilemmas, and overall brilliance. The supporting cast also deserve equal accolades. Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt were also major standouts in the film and undoubtedly be considered when award season comes.
My favorite aspect of Oppenheimer is how Nolan’s sound design throughout the movie. Multiple times, during the movie, we are presented with periods of silence followed by loud, thundering audio. This sound design makes sense when we are finally given the test of the bomb. There is a flash of light and stretch of silence, followed by the thunder of the shockwave.
The Bad
What I am listing this under “the bad” for Oppenheimer are not things that necessarily bothered me but are points that I feel will not mesh with general audiences. The first is what seems to be a growing trend, Oppenheimer is a long movie, with a 3-hour run time. I felt these 3 hours flew by, but I did hear some grumblings from others that there were things that could have been taken out. The other negative that general audiences will not appreciate is that this movie is about Oppenheimer rather than the bomb. Many will be wanting to see more explosions, and bomb tests, and may leave the theater let down.
My Overall Opinion
I give Oppenheimer a 9.5 out of 10.
Oppenheimer is a serious movie about a pivotal point in history. Christopher Nolan creates a masterpiece with this film. The star-studded cast all deliver stellar performances and truly bring their characters to life. The sound design of the film is genius, giving a great balance between explosive moments and silence. I would highly recommend seeing Oppenheimer because I am sure you will hear its title a lot when award season comes around.
On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies. Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.
