Of all the movies slated for release in 2023, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the first that most were genuinely excited to see. Of course, the arcade shooter John Wick: Chapter 4 promised to be exhilarating, but the anticipation for Oppenheimer, and the inherent drama of the man and his bomb, was immense.
Starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon, the film was guaranteed to be a hit, especially with Nolan’s stunning visuals. Whether Nolan matched the cast and effects with a script that correctly treated Oppenheimer like the genius-but-fallible man he was is a matter of debate.
The Characters Lack Substance
Oppenheimer and Strauss were the only characters with whom the audience could form a genuine connection — the next two, “Kitty” Oppenheimer and Gen. Leslie Groves, only inspired a passing affection. All four characters, however, were masterfully depicted by Murphy, Downey, Blunt, and Damon. Murphy in particular shined in his role as Oppenheimer, brilliantly capturing the man who was absorbed with his work and traumatized by its results. Downey likewise played Strauss artfully, but he only stood out toward the end of the movie at the Senate confirmation hearing. (READ MORE: Rachel Zegler’s Contempt for Snow White Reflects a Culture That’s Forgotten Fairy Tales)
While Blunt performs capably, there are times when Oppenheimer’s relationship with his wife is lifeless. For example, when Oppenheimer learns that his lover, Jean, has committed suicide, he confesses his infidelity. The whole scene is about 30 seconds long, and Kitty’s only reaction is to tell him that he needs to suck it up and not expect people to feel sorry for him. There is little exploration of how such an affair affected their marriage.
An especially insightful reviewer who goes by “The Critical Drinker” described Oppenheimer as “the most Christopher Nolan movie ever made.” The movie reflects some of the greatest strengths and weaknesses of Nolan as a director. The audience certainly feels the three-hour run time, as Nolan constantly jumps between the past, present, and future, leaving no room for a bathroom break — or even a sneeze. Although bloated, the movie also contains scenes that are connected and intertwined, and thus it never indicates when there might be a lull. The overload of information simultaneously makes the movie feel long and forces the audience to pay the utmost attention at all times to stay on track.
Stunning Visuals and Effects
The issues of the film, however, cannot erase the intensity of watching the most brilliant minds of the time converging in one location to create a weapon of destruction. For those less inclined to enjoy math or science, Oppenheimer may be a tough watch. But Nolan does a fantastic job of combining the scientific language with the intensity of the need to race against the Nazis to create the nuclear bomb.
The movie culminates in the detonation of Trinity (the first nuclear bomb), which should have marked the end of the film. The extra hour with the Strauss and Oppenheimer security clearance hearings is interesting — to someone who enjoys politics — but unnecessary.
Nolan’s directing and Murphy’s acting were blisteringly taut in that moment, with Murphy demonstrating the anticipation and gravitas all must have experienced at the moment of the testing. Meanwhile, the audio cuts off, so all the audience hears is the countdown sequence and the last-minute chatter of those waiting for the result — which was beautiful. The silence as the fireball rose into the air, culminating with the sound wave shaking the theater, was spectacular.
Ultimately, the movie should have ended with Oppenheimer’s famous line, which capped off the explosion scene: “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Oppenheimer provided a massive relief after the terrible displays of cinema in recent years. Nolan’s artistic design, combined with a spectacular cast, creates a movie that weighs on the audience’s mind with moral complexity instead of weightless wokeness. A word of warning: Don’t sit in the front row — it’s a little too close to the blast radius for comfort.
Brayden Dean is a rising senior at the University of Georgia. He studies international relations and political science with a minor in law, jurisprudence, and state. A member of The American Spectator’s intern class of 2023, Brayden enjoys sipping a hot cup of coffee while reading a book.
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