It looks like this weekend is about to be a seriously epic time to be at the movies. Critics are not only praising Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is now receiving some high praise too! Whether you’re among the many signing up for Barbieheimer double features, or picking sides, first thoughts on the dramatic epic about the “father of the atomic bomb” are here. Let’s take a look.
We’ll start with CinemaBlend’s own Oppenheimer review, where Mike Reyes gave the movie a perfect five-star rating, a distinction only two other 2023 new movie releases have received thus far. He called Christopher Nolan’s latest an “intellectual horror film” fueled with tension and stakes as it tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life across different moments in time. Check out some of Reyes’ thoughts:
A studious examination of history, shown via a reverent lens of Hollywood spectacle, Oppenheimer is a chilling biopic that could be Christopher Nolan’s best picture yet. Depicting an event that was both marvelous in potential, yet horrific in its execution, it is ambiguous in how it morally examines its characters, while also being abundantly clear on how it stands on the matter of nuclear proliferation. It is nothing short of an epic cinematic triumph, and should be a movie heralded and dissected for decades to come.
Similarly, IGN gave Oppenheimer the mark of a masterpiece, with a perfect score. Siddhant Adlakha wrote this:
A three-hour biopic that plays like a jolting thriller, Oppenheimer seldom slows down except to ruminate on questions of all-consuming guilt, as it imagines a vivid psychology lurking within its protagonist’s conscious mind, plagued by doomsday visions that serve as both warning and indictment for humankind. It’s paralyzing, pulse-pounding, breathtaking.
The critic also called it a “constant free fall” and Nolan’s “most abstract” film yet. Oppenheimer, which is the filmmaker’s twelfth directorial effort and first rated-R film in over a decade also impressed The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager. Check out what he had to say, particularly about the massive Oppenheimer cast led by Cillian Murphy:
There’s an embarrassment of riches to digest, savor, and mull over in this saga, which touches upon the exhilaration of scientific discovery, the fear of inventing something over which the inventor has no control, and the alarming consequences of paving a historic path, especially when it leads directly to Pandora’s Box. At every turn, a superb supporting performance lies in wait from Damon, Blunt, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, and Tom Conti as Albert Einstein (who knows how uneasily lies the head that wears the crown).
Though, not every critic found Oppenheimer to be a flawless film. While Collider’s Ross Bonaime loved the movie overall, he spoke to perhaps one issue with the movie. In his words:
Alas, Nolan still has problems with substantial female roles, and that does continue in Oppenheimer. Like many of the male scientists, the apparently lone female scientist—played by Olivia Thirlby—doesn’t get as much screen time as she deserves. Similarly, the women in Oppenheimer’s life certainly should’ve received more attention, however, that doesn’t stop Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s on-again-off-again partner Jean Tatlock from making the most of their time onscreen.
Nolan has been criticized before about how the female characters in his movies are handled, from Inception to Tenet. While Bonaime points out the problem, he does give major props to Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh in particular, for giving great performances anyway. On another note, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, who gave the movie a 4 out of 5, found another blemish in Christopher Nolan’s movie, calling it out for one detail. As Bradshaw wrote:
This is the big bang, and no one could have made it bigger or more overwhelming than Nolan. He does this without simply turning it into an action stunt – although this movie, for all its audacity and ambition, never quite solves the problem of its own obtuseness: filling the drama at such length with the torment of genius-functionary Oppenheimer at the expense of showing the Japanese experience and the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Telling the story of the creation of the atomic bomb is obviously a very layered issue, and the movie is receiving some early criticism for not including the perspective of the Japanese people who were tragic victims of Oppenheimer’s invention. Overall, based on the first critic's reactions, those who didn’t love everything about it are still giving the movie high marks. Here’s one more remark from The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney:
It’s hard to know how the Nolan fanboys will respond to a movie as heady, historically curious and grounded in gravitas as Oppenheimer, which has little in common with the brooding majesty of his Batman movies or the tricky mindfuckery of films like Inception or Tenet. In terms of its stirring solemnity, it’s perhaps closest to Dunkirk, while its melding of science and emotion recalls Interstellar.
Oppenheimer is set to hit theaters this weekend, on Friday July 21. Check it out for yourself and see how it lands with these critic reactions in mind.
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