Oppenheimer

Synopsis

J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most vilified, heroic, and important scientist of the 21st century. This movie provides a full history of the rise and fall of Oppenheimer as well as the scientist that helped bring the world into the Nuclear age.

Review

This is a biopic. What that means is that it is longer and is more story driven rather than action packed. However, like Interstellar, Christopher Nolan does a fantastic job of providing stress and interest that keeps you in your seat.

The music and sound design are spectacular. Some truly amazing items that just provide additional layers and feeling to the movies. With that, the main acting team does a great job of playing their characters, especially with the accents. To think that Cillian Murphy (Pronounced "Kill-ee-an") does a stunning job playing an American. RDJ also does a great job playing a good ole' fashion politician who believes everything is about them.

Overall, the acting is soo good. There is not a weak link in this movie and everyone should have gotten an award. However, can we talk about the PRACTICAL explosion that was done? The bomb used to be the Trinity test was practical, not CGI. That is incredible.

My Rating

I love this movie. At just over 3 hours, it really is well worth the time spent telling an astounding story blending characters and times. It really is a visually spectacular movie. This movie was announced right before or right after I finished reading The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Not an affiliate link, just link to the book) and that book does VERY in-depth job of telling this story. What I think this movie glosses over is the true history of the damage to the Japanese. It wasn't just bad and morally conflicting for Oppenheimer, it was destructive to most of the scientist on this program. The last chapters of the book are taken from historical Japanese accounts of what it was like in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I think this movie is right to not show that, but I think without it, it misses one of the main things that turned the scientist to the moral conflict. Because of this, I have to give it a 9.

Parental Rating

I really struggled with trying to rate this for my mom. There is nudity and sex, a decent amount of it. Language is minimal but there and when you hear it, it stands out as I believe it is intended to. I think though, that this story is very well told and that the story should be told. I am going to say that they both approve as the language is minimal and nudity/sex does not take away from the film or feel intentionally placed for sexual appetites. Note from 8 months after original writing: I really think that my mom would reject this movie. The sex scenes are graphic in their depiction. While she would watch it for the importance, I think based on the rules she would reject it.

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