Oppenheimer was a film we had overlooked when its first ads were released. We were uninterested in a film biography, especially one directed by Christopher Nolan, as were not fans of his directorial style. Even then, we attended the “Barbenheimer” premieres with siblings and friends thinking it could be a fun experience.
Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, was released on July 21, 2023. The cast includes Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss. According to Men’s Health, the movie was based on the 2005 biography of Oppenheimer’s life titled “American Prometheus.”
We both saw Oppenheimer first to get it out of the way. Both of us ended up sitting there without words after the three-hour film had finished. We were surprised by how well the movie was made. It had us thinking about the performances, editing, and the soundtrack.
This film had great pacing with its quick editing, making the film feel much shorter than three hours, especially considering that we go through years of Robert Oppenheimer’s life. We were not disappointed with how this film was presented.
The actors’ performances were extremely well done. The actors who we thought would have been good, were amazing. The actors who we thought would have been bad, did even better. This movie is like a room packed with just top-notch actors who aren’t even A-list. There is not one performance that disappointed us. Our favorite performances were by Tom Conti as Albert Einstein and Casey Affleck as Boris Pash.
The storytelling is unique because the movie is shot in various colors and through perspectives of different people. Christopher Nolan stated when the movie is in color, we’re seeing Robert Oppenheimer’s point of view, then the black and white shots mean we’re seeing what’s objectively happening, more through Lewis Strauss’s point of view. The color variety left us confused but became much more clearer later.
The music and soundtrack that was composed by Ludwig Göransson, was overall amazing, which is important because this is a movie in which 90% of the time people are talking about science. The background music was something that kept the film going with high energy. Our favorite music score from this movie is “Can You Hear The Music.”
A lot of people praise the looks of this movie since it was shot with Imax cameras, and we couldn’t agree more. It contributes to the authenticity and overall feel of the movie and we remember watching it and thinking the CGI in the movie was impressive. According to Variety.com, the explosion seen on screen was several different shooting techniques put together. It consisted of black powder explosions, paint being hurled across walls and ping pong balls being smashed together. Neither of us knew the explosion seen on screen was mostly practical and not CGI
The special effects team of the movie only had a few footage videos from the actual lab in Los Alamos, (which in the first place is surprising as the whole operation was top-secret) and they made the scene emphasize the power and destruction that the first nuclear weapon would have in the world.
Oppenheimer was overall an amazing experience with a lot of talent put into it. Christopher Nolan exceeded expectations, and the cast performance left us satisfied. Oppenheimer has earned its rating of ten out of ten.
I am a senior and a staff reporter for 42Fifty. This is my first and only year on 42Fifty and I really like to review things.
Hi i'm a senior at OHS and this is my first year w 42/fifty. I hope to get along and have fun with everybody.
[…] more in-depth review of Oppenheimer was recently published by 42Fifty staff […]
[…] The only bad thing about this movie is it really wasn’t for everyone, it’s a very long movie with just a lot of talking. I have a deeper review on this film here. […]