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Colby Michaels

Movie Review: Oppenheimer. A movie in three acts that don't quite connect

Updated: Mar 19



Plot summary via Wikipedia: Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical war thriller film[a] written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan,[9] starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles Oppenheimer's career, with the story predominantly focusing on his studies, his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing. The film also stars Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife Kitty, Matt Damon as head of the Manhattan Project Leslie Groves, and Robert Downey Jr. as United States Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss. The ensemble supporting cast includes Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.


I'll mention the film is almost three hours, so buckle in. Now streaming on Peacock, I decided to watch the movie after it won seven Academy Awards to see what all the fuss was about. It felt to me I was watching a movie in three acts, with three different focuses in time. I'll do my best for it to make sense, Starting with "Act One".


The first hour of Oppenheimer to me was just a hot, dull, boring, confusing mess! Too much time jumping without explaining the why, too many supporting actors to keep track of with regard to their impact on the movie, and a lot of science mumbo-jumbo (which I am sure was accurate, but not well presented to the non-science audience.). The plot summary from Wikipedia (thank you!) breaks the three areas of interests and the time periods down to: First act is getting to know Oppenheimer, who he is and how he rose to prominence, and his interest/dabblings in the Communist party during WWII. He eventually gets his security clearance to lead the Manhattan Project, building the world's first atomic bomb. As I texted a friend at the one-hour mark, it was a grind to get that far! The second hour got more interesting, even with the maddening jumping between the three time periods. This hour focused mostly on the Los Alamos Manhattan Project in New Mexico, leading to the "Trinity Test" of the bomb, which was successful, and led to President Truman to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. At this point in the film, Oppenheimer is now in full moral struggle mode about unleashing such a devastating power on the world. There was one line that did strike me after the successful test was done, when one of the scientists asks Oppenheimer, " If Japan knew we had this kind of bomb, do you think they would've surrendered?". I am sure that question has been brought up repeatedly over the decades. Meanwhile, there is a sham secret hearing about Oppenheimer's security clearance and his patriotism due to his past Communist dabbling. Since the fix was in, Oppenheimer had his security clearance revoked and his reputation tarnished. The third act/hour focused on the espionage and dirty dealings and political maneuverings of a certain character (who I will not spoil), set upon Oppenheimer in order to clear himself of any wrongdoing in his Senate hearings in the mid-fifties. This was interesting to see how this would come out ( I like a good sleuthing plot point!). It also had Oppenheimer lamenting being named "Father of the Atomic Bomb" by Time magazine, and agonizing over how there should be a world-wide coalition to monitor future nuclear weapons to prevent a Cold War, or something far worse. It's not a spoiler to tell you how THAT came out in the annals of history.


In summary, while I learned a lot, this was an exhausting film to sit through at home, much less in a theater. I'm in shock it won the Best Editing award, but I will say that the score for the film definitely deserved its Oscar; frankly that score kept me awake for most of the film! I agree with a friend of mind that Emily Blunt was wasted in this film, and in even more shock she got a nomination! There are at least two actresses (see my May/December review) who should've had that nominee slot! The actors who won, I'm good with, as the acting was very good for the most part. Best Picture though? A hard iffy from me! Grades!

Overall: C

Acting: A (for the men!)

Directing: B

Writing: C- Editing: D

Set Design: B

Cinematography: B

Oppenheimer can now be seen on Peacock streaming for free (bites tongue on paying to see it!) Here is the official trailer:








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