Beautiful and unexpectedly thought provoking from the master of telling Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is a magician. He’s a master of telling a story front and centre, while telling another, often deeper story, just beneath the surface. Nolan does this most obviously with Inception and The Prestige, and like the latter, Oppenheimer has a similar The Pledge/The Turn/The Prestige structure.

As with all Nolan movies, Oppenheimer looks incredible every moment of its three hour run time and, considering its length, the first two thirds of the movie play out at an almost breakneck speed. Scene after scene building characters and context, all of which will undoubtedly become more and more rewarding with each subsequent viewing.

Oppenheimer subtly introduces an ensemble cast of top tier Hollywood actors, bringing real depth to each of their characters, who in turn give a personal and philosophical context to J Robert Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer - Cillian Murphy

Christopher Nolan is a magician and master of story telling, while telling another, often deeper, just beneath the surface.

Cillian Murphy is undeniably incredible as Robert Oppenheimer, giving palpable depth to a complicated character, but the same amount of admiration must also be given to Robert Downey Jr who’s exceptional portrayal of Lewis Strauss gives structure to the entire timeline of the movie.

Oppenheimer - Jeremy Irons

Oppenheimer is a breath-taking journey and one that begs to be seen on the big screen. The timing of its release elevates an already extraordinarily good movie to being one of the most important and poignant movies of recent times.

Beautiful and unexpectedly thought provoking.

Reviewed by Darren Woolf

Synopsis: During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

Oppenheimer opens July 21st 2023.

For more summer movie reviews check out the Bad Tattoo review of The Flash.