Film review of Oppenheimer: A masterpiece – but not for everyone

You want to see Oppenheimer in the cinema? Then get ready for something. In his spoiler-free review, Kevin reveals what’s in store for you with the three-hour Nolan movie.

After Oppenheimer, I was speechless. It wasn’t just because of the whopping three-hour running time, the long queue outside the cinema toilet or the fact that I’ve recently started a new Fallout 4 run and long for my Playstation every spare minute.

No, Oppenheimer has got my grey and criminally neglected cells rattling once again. My barely used brain could only cope with Christopher Nolan’s latest film to a limited extent. After previous works by the director of Tenet or Inception, it should have been expecting it.

But in truth I was mainly speechless because I had to let Oppenheimer sink in a bit first. How good or bad I thought the film was was up for discussion with myself.

You can find out what kind of conclusion I came to in this spoiler-free film review And yes, I tried to be brief, but was similarly successful in doing so as Christopher Nolan was with Oppenheimer …

What is Oppenheimer about?

With his latest film, Christopher Nolan devotes himself to the so-called father of the atomic bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer, who risked the destruction of the world with his research in order to prevent precisely that. For this, Nolan adapts the Oppenheimer biography by Kai Bird and Marin J. Sherwin and devotes himself to about 45 years of the scientist’s life.

Oppenheimer’s story revolves primarily around the Manhattan Project: during World War II, the USA and Hitler’s Third Reich engaged in a race to see who could make the first atomic bomb operational and thus turn the tide of the war in their favour.

For this purpose, the scientist of German-Jewish descent founded the Los Alamos Laboratory under the supervision of General Leslie Groves J. (Matt Damon) and Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) of the US Atomic Energy Commission. Christopher Nolan’s film sets Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) path to and during the Manhattan Project, as well as the aftermath of it.

Who is Oppenheimer interesting for

Want a history lesson? If you want to see Oppenheimer in the cinema, you should definitely bring along a scintilla of interest in the real person around whom the film revolves. For example, if you are hoping to learn about the actual research into nuclear weapons and the creation of the first atomic bomb, you might be disappointed.

 The film is about the real person.

The title might suggest it, but Oppenheimer is entirely about – well – J. Robert Oppenheimer. His career, personal development and the aftermath that his achievements bring are clearly in focus. Other characters are rarely more and for the most part less important.

A motion picture for acting: In addition, you should have some affinity for acting per se. Over its running time of just under three hours, the invariably strong performances take up at least 98 per cent of the action. Other show values can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Your attention is required: Christopher Nolan dispenses with classic scene work, Oppenheimer is actually just one long montage – and that over 180 minutes. In other words: despite three clearly defined acts, there is no breather and Oppenheimer resembles a veritable dialogue assembly line. 

If you drift off or lose the thread here, you won’t get it back again so quickly. Unlike other complex Nolan works, you can’t simply enjoy impressive action sequences with this one, should you switch off mentally.

So to recap: Oppenheimer is all about the story, the characters, the performance of the actors – and no holds barred. The constant fire of dialogue and the constant jumping between different time levels and plot lines didn’t bring my noggin out of the glow at all, at least.

Strengths and weaknesses of Oppenheimer

What we liked about Oppenheimer

• The Story: It feels a bit weird to point out a real person’s story as being particularly good . Actually, though, I’m much more concerned with how Christopher Nolan rehashes the life of Robert Oppenheimer. To do this, Nolan resorts to a sophisticated and cunning narrative structure that does not underestimate the viewer, but wants to challenge him and simply pulls the rug out from under his feet in the final act. You have to be prepared for that, but Oppenheimer is well worth the experience.
• The Cast: Film fans have been having fun with Oppenheimer for the past two years. Almost every week another AAA actor was announced who was also to take part in the new Nolan project. At some point, the collective internet gave up and resigned to: Someday we’ll all star in Oppenheimer And on this point, the feature film definitely does not disappoint. It would be beyond the scope of this article to list all the top stars, but I would advise you: Don’t take a look at (IMDB), but let yourself be surprised.
• The Performances: With Oppenheimer’s impressive cast, the acting performances are the film’s unmissable highlight. First and foremost, Cillian Murphy dominates the action as the leading man, but his colleagues are not overshadowed by this at any minute. Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt and Jason Clarke in particular are among Oppenheimer’s greatest Scene Stealers and anyone with just a little love for expressive acting will definitely get their money’s worth at the cinema.
• The Score: Have you seen The Mandalorian, then you know Ludwig Göransson and probably love as I do (the catchy theme tune of the Star Wars series). Of course, the Swedish composer has scored many other films and series, but clearly delivered a potential magnum opus with Oppenheimer. Christopher Nolan’s visual power and Göransson’s sound could hardly complement each other better. 

What we didn’t like about Oppenheimer

• The endless montage: Oppenheimer wants to tell a lot and has no time to waste – and this despite the excessive film duration. In combination with the unconventional narrative structure, the film almost seems cumbersome. There are constant jumps back and forth between different time levels, dialogues and snapshots. Fundamentally exciting and masterfully realised by Nolan, it is nevertheless exhausting over the three hours. The biggest problem: the most emotional and thus most important moments are given almost no room to breathe. Oppenheimer gallops on without delay and anyone who doesn’t keep up is left behind.
• The first hour: In its first hour, the thread of the film can hardly be discerned, let alone grasped. Oppenheimer seems frantic and unfocused and only in retrospect does the on-screen action take on a tangible shape. Even more than with Tenet, Christopher Nolan makes it clear from the start that this film is subject to his terms. And that’s something you have to come to terms with first.
• The meagre overview: The large cast, the many characters, the different storylines and the claim to do justice to the authentic biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer bring with them a hurdle that should not be underestimated: countless people walk across the screen, all of whom make their contribution to the actual story somewhere. This can make it confusing and, above all, difficult to keep track of what is important at any given moment. My memory for names is miserable anyway, and with Oppenheimer it’s anything but helpful.

Editor’s conclusion

Oppenheimer is a cinematic masterpiece – no question about it. Nevertheless, I cannot unreservedly recommend Christopher Nolan’s latest film. For as captivating and fascinating as Oppenheimer can be, it also comes across as long and exhausting. Nolan clearly concentrates on acting strengths and a narrative structure that is only transparent at a late stage. Big wow moments are few and far between, and when they do occur, there is little room to breathe.

But that’s almost too negative, because Oppenheimer is captivating from the beginning and then throughout. However, that too only insofar as you engage with it. Oppenheimer will polarise even more than Tenet already did. That’s why I can only recommend it to every interested film fan: Be aware of what you are getting into, otherwise you will have problems with the father of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is definitely worth seeing, but perhaps not for everyone.