Oppenheimer movie review: This story itself is the spectacle!

FilmOppenheimerCast Cillian Murphy Robert Downey JrDirectorChristopher NolanRating 45Oppenheimer is the greatest biopic since Gandhi 1982 on the apostle of nonviolence Fittingly itrsquos on the lsquofather of the atom bombrsquo who had nothing in common with the father of this nationBesides as it turns out both were drawn to the Sanskrit text Bhagavad Gitamdashas were the Nazis by the waymdashwhich justifies all kinds of karma action with dharma dutyGoes without saying Oppenheimerrsquos spectacular worldmdashwhere the script foremost is the spectacle itselfmdashhas little in common with most biopics A genre that in India at least has devolved into such a clicheacute that we hear of a lsquobiopicrsquo againmdashwe just wanna run the other wayBut itrsquoll always be about how a story is being toldmdashfor whorsquos telling it isnrsquot it Oppenheimer decidedly belongs to the lsquoNolanversersquo Meaning by Christopher Nolanmdasharguably the most influential filmmaker in contemporary cinema post Steven Spielberg James CameronAlso easily the most commercialmainstream writerdirector in the world with a cult following unrivalled since Tarantino Critics themselves have rightly turned him criticproofWhy has Nolan The Dark Knight Rises The Prestige Interstellar achieved that rather unique distinction By repeatedly making huge budget movies that never undermineignore the audiencersquos intellectmdashhence elevating it insteadHowrsquos he managed this fusion As with Oppenheimermdashby pulling you into a gigantic IMAX screen for an unwavering attention span over three hours plusThe thumping bass of the sound in the hall is enough to vibrate your bum on the seat A relatively nonlinear narrative that carries the audience along all through Also captivatingly real images leaving the lazy CGI crap alone almost altogetherBy Nolanrsquos standards Oppenheimermdashbased on Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwinrsquos biography American Prometheus 2005mdashfocused on quantum physics still is less a film on science more on scientistsSo many of whom in the 1940s in particular you realise used to be such superstarsmdashEinstein Neils Bohr Heisenberg Hans Bethehellip Their current equivalents you barely hear of if they exist at allAt the centre of this what kinda man was Oppenheimer A hugely complex creature with multiple identities arenrsquot we allmdasha theoretical physics don with equal enchantment for the arts literature and women simultaneously a rebel and conformist an American patriot with sympathies for socialistshellipIndeed a ldquogenius thatrsquos no guarantee for wisdomrdquo Not that I had a mental image for Oppenheimermdashit will of course be the brilliant Cillian Murphy forever from hereonThere is a theory I concur with that Nolanrsquos masterpiece Inception 2010 about dreams inside dreams was in fact a film about films Carrying on the subtext what if we read Oppenheimer also as a film on filmmakingWherein Strauss Robert Downey Jr as the top babu of the atomic energy commission is the egotistical megalomaniacal penpusher studioboss minor aside how many of you think RDJrsquos face with time seems to be merging with Al PacinorsquosTherersquos General Groves Matt Damon pretty much the producer on the ground militarily supervising the supersecret Manhattan Project on the making of the atom bomb And Oppenheimer is the creative brain being pulled into multiple directions pressures but expected to deliver with a clear head stillmdashhis neck is first on the lineBetween these three main characters what you have is almost an Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama If it wasnrsquot for Nolanrsquos broad cinematic strokesMaking this also a movie at its nucleus about impending dangers of termstraps like nationalism national security when sold by sociopathic politicians in particular Nolanrsquos made an lsquoantinationalrsquo film that way if you mayAll said Oppenheimer is singularly recalled in history for ldquo220000 humans dead over time in Hiroshima and Nagasakirdquo for the Abombs dropped by AmericaEinstein lovely Tom Conti had suitably warned him against it ldquobefore either side Allied and Axis powers destroys the worldrdquo with WWII Oppenheimer believed in the deterrence theoryGoing back to karma maybe itrsquos just age and thoughts of mortality that followmdashIrsquove been obsessed lately to figure if there is such a thing as poeticdivinekarmic justice after all for stuff you do to others and must pay for during the lifetimeThe guiltmdashldquohave blood on my handsrdquomdashthat Oppenheimer mustrsquove lived with shows throughout the concluding chapters of the biopic Even as the American President Truman Gary Oldman shamelessly quips ldquoWho gives a shit about who built the bomb itrsquos about but who dropped itrdquoIs annihilation intrinsic to the human DNAmdashwhy else would a specie actively develop something that can wholly destroy its own self and its home only for the hate of lsquoothersrsquo within That said Oppenheimer is by no means a weepy tragedymdashitrsquos far too energetic a movie to be anything but mesmerisingfor the most partAnd what a festival this film has been leading up to it I first watched Oppenheimer for a scheduled 630 pm premiere that owing to tech delays ended only at 130 am the next day I went back to the same IMAX theatre two days later to watch a packed 3 am public show that finished in the morningYeah have seen it twice already Therefore must addmdashunlike most Nolan films a second viewing doesnrsquot enhance the experience any further Maybe itrsquos also because for once yoursquove followedunderstood the entire movie the first time on already

Oppenheimer movie review: This story itself is the spectacle!

Film: Oppenheimer

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rating: 4/5

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Home / Entertainment / Hollywood News / Article / Oppenheimer movie review: This story itself is the spectacle!

Oppenheimer movie review: This story itself is the spectacle!

Film: Oppenheimer

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr

Director: Christopher Nolan

Rating: 4/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast