Cillian Murphy offers an assured and considered performance here as the man who is credited with developing the bomb that hastened the end of WWII in the far east. He is the increasingly acclaimed, eponymous, physicist who is made aware by Admiral Lewis Strauss (another strong performance from Robert Downey Jr.) that it just possible that the Russians have the A-bomb. Now Oppenheimer already suspects that the Nazis are also well on their way to weaponising the atom - his earlier education and career had introduced him to some of the prominent minds in the UK and in Germany who were quite capable of taking the theory forward; so he begins to pressurise the American government to begin it's own programme - and the "Manhattan Project" is born. Motivated/goaded/galvanised by the ambitious "Col. Groves" (Matt Damon) he assembles a formidable collection of scientific minds at a purpose built, desert, location which he christens Los Alamos, and over the next three years - and with $2bn to spend - they work on the science whilst plutonium and uranium are being simultaneously processed at an irkingly glacial pace! Given that much of this is reasonably well documented history, the actual plot here has little by way of jeopardy. Instead, Christopher Nolan attempts via his writing and direction to put some meat on the bones of the characters here. It's clear that Oppenheimer is a bit of a Lothario, but it's also clear that he can engender the loyalty of a variety of people with diverging views - not just surrounding the science of their project, but around the morals and ethics of creating something that - well, you can't get the toothpaste back into the tube. The latter portion of this drama focusses on the subsequent, communist-obsessed, witch-hunting that went on attempting to persecute and smear this remarkable and flawed individual, and it makes some interesting postulations about just who was pulling whose strings. It also has quite a penetrating resonation about it - not just, specifically, about Oppeneheimer - but about all of those post-event "enquiries" that rarely deliver an honest appraisal of what was done in the name of expediency at the time, but ends up more of a character assassination exercise by those who didn't do anything against those who did and had to. Though at times the pace of this thing helps to keep it enthralling, it is too long - at times it really does plod along. Perhaps an other, objective, eye on the writing/direction may have tightened it up without having to sacrifice any of the potency of the story. Maybe someone needs to tell Mr. Nolan that a three hour film isn't always required! That said, it's a gorgeous film to look at. The aesthetics are first rate and the entire sentiment of the film reeks of authenticity. I do think this thrives better on a big screen so try to see it as it was intended. It's though provoking, complex, characterful - and well worth a watch.

The cinematic masterpiece that is Oppenheimer leaves an indelible impression on anyone who watches it. Christopher Nolan has truly outdone himself with this film, delivering a poignant message about the horrors of nuclear war. The superb direction and exceptional performances by Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and others draw you into the story, making you feel as though you are right there in the midst of it all. Even though there aren't any action scenes, the movie still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat for its entire 3-hour runtime. Oppenheimer is a biopic that everyone knows the ending to, but thanks to the expert direction and awe-inspiring performances, it is an experience that will leave a lasting impression on you.

excellent, a perfect example of true defined cinema At a whopping three hours long it, very much like LOTR, feels considerably less. A must watch

Well, with ten other reviews on this site, I am not going to give a blow-by-blow assessment of what I like or don’t like. I am sure other reviews have touched upon hinge I might point out. I will only say that I thought it a really good movie: smartly written and nicely acted. I had some trouble following details in places — not because of the complex time structure (though I admit prefer the straight ahead story style of, say, The Godfather) but rather because I couldn’t get volume up loud enough to hear when the characters spoke softly and/or quickly, and without captions I had to wait for the context of conversations to help fill in what I was missing. It was a shame to have such a little thing in the way of a good movie being great.

The most inefficient telling of a story that I have ever experienced. Hugely unnecessary character development and unnecessary dramatisation. I only made it to halfway before dyeing of boredom... jumped forward a chunk... saw the president say that the Russians would never succeed in obtaining the atomic bomb (unsure as to what he based this on). The movie was a strong testament to how much the US feared penetration by communism... and the fact that the US fear themselves losing their grip on being 'the leaders of the free world' [a title that they have never deserved or earned]... and the fact that no one has learned anything from history and being in perpetual war. Truly a missed opportunity to tell this story in a way that would have any memorable meaning. No wonder the planet is doomed to self annihilation at the hands of the 1% (The love of money is the root of all evil).

Yep, a quality film. <em>'Oppenheimer'</em> lived up to the billing to me. Not that that was ever really in any doubt, with Christopher Nolan at the helm and Cillian Murphy in lead alongside all the acclaim that I have seen this receive since its 2023 release. The near 3hr run time is no problem whatsoever, despite more talk than anything else the film simply doesn't hold any slow/uninteresting moments - 'tis all fascinating. Ever since I found out about his casting I knew Murphy would deliver a sensational performance and that's exactly what he produces here, which is not even a tiny bit surprising - anyone who has seen television's <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peaky_Blinders_(TV_series)" rel="nofollow">Peaky Blinders</a>'</em>, for one, would know that. Loved every single second of him onscreen. As for the rest of the cast, where do you start?! Emily Blunt is impressive, again not a shock as I'm a fan of her from other things - shoutout <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-adjustment-bureau/" rel="nofollow">The Adjustment Bureau</a>'</em>. Matt Damon stars alongside Blunt in that aforementioned great flick, he himself is very good in this. Robert Downey Jr. shows quality too. All others have much less screentime but do a fair bit with it, for example Jason Clarke and Florence Pugh. It was impossible not to be fully engrossed in this, at least for me. It is not my favourite Nolan movie, <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/inception/" rel="nofollow">Inception</a>'</em> and <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/interstellar/" rel="nofollow">Interstellar</a>'</em> surpass but to be honest it's the definition of splitting hairs as his films are of such a high standard. For example, <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/dunkirk-2017/" rel="nofollow">Dunkirk</a>'</em> and <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/tenet/" rel="nofollow">Tenet</a>'</em> move me less but are still ones I rate highly. Final words on this: Watch it if you get the opportunity. One of the big 'uns!

The problem with biographies is that you have to make sure not to put your own beliefs & present them as facts to white-wash a person/organization. Oppenheimer was a brilliant scientist indeed but he was also a COMMUNIST (there is a ton of evidence/articles about it and he even admitted liking communist ideas and social values, was a member of communist fronts, subscriber to communist magazines, sent them money monthly, his brother, wife, mistress and believe it or not many of his students were also known communists). He was indeed a security risk and some may go further to say that he committed an act of treason but the film presented a false image of Oppenheimer as the "mistreated scientist" who had to endure great injustice for the higher cause of stopping a nuclear arms race.