The most anticipated movie of the summer — right along with Barbie — was Oppenheimer. With previous masterpieces of Christopher Nolan such as The Dark Knight and Dunkirk on everyone’s minds, Oppenheimer was expected to be one of the most epic movies of the year. The plot is focused around Robert J. Oppenheimer’s life, most notably focusing on his involvement in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. The movie uses flashbacks  throughout the interrogation of Oppenheimer by the United States government as he is accused of being a communist years after his bomb project.

Nolan is known for his mind-blowing cinematography; this reputation certainly holds up in Oppenheimer. There is much opportunity for the scenes so typical of Nolan with sound effects, a powerful soundtrack, and visuals which blow viewers away. In Oppenheimer, he combines sound effects of the bombings with a classical soundtrack in key moments, which are further supported through visually appealing scenes of the bomb tests and references to historical figures.

Oppenheimer checks in as my favorite release of the year because of the intricate, relatable character development not too complicated to understand. Nolan portrays the character of Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, with a three-pronged approach: his personal, work, and moral life. He takes on the personal lens through his love interests and friendships. He looks through the work lens of Oppenheimer’s career through the development of the bomb. The movie also addresses Oppenheimer’s moral life by looking at the ethics of deploying nuclear weapons and other events that shape Oppenheimer’s character (no spoilers!). While I have seen movies that attack the view of a character in a multi-faceted way, the beauty of Oppenheimer is in the timing. The movie cycles through various perspectives of Oppenheimer throughout, by flashing to the present as he is interviewed and periodically returning to confront his past experiences.

I give Oppenheimer a rating of 9/10, with points subtracted purely for the length and potential lack of ‘re-watchability’ of the movie. While I was sitting in the theater, immersing myself in his life, the three-hour run time blew by in an instant. However, revisiting this movie since the summer, it really is a one-watch movie for me. The length is at times unbearable when there are events in which the outcome is already known, and my interest was lost at many points. In totality, though, Oppenheimer is a cinematic masterpiece that should be renowned in a greater way than it was by critics and watchers alike. In my opinion, with Nolan as director, watchers expected one of the greatest movies ever. While it blew me away as I walked out with its ever-relevant message about nuclear weapons, it was not the greatest movie I have ever seen. While I would place it primarily on length, I saw other reviews that called Oppenheimer a movie that was not exciting for most of the movie. While I would say that sounds like a reviewer that came only for the nukes and not the deep-dive into Oppenheimer’s life, many others had the same negative view of the film. However, for the readers out there who haven’t seen Oppenheimer already, please watch it full-length with no interruptions; I guarantee a moment of reflection as the credits roll and you turn off the television!