most biopics are either a complete summary of the subject’s life or a slice of life story that focuses on one singular event, but oppenheimer approaches it with a very clear goal. it wants to examine why a man would create such a destructive device that caused countless deaths; and why humanity as a whole would celebrate it. nolan gets a lot of flack for his films being “cold” and making it hard for viewers to connect with his characters (that’s one of the reasons why tenet and dunkirk didn’t work for me) but here i think his cold approach works well. we don’t need to sympathize with oppenheimer in order to examine his mental state. that, paired with the feeling of impending doom that is present in the entire film, makes this nolan’s most dire movie yet and i loved it. this film and 2022’s TÁR are really good at examining the fall of a figure and why they were driven to do horrible things, yes they are unlikeable but the point isn’t to like them, it’s to get somewhat of an understanding. despite it being 3 hours it never drags, the script is really fast moving and the comparisons to the social network are very apt in that regard. 

nolan is really good at getting great performances out of his actors and this film is no different. cillian murphy is finally the star and he handles it beautifully. his performance isn’t showy but the way he moves his face - particularly his eyes - is great and he commands the viewer’s attention every time he’s onscreen. RDJ is also a huge standout. this made me remember that he’s actually a great actor and he has a couple scenes in which i thought “yeah he’s getting an oscar nomination”, he’s maybe even win competitive to be honest. unfortunately, nolan still can’t write great female characters but kudos to florence pugh and emily blunt for still be able to do some great work with the limited time they had! 
also gotta give a shout out to the techs! the production design, cinematography and sound work are excellent, perhaps even better than dunkirk in terms of the scope. and the score. THE SCORE!!!! ludwig you have done it again. 90% of the movie has music and my god it is glorious. this is really an amazing achievement on every single level. this IS nolan’s magnum opus and i hope it cleans up at every awards guild i swear to god!!