“Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.”

A ripple replicates a bomb, and a burnt, flaming light parallels an explosion. It is clear to us that from the first minute, Oppenheimer is psychological and somewhat experimental. The structure is put together in loose weight, allowing for interpretation to take place for an entire three hours. Do things only make sense in the end? It's script is non-linear, allowing plot-points to rise into a great crescendo with satisfying conclusions. Different perspectives, different people, different thoughts. Time is diffrenciated by colour, with the meanest of it coated in thick, black and white cinematography. Everything here is character-driven at its core and Christopher Nolan writes each scene meticulously, expressing these characters in full wealth. It's a brilliantly written film, alongside every other aspect handled to near perfection.

As someone who studied J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in WWII and the nuclear age for a History class, it's safe to say he is one of the great physicists of all-time and a father of nuclear science. Seeing Nolan take on the American Prometheus had me intrigued with all my knowledge of the subject matter. It excited me. And what do ya know? He hits the nail right on the head. Everything is almost perfect, being a masterpiece in filmmaking. Nolan had an important story to be told in the language of cinema that no one ever cared to touch, allowing a genre redefining biopic to be birthed. It is truly nothing at all like I've ever seen before, and I doubt I ever will. It's Christopher Nolan's The Social Network or his Schindlers List. It's a big, big movie. It's sweaty, it's stressful, it's long and exhausting - but the end result is one of the best movies made in recent memory. Maybe it isn't perfect, but so what? I'm mesmerized at the attention to detail the cast and crew put together to make an astoundingly accurate portrayal of an extremely important figure in the world of science. The direction is flawless, the writing is some of the best I've ever heard on screen (I hope this wins screenplay, like seriously, wow). How did Nolan write some of these lines? It's not shocking, Oppenheimer is very much a Nolan movie with his signature style of directing at work. But the writing is just absolutely sublime. Everything from the sound of delivery to the haunting messages this film portrays through subtext makes this one for the ages. The acting is some of the best of the year (so far, this is probably the most well acted movie of the year). Cillian Murphy delivers an incredible lead performance, and Robert Downey Jr. outdoes himself in a very interesting role. Everyone supporting, from Florence Pugh to Matt Damon to even Benny Safdie is brilliant. It's all so convincing. The score is one of the best I've ever head. I'm not even overestimating all of this. It's absolutely beautiful, mixing classical music with loud synth which fits perfectly into the time period and describes the character of Oppenheimer in an auditorial manner. Ludwig G. has outdone himself and I'm so eager to see his work in more upcoming films. The cinematography defines the film undeniably well with it's use of colour grading. The black and white of Lewis Strauss and the colour of J. Robert Oppenheimer balance the tone in a wildly thematically interesting way. Scenes of dread, haunting nightmares of possible outcomes of the explosion and the details behind that fill the screen with an epic density to it. It looks incredible in IMAX. The two time periods make Oppenheimer structurally profound in the way it tells it's story, taking us back to the early roots of Christopher Nolan as a director. It's ultimately interesting to see the way everything plays out, and every new scene gives you a new perspective of the last. I respect the way the story is told quite a bit. Nolan is back, away from his PG-13 spree of films, finally being allowed to write something dark, dirty, disturbing and mature for audiences that have grown up with his films. It was incredibly cool and mesmerizing to witness a Nolan film in IMAX. It was shot on film, and seeing every single detail unfold on the largest screen possible with a humanlike level of a visual scope was something I've never once had the pleasure to experience. Finally, I can say that I did. See this on the largest screen possible, preferably an IMAX theater, because you will not regret it.

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

The film chronicles the invention of the atomic bomb, as Oppenheimer himself leads the Manhattan Project to build The Gadget, a bomb, before the Nazis do. Christopher Nolan handles every subject with absolutely care and sincerity. I'm pretty positive that every aspect is factually correct. Originally adapted from American Prometheus, Nolan gives us his own edge of Oppenheimer's story, with structural integrity almost redefining itself every minute while still being incredibly historically accurate. It's amazing to see a filmmaker so passionate about a story that he goes this far to make it. Hell, at one point people even thought he dropped a real nuke for this film. That is honestly a new level of cinematic power. He is able to do so much with the practicality of the films visual enticements. It's astonishing. It fits into the films premise as a psychological insight into the main characters mind. It's a character study. It mirrors a horror movie at times, being a thriller for most. The recruiting of every scientist, the building of a town, the scientific resources involved, the relationships and the mind of a genius fill most of the films first half which all crumble into a great success yet failure of real life, resulting in a catastrophic aftermath. The feeling just stated is captured perfectly by Nolan in the films narrative, creating a sense of dread for most of the movie. It's all so engaging though. It has elements of pshychosexuality and images that strike me as disturbing at times which genuinely amazed me. It only all increased the level of the narrative to be more fleshed out. It all leads up to the 'bomb test' which might have been the most tense moment in cinema I've ever seen. We know the outcome in Los Alamos, but wow, what a scene! Genuinely terrifying. The way it's acted and directed make it so intense. The moment the domb drops fills our screen with blinding light and scarred silence. The visuals are magneficent here, and I think that may be the best scene in a movie where every scene is as compelling as the last. When you think the movie is coming to a close, we're still about to witness an hour of the mastery of Nolans writing in very talky and insightful scenes which tie up the rest of the movie in a nice bow. It focuses on the trial of Lewis Strauss and the interrogation of J. Robert Oppenheimer. I wouldn't go into details of what exactly goes down, but I'd say just pay attention. There are a lot of words thrown at you at once but Nolan makes it so engaging. I was gripped to my seat, and the reveals were shocking. There is still so much of movie in a movie where the middle feels like a standalone film, making a true epic at the end. Lewis Strauss is a pitiful character, and the way in which everything goes down, from with his aspect of the film tells us a lot about who he was without necessarily doing so literally. The subtextual language of Oppenheimer is brilliant, allowing for so much of cinematic mastery to take place. That one scene with Rami Malek was incredible. Oppenheimer didn't really treat him with respect, but his contribution to the trial was humiliating to Strauss which surprised me. It was a great sequence with a lot of significance. The film slows down at this point yet feels so fast. It's difficult to explain but once you experience it you will have no doubt in agreeing with what I'm saying. It's truly something else. Everything presented from a narrative standpoint is utter perfection.

Being one of my most anticipated films of the year, being able to finally experience this was monumental in the IMAX theater. Oppenheimer is an incredible epic of every aspect a movie like this should have. Nolan directs the hell out of this film, the performances all around are fantastic with a Oscar-worthy performances from Murphy and Downey Jr. It's perplexing to see a film with these heights reach the level of a Summer blockbuster. It has every right to be, and it's awesome! Everyone should go see this in a theater, it's really unlike anything you'll ever experience. Seeing this less than an hour after watching Barbie certainly was something. The entire double-bill experience with my friends was super fun and we had a blast with both movies, but after walking out of Oppenheimer I'm almost sure that not one of us even uttered the title of Barbie for at least half an hour after the second feature stunned us. It's hilarious that two movies that are the complete opposite of each other (I cannot stress that enough) are related by a mere release date. Both films were highly anticipated of mine and seeing both in one day was the way to go! However, one will make you laugh relentlessly and the other will completely destroy you. These parallels truly are something and balance each other perfectly. Oppenheimer destroyed me, and it did so in the best way possible. What an incredible day, and what an incredible experience! I loved Barbie but Oppenheimer impacted me moreso. The build up to the ending was immaculate, and the revelation of an insight of an earlier part of the film absolutely haunted me. The ending itself is one of the best ever, and my jaw was on the floor til the credits rolled. It's a movie that will keep you on edge and only release you once the film cuts to black. And let me tell ya something, after that ending, the release was felt. It's just so mesmerizing yet simultaneously haunting, and the note that it leaves you on is chilling. A one of a kind movie and an undeniable achievement in it's craft. Wow, just wow.

“When I came to you with those calculations, we thought we might start a chain reaction that could destroy the entire world...I believe we did.”