Continuing along my game of “catch-up” as I make my way through the vast number of films I missed in 2023, I find myself finally arriving at the year’s defining picture. That of course is Christopher Nolan’s three hour historical biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer. I actually got to see this in a near empty theater only 14 hours ago and my god was it worth it. A theatrical experience is something everyone should aim for with this film, whether they’ve seen it already or not. Movies like these were simply made for a big screen and there’s really no substitute for that. 

This is Nolan at his best. Everything that makes the man a great director is on full display here and multiplied by 10. The way that he chooses to tell this story is incredibly ambitious and unceasingly entertaining. For a three hour historical biopic to be this engaging all the way through shows how effective Nolan and the rest of his team were in depicting these events in an entertaining way. Similar to Dunkirk, Nolan chooses to tell Oppenheimer’s story in a non-chronological order, with events before and after the creation of the bomb being spliced together. Through the magic of great editing, this works super well as the race to create the bomb and the subsequent investigation into Oppenheimer’s suspected Communist sympathies are two stories intertwined to create a narratively interesting film. 

Of course, Oppenheimer is a technical marvel. What more needs to be said? I was simply awestruck at the sheer ambition of this film. Shots of the inner workings of atomic bombs were visual feasts made further impressive by the lack of CGI, per Nolan’s request. The sound design is a major driving force in what makes this movie so incredible. The impact of the bomb is literally felt through the screen thanks to it. That paired with Ludwig Görransson’s score makes for a great time to be able to hear. 

But yeah, Nolan cooked up some good shit with this one. Glad he and the rest of the crew took home their much deserved Oscars. The fact that this and Godzilla Minus One, a film that oddly works in conjunction with Oppenheimer, came out in the same year makes me, saying this in the corniest way possible, believe in cinema again!