Ah yes, finally got a chance to watch this movie, the way Christopher Nolan Intended. Illegally on a computer screen in my room.

Admittedly, I had been avoiding this film for a while. At its release, I wasn't in the right mental space to take it on. Given the tumultuous state of the world, I felt like watching it in a theater seemed overwhelmingly anxiety-inducing. It's unfortunate, considering Christopher Nolan is my all time favorite director, and his movies are a true inspiration.

Currently I do feel I am in a better headspace, despite the world remaining unchanged and nuclear anxiety lingering, I felt it was time since it has been winning numerous awards and will undoubtedly win a ton of more awards in the coming weeks, and I am glad I did. 

This is a masterwork of filmmaking and creativity marking the pinnacle of Nolan's career. Nearly every aspect is flawlessly executed. The narrative is so engaging and the approach it takes is so well realized. I went in thinking the movie was just going to be about them just building the bomb, and it is so much more than that. I am grateful for that, because I feel like just being about the building of the bomb would have made me sad, but it really lives up to it’s title, offering a comprehensive exploration of Oppenheimer as a person, and everything surrounding the bomb's creation.

It’s look at Oppenheimer’s life pre and post bomb is so well thought out. It moves SO fast but yet, you are able to follow everything without skipping a beat. It is not hard to follow at all and is actually quite amazing Nolan was able to interweave the non-linear aspects so expertly throughout. In Dunkirk, I was definitely not a fan of how he did it, but here it is like he learned from his mistakes. I’m telling you this is the culmination of Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker.

The way Nolan was able to show how Oppenheimer sees the world and his physics early on through different flashes of light, and stars, and fire etc. was so unique and so well done. It actually made me understand him better as a person. Like he loves this. This is what he lives for. He has a complete understanding of this stuff. Made it super easy to follow and understand his character. I appreciated it so much. There was a line where someone said to Oppenheimer, “You see beyond the world we live in” and for Nolan to actually show that in the movie, incredible. He really is THE director of our time.

Hoyte van Hoytema is also slowly becoming my favorite cinematographer of all time. I didn’t see this in IMAX, but even through a freaking computer screen I could feel the scale and scope in my bones. The movie is literally just people talking for 3 hours and it is so well realized. I am just so grateful and things like that just remind me why I love movies so much. His shots, and Nolan’s direction, and the freaking score. Man it’s so great.

I am gushing over this, because yes I do love it, but I really have a problem in the way in which Nolan writes and uses women on screen. Even early on in his career, he didn’t know what to do with a woman. It sucks that this is the culmination of his work and he STILL does not know how to effectively use characters that are women to a potential greater than “side chick” or “angry housewife”. Kind of disappointing.

I also kind of felt that we really didn’t get that aspect of the use of Nuclear Weapons being a negative thing until like the very end which was great but lasted a total of 15 seconds. Sure it is shown in glimpses a little bit throughout the movie, but idk. I feel like movies have the power to change the world, and was hoping Nolan could’ve like TRIPLED DOWN on that aspect of the use of Nuclear Weaponry. The third act kind of heavily focused on the different trials of Oppenheimer and we really didn’t get to see him regret anything. Maybe that was the point, but I feel like it could’ve just been more.

Overall though this is a great film and deserves every award it is getting, and the awards it has yet to get. The way it was unexpectedly able to bring this story to the screen is a testament to how great of a filmmaker Nolan is, and I hope he continues to create such engaging stories. I loved most aspects of this and can’t wait for what he is able to do next. I am currently at an 8, but with an in theaters rewatch could move to a 9. We will see.

Christopher Nolan RANKED