Tyler Watts’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Our work here will ensure a peace mankind has never seen."
Barbenheimer 2/2
Fuck 3 hours, I'd give 10 hours of my life if Nolan keeps making movies like this. This may be a biopic centered around one of the most defining moments in the history of the world, but with how Nolan delivers this behemoth of a story and burries us into the physical and mental world of a brilliant cursed man as if we're living and breathing in the same breath as him, living in the history in real time in such an unforetold manner it reaches the status of biblical more than it is historical. Nolan is dialled in like never before. He brings together a complete and comprehensive cinematic experience working at unparalleled powers to tell not a story but a shivering, eye gluing truth about the heartbreaking life of Robert Oppenheimer illustrating and shining a huge light on the definitive era of American greed, corruption, and the morality/ethics of the American way. This may not be Nolan's best work, but it is most certainly a giant leap in maturity and his most eloquent piece of storytelling up to now. Oppenheimer as a cinematic experience operates with the power of Nolan and an atomic bomb fused together.
Nolan is a maestro in turning visual and sound into perfect and epically breathtaking harmony. The marriage of ambiance and image in Oppenheimer fosters a life-altering scale of entertainment that takes the human senses to a sanctuary of bliss and inarticulation. To me I felt Nolan took what he and Zimmer achieved in the 3rd act of Inception with the enduring build-up and widened it along with Göransson into a 3 hour historical movie of epic proportions. Göransson's score is an unyielding force of transcendent nature that permeates through your whole body. Nolan and Hoytema's carefully constructed sequence of the enchanting visuals of fire and starlight that illustrate the power of the atomic bomb are enough to stop and revive your heart. It's these metaphorical visuals and the score that engulfs the atmosphere with a foreboding lingering that haunts the titular character in which I feel is what instills the severity and magnitude of the story ever so deep into our minds that it becomes an addiction to learn more about these events and Oppenheimer.
Never has vibrant, piercing blue eyes become so colourless and void of soul than the eyes of Cillian Murphy as the father of the atomic bomb. His wide-eyed still demeanor reverberates with every moment of stillness before the movie requires it again. His performance is more mesmerizing than the chaos of a nuclear bomb igniting. I know what RDJ and Damon were saying all this time now when they said they couldn't believe what he brought to the performance. Murphy is sensational as Oppenheimer. A whirlpool of a performance consuming us whole. RDJ is showstopping. He commands every second of your attention and wows you with his confidence. Emily Blunt, although her time is short her performance is a towering duet of sadness and anger. 3 no-brainer Oscar nominations. The rest of the ensemble which is every person in the world are all stellar for what they offer.
Oppenheimer is relentless cinematic brilliance that is another rebirth in the medium of movies. With every passing second and switch of the colour palette it lifts us into the center of history and truth. Nolan tantalizes the eyes and heart with his larger than life persona, but floods the mind with haunting reminders and revelations about our world and the future of it. It's fitting that Murphy's first lead in a Nolan film is about history as it is a historic turned in performance. Honestly, the emotions that I experienced in the theatre are indescribable. Just like any Nolan experience you expect it to be etched into your head forever, but Oppenheimer in particular feels different from the rest of his filmography. The Social Network was the blueprint, Oppenheimer was the answer. This is how you make a 3 hour movie.
Anyways, just like that Barbenheimer is in the books. It was an unbelievable day of infectious passion, pride, spirit, and respect for both movies. As the Oppenheimer title card appeared the majority of my theatre applauded and cheered. It was such a small moment that perfectly captured what this day truly symbolized. It was never a competition. It was always Barbie and Oppenheimer not Barbie or Oppenheimer. We won because they both won. I'm thankful I got to live in the Barbenheimer era. I wouldn't have done it any other way. I will most certainly cherish and remember this day for the rest of my time here on this green earth.
