Oppenheimer hides a good movie underneath its 3-hour runtime, but it's limited by its director, Nolan.

It is undeniable that a big amount of effort went into packing this movie with details. The visuals and aesthetics entrance you and catch your attention. But once you pay attention to everything else, it is these details that bring it down.

Telling the entire story of a man this complex is impossible. The biography this movie is based on has more than 700 pages. In an effort to include this, the viewer is constantly bombarded with new characters, new events, new pieces of information with little to no exposure. Countless physicists are introduced just to show Oppenheimer met a lot of physicists, but the ones that will appear throughout the movie and the ones that will only be name-dropped are given the same introduction. "It's an honor, I read your paper on XYZ, oh thank you, you should go to ABC to study ZYX under QWE". Characters complete each other's sentences in order to keep this flow of information going. Conversations are simply not natural.

Even important topics, like who the Spanish Republicans were (as Oppenheimer's donations contribute to his downfall) are brushed over. They fought fascists, that's all they tell you. But, the US also fought fascists, so why would the US government think negatively of people that supported the Spanish Republicans? Well, the movie already expects you to know and glosses over it. What happened to the population affected by Los Alamos? Something happened, but the movie won't tell you. I'll excuse that absence, reasoning that the movie is already too long. The passing comment of Oppenheimer saying "return the land to the Indians" will do.

The best part of the movie is everything post-Trinity, especially the Senate scenes. Nolan finally remembers one of the most important parts of filmmaking: building characters. RDJ smashes his role as Strauss. We get to see the intricacies of the US government's bureaucracy and how it's exploited by men thirsting for power, including Oppenheimer in the previous acts. But it's too little, too late. Most characters are portrayed uni-dimensionally. The only ones we see multiple facets of are Oppenheimer and Strauss. The women in Oppenheimer's life? Reduced to single notes, despite their considerable screen-time and complexity in the real-world story.

It is also after the detonation when the best scenes take place. Arguably, Oppenheimer's victory speech is leagues above other scenes. The contrast of life and death, mindless celebration and grief, and the knowledge that he had started it. I could tell where the scene was going, but to Caesar what is Caesar's, it's pretty good.

Despite this proof that Nolan is able to capture complexity and emotions in a biopic, at times the movie about the atomic bombs that have defined modern history becomes a comedy. Introducing the Gita in a post-sex scene is hilarious. Name-dropping Kennedy (but no other senator that voted against) got a chuckle out of me. The Einstein jumpscare when he appears dishevelled behind a car is amazing.

After all, it's a Nolan film. In the first 15 minutes, flashy visuals with very high-quality stock-like footage are used to show science-y imagery to make the viewer understand this movie is about physics. A difficult to understand film not because of the deepness of its themes, but because of its obfuscation, a product of the director's obsession with complexity. The hint of intellectuality, to make the audience of a highly-commercial and market-oriented film feel better. The most frustrating thing: there is a better film here somewhere. A lot of amazing talent worked on this. One could spend hours reading about the real-life story and characters. Oppenheimer's story opens the door to an exploration of many complex themes. But it all gets fumbled into just "ok".

Maybe I only thought it was ok because I did not watch the movie in IMAX, as apparently it's meant to be seen. A good movie is only determined by how good it looks and sounds. Story, pacing and characters are optional.

I would like to give it a 3.5-4 but just to balance out the irrational ratings from the crazy fans. 3 is the best I have here. 🙂