After second viewing 10/10.
'Oppenheimer' Nolanfans User Reviews
First view: Masterpiece. 10/10.
Saw it on regular 70mm. I don't even know how to categorize my initial reaction. It was powerful, the Trinity test was unreal, the narrative trickery seemed somewhat unnecessary to me at times, the final thirty seconds have made me feel wildly depressed, I walked out of the theater shaking, and I absolutely can't wait to see it a second time (on 35mm, no less).
Posts: 28
Joined:
February 2023
First viewing: Xenon IMAX
Overwhelming physical experience. Speechless and in tears by the end. Need to watch this several more times, but damn!
I think this is stylistically very experimental. Nearly the entire film plays out like montage. Which is incredibly difficult to pull off. All actors on fire, possibly best acting in a Nolan movie ever, which is saying a lot.
MVPs (on first viewing): Murphy, Blunt, Downey, Clarke, Ehrenreich, Affleck, Krumholtz, Safdie, DeHaan
What the movie does post-explosion IMO isn't great editing, it's beyond that. It's a feat of sheer engineering, the way it jumps between timelines. And it seemed very much written into the script, not found in the edit. Unbelievable!
I'm stunned most by Nolan's cinematic voice. The pace/structure of this movie is extremely bold and unlike anything else.
Overwhelming physical experience. Speechless and in tears by the end. Need to watch this several more times, but damn!
I think this is stylistically very experimental. Nearly the entire film plays out like montage. Which is incredibly difficult to pull off. All actors on fire, possibly best acting in a Nolan movie ever, which is saying a lot.
MVPs (on first viewing): Murphy, Blunt, Downey, Clarke, Ehrenreich, Affleck, Krumholtz, Safdie, DeHaan
What the movie does post-explosion IMO isn't great editing, it's beyond that. It's a feat of sheer engineering, the way it jumps between timelines. And it seemed very much written into the script, not found in the edit. Unbelievable!
I'm stunned most by Nolan's cinematic voice. The pace/structure of this movie is extremely bold and unlike anything else.
Last edited by viggykich on July 21st, 2023, 1:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
I just lost a huge fucking post I wrote because of server issues and I'm pissed... so, sorry, if this is going to be shorter... I'm genuinely angry right now 
Long story short: I left the theatre somewhat disappointed, because I felt the "final act" was much, much less effective than what has come before, and also, less effective than what it could have been. After reading the book, I felt that the real tragedy, the real, heart-shattering tragedy of Oppenheimer lay in his utter failure to care for his children, and the epilogue to his life story in the book is just this bleak experience because of his cancer and whatever happens to his family, his children and his friends. We get glimpses of his brothers' exile and his negligence of children, but I feel that Nolan missed out on creating this earth-shattering and depressing drama about this wildly controversial man. He partly achieved that, but I think the last stretch of the film is much less well-paced, well-written and well-directed than whatever has come before that. The first great payoff and highpoint for me was the "Our boys would come home" scene, and from there until the "great scene", it's the best part of the film for me. After that, I felt a bit confused and let down.
But I'm seeing it at the BFI IMAX in a week, so I'll definitely see it again. Some amazing moments of film, Cillian is brilliant, the rest of the cast is brilliant, I liked Teller especially, but my first impressions are these.
Long story short: I left the theatre somewhat disappointed, because I felt the "final act" was much, much less effective than what has come before, and also, less effective than what it could have been. After reading the book, I felt that the real tragedy, the real, heart-shattering tragedy of Oppenheimer lay in his utter failure to care for his children, and the epilogue to his life story in the book is just this bleak experience because of his cancer and whatever happens to his family, his children and his friends. We get glimpses of his brothers' exile and his negligence of children, but I feel that Nolan missed out on creating this earth-shattering and depressing drama about this wildly controversial man. He partly achieved that, but I think the last stretch of the film is much less well-paced, well-written and well-directed than whatever has come before that. The first great payoff and highpoint for me was the "Our boys would come home" scene, and from there until the "great scene", it's the best part of the film for me. After that, I felt a bit confused and let down.
But I'm seeing it at the BFI IMAX in a week, so I'll definitely see it again. Some amazing moments of film, Cillian is brilliant, the rest of the cast is brilliant, I liked Teller especially, but my first impressions are these.
Posts: 1010
Joined:
December 2019
It’s a masterpiece
10/10
10/10
Posts: 3
Joined:
December 2021
DHOPW42 wrote: ↑July 21st, 2023, 3:32 amI just lost a huge fucking post I wrote because of server issues and I'm pissed... so, sorry, if this is going to be shorter... I'm genuinely angry right now
Long story short: I left the theatre somewhat disappointed, because I felt the "final act" was much, much less effective than what has come before, and also, less effective than what it could have been. After reading the book, I felt that the real tragedy, the real, heart-shattering tragedy of Oppenheimer lay in his utter failure to care for his children, and the epilogue to his life story in the book is just this bleak experience because of his cancer and whatever happens to his family, his children and his friends. We get glimpses of his brothers' exile and his negligence of children, but I feel that Nolan missed out on creating this earth-shattering and depressing drama about this wildly controversial man. He partly achieved that, but I think the last stretch of the film is much less well-paced, well-written and well-directed than whatever has come before that. The first great payoff and highpoint for me was the "Our boys would come home" scene, and from there until the "great scene", it's the best part of the film for me. After that, I felt a bit confused and let down.
But I'm seeing it at the BFI IMAX in a week, so I'll definitely see it again. Some amazing moments of film, Cillian is brilliant, the rest of the cast is brilliant, I liked Teller especially, but my first impressions are these.
Last edited by SFAS on July 21st, 2023, 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
I felt kind of similar to this. That last hour was just a little unnecessarily confusing for me, and not as exciting compared to what had come before. I felt somewhat disappointed walking out of the theater as well. But, I’m seeing it again in a couple days, so maybe it’ll go down smoother a second time. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to see a movie more than once to really grasp it.DHOPW42 wrote: ↑July 21st, 2023, 3:32 amI just lost a huge fucking post I wrote because of server issues and I'm pissed... so, sorry, if this is going to be shorter... I'm genuinely angry right now
Long story short: I left the theatre somewhat disappointed, because I felt the "final act" was much, much less effective than what has come before, and also, less effective than what it could have been. After reading the book, I felt that the real tragedy, the real, heart-shattering tragedy of Oppenheimer lay in his utter failure to care for his children, and the epilogue to his life story in the book is just this bleak experience because of his cancer and whatever happens to his family, his children and his friends. We get glimpses of his brothers' exile and his negligence of children, but I feel that Nolan missed out on creating this earth-shattering and depressing drama about this wildly controversial man. He partly achieved that, but I think the last stretch of the film is much less well-paced, well-written and well-directed than whatever has come before that. The first great payoff and highpoint for me was the "Our boys would come home" scene, and from there until the "great scene", it's the best part of the film for me. After that, I felt a bit confused and let down.
But I'm seeing it at the BFI IMAX in a week, so I'll definitely see it again. Some amazing moments of film, Cillian is brilliant, the rest of the cast is brilliant, I liked Teller especially, but my first impressions are these.
Posts: 88
Joined:
October 2021
Whatever the fuck "Barbenheimer" is (in itself and culturally), what's insane is this is a big mid-summer blockbuster. Six hours after watching the movie, I still could not comprehend my experience and feelings. I didn't know he had this type of film in him. This is one of his best movies.
This late period, post-TDK trilogy filmography of his is the most interesting of his directorial career, at least to me. This feels like Nolan is at crossroads, and with bond discourse back in the mix, I hope he does not stop making these original movies, especially like Oppenheimer.
If I had to rate this, I would give it a 4.5/5
This late period, post-TDK trilogy filmography of his is the most interesting of his directorial career, at least to me. This feels like Nolan is at crossroads, and with bond discourse back in the mix, I hope he does not stop making these original movies, especially like Oppenheimer.
If I had to rate this, I would give it a 4.5/5
8/10
pros: visuals, audio, he finally figured out his dialogue volume issues, the score, literally every actor is fabulous especially cillian, damon, rdj, hartnet, bernard from santa clause, the direction is truly masterful(he should win an oscar imop). i liked the horror elements actually and could have used a few more.
could have been better: low rewatchability (i get it, it's a biopic), the torturous hearing interrogation scenes (i get this was done on purpose but there still could have been fewer of them), while i found the were effective, i did grow tired of them half way through. i know others disagree but everyone in our party would have .
overall, a fabulous biopic that i will likely only watch 1 or 2 more times. Selfishly i do hope he gets back to an action movie with fewer flashbacks/flashforwards once he gets the oscar under his belt for this.
pros: visuals, audio, he finally figured out his dialogue volume issues, the score, literally every actor is fabulous especially cillian, damon, rdj, hartnet, bernard from santa clause, the direction is truly masterful(he should win an oscar imop). i liked the horror elements actually and could have used a few more.
could have been better: low rewatchability (i get it, it's a biopic), the torturous hearing interrogation scenes (i get this was done on purpose but there still could have been fewer of them), while i found the
overall, a fabulous biopic that i will likely only watch 1 or 2 more times. Selfishly i do hope he gets back to an action movie with fewer flashbacks/flashforwards once he gets the oscar under his belt for this.
