The hype was big for this movie with the cast and having Christopher Nolan overseeing it. It exceeded my expectations. The whole film is very thought provoking, and can lead you into a rabbit hole of different paths of thoughts and research not only into history but science as well. And this history set human kind on a story that is still open-ended. The dialogue is very intelligent and doesn't take time trying to make it seem otherwise. In an already very long movie, I had no issue with googling certain concepts and characters from the movie. Something else that I did not expect although clear from the title. This movie is truly about Oppenheimer not the A-bomb testing leading up to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I found Oppenheimer's character inspiring but in no means perfect. Like real people and real history, stories are nuanced. Although it's easy to absolutely cheer on Oppenheimer against Robert Downey's character, the movie brought up the imperfections in both characters and allowed the audience to form their own opinions on the true motives of both characters. At the end of the movie, both these characters lost, and I hadn't been so shocked by the end of movie since Infinity War (which is funny because completely separate genre). This story is a steppingstone into the Cold War and the conflicts resulting in the current power rankings. War is forever changed. The thought of nukes is hopefully a last resort as we learned of the lingering effects of the first bombings in World War II.
Back into the actual film itself. While this movie certainly felt long, I can't think of a scene that needed to be lost or a thought regarding bad pacing. I will say the 1st half of the film was more thrilling to me, but the second half was essential to understanding Oppenheimer and the aftermath of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Cillian Murphy was fantastic as well as the rest of the cast, but with him having to carry many parts he did exceptional. I never knew much about Oppenheimer's story, but I think going forward add cinematic fame onto his resume thanks to Murphy's performance (I will have to give Peaky Blinders a watch now). Because this isn't just a good history movie where you thought it was cool to learn about the past, this is just as entertaining as the Dark Knight but also scares your soul a bit knowing this is all real. Absolutely loved Damon's line where the doctor asked why he should move out to New Mexico, and Damon responded something along the lines of "this is the most important thing to happen in the history of the world." The stakes were made quite evident here to me. It's hard for me to try to imagine being in these character's minds where they are scared about the Nazis beating them in the development of this weapon and using it to conquer and reshape the world. I also found all the conspiracy and espionage regarding the Russian Soviet's intriguing. I wish to further research the politics of this movie going forward.
Also, thought that Tom Conti made Einstein's presence be important, Emily Blunt did great in her testifying scene, and that Josh Peck did fantastic helping to elevate the tension in the pushing of the button that would set off the Trinity test. The build up for the scene, and the explosion itself were spectacular. The lead up before with the rainy darkness and Damon's line about the possibility of the ignition of the atmosphere had me in high anticipation. The soundtrack from Ludwig Göransson is still stuck in my head and makes me wish I had studied the elements that make up all matter. The patriotic symbolism was great but not overbearing to me. I could be bias though. I thought Oppenheimer getting hoisted up onto the shoulders of his men with the U. S. flag was so very cool. This is a man who changed the world after who knows how many stressful hard worked days and his associates were giving him the praise. The rest of the movie plays and you are met with many thoughts. Everything is nuanced and it's hard to see what the correct decision is. The bombing of Japan seems to me like an impossible decision that I would not want to be involved in. Is it too much power for such a game changing decision to be made by a few in the government? Should scientist voices have more of a pronounced sway in an ethically difficult decision? Was Downey's character and others wrong to be skeptical of Oppenheimer's affiliations with known soviets and get his security clearance? Should Americans that have soviet like beliefs be monitored and considered a threat or are they practicing their own freedom? Should Oppenheimer been allowed to keep his clearance until proven guilty as the saying goes? I ask questions that seem to have two answers, but really have a bunch of different aspects to them. Multiple things can be true at once. The scene when Oppenheimer gives a speech after the bombings shows this. He seems to be both proud and horrified of their achievement. All I realized is that people/culture/history is complicated. Thank you Christoper Nolan for this movie.
Back into the actual film itself. While this movie certainly felt long, I can't think of a scene that needed to be lost or a thought regarding bad pacing. I will say the 1st half of the film was more thrilling to me, but the second half was essential to understanding Oppenheimer and the aftermath of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Cillian Murphy was fantastic as well as the rest of the cast, but with him having to carry many parts he did exceptional. I never knew much about Oppenheimer's story, but I think going forward add cinematic fame onto his resume thanks to Murphy's performance (I will have to give Peaky Blinders a watch now). Because this isn't just a good history movie where you thought it was cool to learn about the past, this is just as entertaining as the Dark Knight but also scares your soul a bit knowing this is all real. Absolutely loved Damon's line where the doctor asked why he should move out to New Mexico, and Damon responded something along the lines of "this is the most important thing to happen in the history of the world." The stakes were made quite evident here to me. It's hard for me to try to imagine being in these character's minds where they are scared about the Nazis beating them in the development of this weapon and using it to conquer and reshape the world. I also found all the conspiracy and espionage regarding the Russian Soviet's intriguing. I wish to further research the politics of this movie going forward.
Also, thought that Tom Conti made Einstein's presence be important, Emily Blunt did great in her testifying scene, and that Josh Peck did fantastic helping to elevate the tension in the pushing of the button that would set off the Trinity test. The build up for the scene, and the explosion itself were spectacular. The lead up before with the rainy darkness and Damon's line about the possibility of the ignition of the atmosphere had me in high anticipation. The soundtrack from Ludwig Göransson is still stuck in my head and makes me wish I had studied the elements that make up all matter. The patriotic symbolism was great but not overbearing to me. I could be bias though. I thought Oppenheimer getting hoisted up onto the shoulders of his men with the U. S. flag was so very cool. This is a man who changed the world after who knows how many stressful hard worked days and his associates were giving him the praise. The rest of the movie plays and you are met with many thoughts. Everything is nuanced and it's hard to see what the correct decision is. The bombing of Japan seems to me like an impossible decision that I would not want to be involved in. Is it too much power for such a game changing decision to be made by a few in the government? Should scientist voices have more of a pronounced sway in an ethically difficult decision? Was Downey's character and others wrong to be skeptical of Oppenheimer's affiliations with known soviets and get his security clearance? Should Americans that have soviet like beliefs be monitored and considered a threat or are they practicing their own freedom? Should Oppenheimer been allowed to keep his clearance until proven guilty as the saying goes? I ask questions that seem to have two answers, but really have a bunch of different aspects to them. Multiple things can be true at once. The scene when Oppenheimer gives a speech after the bombings shows this. He seems to be both proud and horrified of their achievement. All I realized is that people/culture/history is complicated. Thank you Christoper Nolan for this movie.
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