The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

A new Christopher Nolan film is always an event, and that remains true even after his last film ‘Tenet’ (which I liked!) got some of the weaker reviews of his career. In ‘Oppenheimer’, he is perhaps back on steadier ground with a biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who was ultimately responsible for the creation of the first nuclear weapons. ‘Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’ is a pretty compelling tagline for a man that perhaps changed the modern world in more ways than any other, even if it is cribbed from a sacred Hindu text. It is a biopic remade in the form of a thriller – Nolan cleverly leverages that most of the audience know about the bomb, but not the aftermath for Oppenheimer (or at least I didn’t) and that ensures tension remains once the bomb has gone off.

Shot on IMAX cameras with practical effects where possible, the movie follows Oppenheimer’s life through three timelines (it is a Nolan film so it was never going to be a typical linear biopic!) as we follow the development of the bomb through the Manhattan Project, alongside two post-war timelines where Oppenheimer’s political beliefs are put under scrutiny amidst the ‘red scare’ of McCarthyism. First things first, this is a magnificent piece of work, impeccably crafted in almost every way with a superb, stacked cast (even Oscar winners such as Rami Malek and Gary Oldman turn up for minor parts) led by Cillian Murphy’s magnetic central performance. So often a compelling presence in supporting roles (regularly for Nolan himself), he really is a tour de force as the enigmatic Oppenheimer and I felt the movie really got inside the mind of a man who appears difficult to read, whether having an affair or leading the Manhattan Project. A first Oscar nomination awaits.

Technically ‘Oppenheimer’ demonstrates a master at the top of his game. The sound design is stunning and at times quite overwhelming, particularly in an IMAX screen, with Ludwig Göransson’s brilliant score taking you on a journey from awe to shock to horror to even romance. The editing is slick, perhaps slicker than I can recall in a Nolan film and it helps a 3 hour film move at pace and never lag. If I had a slight critique it’d be the extended aftermath of the bomb’s creation, narratively needed, but I think spending so much time with Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr., great to see him back in dramatic roles) after trinity is a success takes away from Oppenheimer himself and his conflicted feelings about his own creation.

At its best, ‘Oppenheimer’ explores the conflicted morality that was exposed through the development of the Atomic Bomb – that possibly the greatest achievement in history has unleashed a power that we human beings are not capable of wielding. That is ultimately the question that will linger upon leaving the cinema, at least once your heart rate has returned to normal after the journey Nolan takes you on in this mesmerising piece of work.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Jason Clarke, Dylan Arnold, Tom Conti, James D’Arcy, David Dastmalchian, Dane DeHaan, Alden Ehrenreich, Tony Goldwyn, Jefferson Hall, David Krumholtz, Matthew Modine, Gustaf Skarsgård, Michael Angarano, Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Danny Deferrari, Devon Bostick, Alex Wolff, Scott Grimes, Josh Zuckerman, Matthias Schweighöfer, Christopher Denham, David Rysdahl, Guy Burnet, Louise Lombard, Harrison Gilbertson, Emma Dumont, Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Olli Haaskivi, Gary Oldman, John Gowans, Kurt Koehler, Macon Blair, Harry Groener, Jack Cutmore-Scott, James Remar, Gregory Jbara, Tim DeKay, James Urbaniak and Michael A. Baker

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/