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SIRS DO NOT REDEEM THE FILM IN INDIAN MARKETS BLOODY BITCH BASTERD

World renowned hack fraud Christopher "BRAVO" Nolan has finally pulled it off, by releasing a fantastic film that is not action oriented, something which I frankly did not believe could be done when this film was announced. The story of Oppenheimer is not one of big bombastic action setpieces that you would expect from Nolan. This is what was so intriguing about it from the jump, it's not his usual fare, it's something that arguably, is completely outside of his wheelhouse, but it's also something he was clearly intensely passionate about. All of it culminates here, and much like the bomb the film revolves around, it goes off with a bang. I may be tempted to conclude that this is Nolan's best film, but in actuality, I cannot. Not because it isn't his best film, but because dear reader, I was the REAL hack fraud this entire time. I've only seen the Batman movies. Send your complaints to the General Chat with a friendly ping and remember to keep comments positive and friendly!

What can be said about Oppenheimer that Bore, Jim, and whatever other reviewers you so frequent haven't said already? I don't know, so I'm just going to start rambling instead. What counts as a spoiler? I don't know, all of this is historical fact, hell, you probably already know the entire plot just from skimming a few wikipedia articles on the subject, something which most people here have doubtlessly done before this movie came out. If you don't want spoilers for the movie uhhhhh be dumb??? I'll try to avoid giving away too much though.

I won't lie to you, this is a three hour film about scientists talking, and having hearings, and politicians talking to scientists, and having hearings. A three hour movie centered largely around talking may seem incredibly dull and boring, but I'm going to tell you right now that it is not, and that is where the great skill of the movie lies. Direction, writing, and editing all come together in a perfect trinity to turn what otherwise could've been something incredibly boring and dull, into something that is engaging, anxious, fear-inducing, and thrilling all at once. It is a rush of an entire gamut of emotions packed into its runtime, each synchronizing near perfectly with the experience of Oppenheimer throughout the film, throughout his life. This is further enhanced through the manner in which the story is presented, non-linearly. Now at first, this seems like it might devolve into a confusing mess, especially early on as we speed through Oppenheimer: The Student Years, but once these bits of backstory are out of the way we settle in to three distinct time periods, jumping back and forth between them as the story sees fit, but never in a way that is confusing to the audience. By limiting the jumping around and tying it to story and thematic necessity, it not only helps the audience understand and build the mental connections necessary to understand what is going on fluidly, but it also enhances the story being told in each time period by bridging them together. Furthermore, it ties back in to ensuring that the film never feels dull. You never fear things dragging on for too long, or spending too much time on any one thing, because everything the movie is trying to tell is being told simultaneously across multiple time periods.

The sense of emotion conveyed by the film is aided greatly by the score. There has been a point of contention over it being too loud, or too overused in certain sequences, and I kind of agree to an extent. Early on in the film especially, it felt like it was overpowering a lot of the dialogue, making it harder to hear, or in some cases distracting from what was going on a bit. Perhaps my ears just adjusted to it as the movie went on, or maybe the mixing just got better, but once things really get going and the Manhattan Project truly kicks off, it got better, though still overbearing in some parts. It was an excellent score to be sure, and it added a lot to the film with its repeated leitmotifs and clever little sonic tricks. Stomping of feet reverberating like an unstoppable locomotive, clicking and screeching like a geiger counter, otherworldly noises from beyond the fabric of the universe, it conveys so much of the film's emotion that overbearing or not, I cannot imagine the movie without it. The score's usage during the bomb scene in particular elevated it to a sublime level that I imagine will likely go down in cinema history. No that is not a spoiler it's a fucking Oppenheimer movie of course there's a god damn bomb scene and of course it's fucking incredible.

Much praise has already been given to the performances so I shant repeat what has already been said, too much anyways. Cillian Murphy delivers a definitive performance, both in terms of the character he's playing, and perhaps for the actor himself. Robert Downey Jr. starts out seemingly understated but all of the nuance of his character and performance really just keeps growing and bubbling until it explodes in the third act. The supporting cast is massive and endless, some people appearing for a mere handful of minutes, but none of them ever feel like "Oh look at this whacky cameo!! XDDDD!!!!!!". Special big shoutout to Casey Affleck, the character he plays appears for maybe three minutes total, but he manages to exude this aura of menace and terror while still remaining soft-spoken and polite, but just off enough to make you want to run. Special big FAIL for Gary Oldman who didn't do anything wrong but the minute I saw him show up I was like "Huh is that Gary Oldman? That looks like Gary Oldman in Gary Oldman makeup. Huh? Is that him? Oh yeah there's the closeup it's Gary Oldman"

I could go on and gush about individual scenes and moments I really liked, but there are a lot, each of them carefully building into and layering on top of each other, and that might broach what one would consider spoiler territory. Specific things I did NOT like did in fact exist. There were a few um, "awkward" moments in the film. I feel that they were very much intentional, whether it's portraying Oppenheimer as a bit of a sperg, or just giving off a very weird and uncomfortable feeling that I can't talk about without spoiling. And again, my take is that these things were intentional. Oppenheimer is a very subjective film, and a good two thirds of it is shot from and framed from Oppenheimer's specific point of view. A lot of it is meant not just to portray the events of his life, but also to put you in his shoes, both narratively, and emotionally. Maybe Nolan is just retarded, but watching, I felt that these scenes would draw a lot of people out of the film with how unintentionally comical they were, and that is definitely a net negative.

The film is not interested in answering the questions that may surround Oppenheimer and his work. It wants you to do that for yourself. The facts are presented for you to decide, and while I said that the film is very subjective, there are also other points of view scattered throughout that leave you questioning whatever pre-conceived notion you may have gone in with surround Oppenheimer and the bomb(s). And yes there are the big existential questions of did Oppenheimer do the right, or even necessary thing? Are nuclear weapons ultimately a good or bad thing? etc, etc. But there are also smaller quandaries which one doesn't even consider within the macro-level discussion. I don't want to get too much into them since that also broaches spoiler territory, but there are so many "what-ifs" that leave you torn and considering the broader implications that these clashing personalities and their politics had on our world. And there is the other tale that Oppenheimer ultimately tells, the death of the scientist, and of the sciences. It is the end of an era where Scientists could simply do science without becoming tangled in the messy web of politics and bureaucracy that dominate those same fields today, and have paralyzed our response and action to things ever since that era ended.

Conclusions? This is a film that everybody should see, both because it is a very well made film from a filmmaking and technical perspective, from an acting perspective, and also because the message it presents and the questions it raises both about Oppenheimer himself, and his work, are still very timely and relevant to this day, perhaps more than ever. At the same time, purely due to its nature as a three hour drama, it becomes paradoxically difficult to recommend, perhaps as paradoxical as the man himself. Perhaps this is not a film for everybody, but I highly recommend it regardless, and ultimately I feel that due to the Barbie memery, we're seeing a lot of people that wouldn't have seen this film go out and give it a chance, and enjoy it even, so why don't you?