Finally watched this film and tbh I was straight up disappointed. Being someone who has been personally interested in Oppenheimer as a person for a long time I was left amiss. The story is chaotic and serves no true purpose in adding to the complexity of the circumstances. They near completely skip over Oppenheimers interest in Hindu scriptures and also completely skip over any real implications of the war itself. I'm guessing intentionally so.
Yeah, tops I would say is maybe a 3.5/5 ⭐️
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
My only complaint was that the it was all hyped up to be this spectacular IMAX experience. I mean sure, it was loud and everything but, it didn’t look any better than my 4k set up at home. And there really weren’t that many special effects that I can remember.
I thought the actors did a great job but, it was unnecessary of me to have gone out of my way to find a specific theater with the recommended IMAX setup.
It wasn’t a bad movie but, for me, it was way over hyped.
I came to say the same thing. When I finally saw it my feeling was "I could have just watched this at home. Most of it was in an office setting." The only reason I thought it would be full of amazing special effects was because of all the IMAX hype. I could have saved so much trouble.
Bro they hyped the shit out of IMAX for a movie that didn’t need it at all
Definitely no need for IMAX
I saw it in a regular AMC theater and I'm glad I didn't go to IMAX. The film is 99% dialogue.
When I saw the trailers for this, I thought “Looks like a bunch of dudes talking about science for 3 hours.” After I saw it I thought “Yep. Just a bunch of dudes talking about science for 3 hours.”
*Didn’t mean to say they were white. I’m white, lol
Not casting a black woman as Albert Einstein was a missed opportunity.
Why feel the need to add it the second time around?
Less than 2 minutes. Florence Pugh sex scenes were like watching porn at a drive -in.
Overall, it will make a great PBS three parter.
This was my exact experience.
Earlier in the year I saw Avatar 2 in imax TWICE. Not because it was a great movie but because the imax experience was a full body amusement ride.
I drove hours to see Oppenheimer in an imax theater and it’s just hours of giant talking heads.
Totally. I bought it and when it finished I thought ‘we’ll that was just ok, defo won’t be watching that again’ it was the same with Flower Moon.
It's a shame cause I actually want to watch it again because there were some interesting things in there that I'd like to revisit but I'm not doing another three hours. Lol. They could have cut it down by a lot and I think it would have been a fantastic film but the way it turned out it was really just a task to get through. I told my wife after that I'd rather have just watched a documentary.
I don't care what anyone says, that movie should have had an insanely detailed atomic explosion, maybe even like down at the molecular level. It's the only thing that justifies IMAX
That’s really what I was expecting. After all the awesome atomic bomb footage from the forties, which is such a landmark in popular media, I thought we’d see much more.
Absolutely agree here. We were going to make the effort and travel to a place that had IMAX.
I’m glad we didn’t, because I really don’t think I missed out on anything at all.
I saw it in the Dolby sound special theater and the noises ... They were noisy.
I'm very much along those lines. I know Nolan loves to make films with none or little sfx. There are times we do need some to help get across the scale of a story. Prime examples are Oppenheimer about atomic bomb. no shot of the iconic mushroom cloud, just a wall of burning liquid. Which really takes you out of the experience.
The other that springs to mind is the scope of Dunkirk, when you read the numbers of people on that beach, armour and planes overhead, the films make it look like there's was a beach party for a dozen or so soldiers. The sky is empty, save for the still working planes from that era. A bit of cgi to add scale would have been hardly distracting, it would give you a more accurate representation.
I had the same take, I thought it was great and the last half I thought was amazing filmmaking and storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed it more at home. IMAX was such a waste of time.
For me the benefit of IMAX was the audio. I know the audio engineering is always panned with Nolan movies, but the combination of audio/visual in an IMAX setting gave the movie greater scale and impact. I have an above average home visual/audio set up, but it doesn't compare to what I experienced with IMAX.
I thought it was a good movie, but the studio and critics did hype the movie, but for the reason of IMAX 70mm. For months, they hyped the IMAX experience to which anyone would get intrigued eventually. Also an issue is IMAX 70mm screenings were only in a selected few theaters across the USA which also my area (NYC) had only 1 theater in more than 100 miles showning that format. Although I saw this movie on a whim (on vacation and had some time to kill) and saw it in AMC Dolby cinema(recliner seats) as those IMAX tickets were sold out months in advance and no good seats available for over a month after the movie came out.
i waited a few weeks after release to watch in imax and was very disappointed
Christopher Nolan LOVES Imax is why it was so hyped up
I felt this way having just seen The Fall Guy in a regular theatre. It was a fun family film and all, but by the time the kids had there snacks and me a couple of drinks the bill was hitting close to £100. £100 for two hours entertainment when I could wait a few months and wait for it to stream.
I also skipped the Oppenheimer IMAX experience because I knew it was going to be dialogue heavy with just a a few short minutes dedicated to the atomic spectacle.
Totally agree. IMAX to watch people sitting around talking incessantly? Constant talking and constant music. Nolan makes the noisiest movies.
I had a 77” OLED and a 75” Sony Bravia in my theater room with a killer sound system. Going to the movies is one of my absolute favorite things to do, but the gap has been narrowed so much that watching it at home is almost on par for me.
It’s a shame too because, I grew up going to movie theaters and I want to continue to support them but I’m getting to the point where I just can’t be bothered. I don’t even have a dedicated theater room but I do have an adequate 4k screen, player and library.
Also, for me a lot of the fun of going to the theater was to be out with friends. We’d bring dates, fool around, maybe get into a little trouble. I’m in my forties now and that just feels like a young person’s scene. I feel like I’ve been there and done that a million times and now I can just enjoy chilling out at home. After all, I worked pretty damn hard to buy all the gear.
I really wish the young folks would take more to going to the movies but, I also wish Hollywood would give them more reason to.
Absolutely! I tried to get tickets for IMAX and couldn't for weeks out so we waited for Netflix. Oh my God I was so annoyed with the premise of his moral dilemma.
I love Cillian but I already knew a lot about the subject so, honestly it bored me.. I've seen real video of that blast many times what did the movie bring besides great acting? Fell flat for me.
Couldn't agree more. While the performances were top notch, it was a boring, drawn out movie that didn't need IMAX whatsoever. It's a shame this pushed MI out of IMAX early.
MI wasn't even in proper IMAX despite filming for the format- it was all in scope
ew, much as this movie didnt need imax im glad i pushed a full scope movie out
Went for the IMAX explosion, stayed for the IMAX Pugh.
IMAX boobs.
I would have liked it better, if it had more suff about the Manhattan project in it. I mean, it's in the title that it hasn't, but still. Given that it was really long, some interesting stuff could have been fitted in there.
For that story check out the Paul Newman movie, Fat Man and Little Boy. It’s from the late 80s, co stars John Cusack and Oppenheimer is played by the actor who was Murdock on the A-Team. I haven’t seen it in years but remember it as a great movie. I really thought Nolan was a big fan of it too and that’s exactly why he left the entire story out of his movie.
Ironically, famously liberal Paul Newman plays the conservative General Groves while the politically conservative Dwight Schultz plays the socialist Oppenheimer.
Good film. Although they jumble up the timeline of the demon core story to make the movie more compelling. Other than that, great movie.
This movie was my first thought when I saw this.
I agree, there was nearly nothing regarding the Manhattan Project and the true process behind it
That’s a great point. The only progress we see is him dropping marbles into a bowl.
we were robbed of Feynman eccentricities
Agreed and by the same notion I’ve said that we’re never really convinced of Oppenheimers brilliance. We spend a good portion of the film having other people tell us how genius he is without it ever really being on display in any meaningful sense.
Hahahaha wait a second…you want them to go into greater detail about the project itself? This coming from the same camp that has been complaining how boring it was? That’s hilarious. Those same people are NOT going to watch an IMAX movie where the intricacies of nuclear physics are broken down. FFS.
The science behind dropping a man made sun on Japan is actually insanely fascinating. And the devastating effects it had on its target cities are gruesome and ripe for a Hollywood movie. But the makers of this movie pussied out.
Instead we got a bland movie that was mostly about Oppenheimer’s love life and subsequent political struggles. Even the fx of the bomb were lacklustre. One of the most awe inspiring feats of mankind’s potential for innovation and destruction watered down to a shitty gasoline bomb that was shown for ten seconds.
I’d go farther than saying that Oppenheimer is overrated and say that it’s a crime of wasted potential.
I agree all around
If you’re interested in the details check out the book The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. Amazing book, it really dives deep into both the interpersonal relationships, as well as the technical details that really makes you understand just how cutting edge the project was.
Cause Hollywood loooooooves a courtroom drama. Gotta cut that to add more time for questioning and brooding
But will he get to keep his security clearance?!??!?!?!?!?!!!
It was about the Red Scare investigations and Strauss grudge against Oppenheimer.
Honest? Nothing special. Standard biopic. Totally overhyped and too long.
Wow…am I its only defender here so far???
I liked it too.
No, art is subjective. It's easily one of the best movies i have seen. I think the hype creates a counter force and expectation can diminish an experience if it doesn't hit the right notes for what someone is expecting. I watched it three times and it got better every time though it was also a film perfectly suited for me with physics and history being two of my favorite interest and Nolan being one of my fav directors. I can see how if you have no fascination in "hearing the music" it would miss the mark especially with the expectation though. Everything has people who hate it, that's fine hopefully they find their thing
OMG thank you!! Finally a sane person on Reddit!
This was genuinely one of the greatest films I've ever seen, it gets better every time i watch it. don't understand all this hate! The people who didn't like probably think barbie is a masterpiece 😂
I defend it, it's been awhile where the best picture of the year actually won best picture at the Oscar's.
Oppenheimer was the only way Zone of Interest wouldn't have won best picture imo
I loved this movie. I immediately went out and ordered the book and am slightly more than halfway through reading it. The whole story is fascinating and I want to rewatch the movie when I’m done with the massive tome that is “American Prometheus.”
Also, I thought it was beautiful in IMAX. The scene with the Trinity Test was incredible. I had to physically look up to see the top of the explosion, and I felt like it captured the awe of that moment as well as it possibly could.
The story of Oppenheimer’s life is a fascinating one.
I enjoyed it and thought it was a thought provoking movie. It may not have covered every intricacy of his life, interests or Manhattan project details, but it certainly exposed the military and political challenges faced while navigating the project. For what its worth I enjoyed it more than Dunkirk.
I liked it, my only problem with the movie was the explosion was a little underwhelming, I was expecting to be blown from my seat, after all its an atomic weapon
You obviously didn’t eat enough of the theatre’s hotdogs…
Nah it’s awesome.
I thought it was excellent. Remember, this is Reddit. The entity where people will choose something that is really popular, and then take joy in letting others know how “underwhelmed” they were by it.
The post literally says, "Be honest," so what did you expect? Lol
Or you just don't understand group dynamics on social media. The majority of people who comment in a post like this are going to be people who didn't like the movie, because this is a chance for them to voice their displeasure for an otherwise well liked movie. Everyone else is going to just scroll on past because they have nothing to really add to the conversation other than "yeah, I really liked it".
I think this is a pretty unfair take to be honest. This is the sort of attitude that turns r/moviecritic into r/movies.
Im not here to tell anyone not to like the film, Im glad they enjoyed it, Im not so immature as a person that I need people to like the same things that I do to enjoy them. I am on this particular subreddit to discuss films in a mature matter. I dont take joy in telling others I was underwhelmed by it, but I do want to have a discussion.
Fair. Respect.
🫡
I honestly thought I stumbled upon a full blow hater sub.
Some of the worst movie takes of all time I saw here in the comments. Starting with people saying this movie should not have been in IMAX and its the same experience at home. Wow
Literally 0.1 seconds of breathing room between every line, no normal human conversation ever plays out like that. I understand it was to keep it to 3 hours, but that combined with no single likeable character makes this Nolan's worst movie in my opinion.
That's totally how I felt watching it in the theater (which I overwhelmingly regret). It felt like 1 reeeaaaally long run on sentence where all the actors were literally talking one after another with not a single pause. Definitely agree with you about Nolan's worst film as well. Wish we could've seen it together and talk shit on the film, that would have been much more enjoyable than the drivel we received.
This was my problem, too. The pace of the dialogue felt terribly unrealistic. They left very little room for magic inbetween the talking and it pretty much ruined it for me.
Agreed
I feel like it would’ve been better if John Nolan wrote this one as well. His previous collaborations with Chris in The Dark Knight Trilogy and Interstellar made really good dialogue and a good script. But ig he did his own thing with Fallout and everything which is important too.
Fine. I'm not a huge fan of jumping all over the place in time