A Long & Overdue Review of Oppenheimer

“Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man.

For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.”

This is the text that is overlayed against a large plume of fire, signifying the start of director Christopher Nolan’s 3 hour spectacle Oppenheimer. Adapted from American Prometheus, written by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin, the film follows key moments in Oppenheimer’s life, from his studies in Cambridge to his recruitment as head of the Los Alamos, one key group that worked on The Manhattan project and the aftermath of the devastating implementation of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively ending the Second World War. There are no action sequences or bombastic visual effects, but Oppenheimer is a biopic expertly disguised as a thriller. Nolan will likely garner his 2nd Best Director nomination, as well as for Best Adapted Screenplay. It has the potential of being the most nominated film of the year, earning nominations for Best Actor (Murphy), Supporting Actor (Downey, Jr), Supporting Actress (Blunt), score, cinematography, sound design, production design, costume/makeup, et cetera.

I have seen this film once in conventional IMAX and in its truest form, IMAX 70mm (a 12 hour affair for me, traveling alone) so I would have ample opportunity to fully process my thoughts on this film and why it is my favorite film of the year (so far).

Performances – Fantastic performances throughout this film and unexpected cameos from Academy award winning actors I did not expect to see (Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck). Cillian Murphy is a frequent collaborator with Nolan and this the first film he has done with him that sees him in the lead role. Murphy is fully committed to the role and does help he bears a striking resemblance to his real-life counterpart. Matching Oppenheimer’s mannerisms, even down to his speaking cadence, Murphy showcases why he is one of the best working actors today. Emily Blunt is fantastic as Kitty Oppenheimer, Robert’s compass in keeping him focused on his momentous task, despite having ample reason to take the kids and run. Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, the man responsible for recruiting Oppenheimer and the talent around developing the atomic bomb. Damon offers moments of levity in a very weighty and intense film. Florence Pugh, in her limited screen time plays Jean Tatlock, the young woman who had an on and off relationship with Oppenheimer. Tatlock was an accomplished psychiatrist but it was not explored in favor of focusing more on Tatlock and Oppenheimer’s ties to the American Communist Party. Pugh’s interpretation of the character shades her as a very troubled and reluctant young woman. Tatlock in this film was not afraid to get what she wants, but she was very apprehensive to the prospect of love and commitment. Josh Hartnett, Alden Ehrenreich, Dane DeHaan, Benny Safdie, David Krumholtz…I could go down the board of actors/actresses that gave great performances in this film. Yet, I believe Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss, gives quite arguably the best performance of his career, at least since 2005’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Oscar buzz is surrounding this film and I am sure that RDJ will garner a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance along with other actors in this film (Murphy, Blunt).

Score – In his second outing with Nolan (first is 2020’s Tenet), Ludwig Gorannson delivers a haunting and heart pounding score that greatly complements the film. Stirring, haunting and atmospheric, Gorannson is rapidly cementing his place as one of film’s most prolific composers working today. With most film scores that left a lasting impact on my movie going experience, I immediately downloaded the score on Apple Music. With his work on Tenet, The Mandalorian, Black Panther and this film, Gorannson definitely earns his place as one of my favorite film composers working today.

Technical Aspects – To match the tense and often terrifying moments during Oppenheimer’s plight as project director of the Los Alamos site in The Manhattan Project, the sound is often delayed and amplified to fully immerse the audience into each situation. The Trinity test is an amazing testament to Nolan and crew’s commitment to practical effects. The ‘pep rally’ scene offers the greatest example of the film’s craftsmanship hitting at all cylinders. The sequence teeters on horror as the sounds of foot stomping sounds eerily similar to a locomotive operating at full steam. It was unnerving and really drove home the feeling of guilt and anguish over launching these weapons of mass destruction. In no way is this sequence meant to glorify this act and Nolan makes doubly sure to accentuate that point with this sequence.

Screenplay – From interviews that the actors and Nolan have held prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, one important detail when discussing the script stood out to me. According to Matt Damon, who plays General Leslie Groves, the screenplay was written in the point of view of Oppenheimer’s. It adds more context to use of black and white, which signified that these events happened. In comparison, the rest of the film is painted objectively from Oppenheimer’s thought process or POV. Obviously, we do not know what Oppenheimer felt during these moments, but I believe it really does a fantastic job of showing how flawed and unpredictable Oppenheimer was during his prolific career. Oppenheimer doesn’t paint our titular protagonist as a hero or a villain. It allows us to formulate our thoughts into who he was, which is a great telltale sign of how impactful a film can be.

Overall, I really feel this is the top contender for Best Picture of the year. Martin Scorsese’s Killers of The Flower Moon looks incredible, as does Dune Part Two (if it isn’t delayed to 2024) but Oppenheimer is such an important film. It is a biopic disguised as a psychological thriller. Nolan is one of my favorite directors working today, meaning that I would gladly go the theater to see a film directed by him, regardless of the story or premise. There are only a few directors that fit that specific distinction for me but Nolan has shown time and time again in his career that he has more than earned his reputation for making intellectually challenging event films. If you are interested in the subject matter, go see this film in IMAX. I walked out of my theater speechless and barely recorded a YouTube reel briefly sharing my initial thoughts. I haven’t had many theater going experiences where it has compelled me to write a more detailed script for sharing my thoughts. As most logical people have done, completely disregard Logan Paul and go into it with an open mind. A film carrying the title of Oppenheimer with a three hour runtime will have a lot of dialogue in it, but it is so much more than that. If you elect to do the Barbenheimer double feature, I recommend watching Oppenheimer first then Barbie for a bit of a pick-me-up.

My Feelings After Playing 80+ Hours in Starfield

Full disclosure: I got the premium edition of the game for purchasing a new AMD graphics card. I made this choice when Bethesda Game Studios announced their partnership with AMD for the most optimized version of the game on PC.

I am not a big fan of games developed by Bethesda Game Studios. I have invested a few dozens hours collectively into Skyrim, Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 with varying levels of enjoyment. I know this is blasphemous in terms of open-world RPGs but I could never get fully invested into each game. I was skeptical when Starfield was announced back in 2018 but that skepticism changed to cautious optimism with the developer showcase that took place earlier this year. B.G.S. is known for its craftsmanship in creating new worlds and lore for each of its titles so the prospect of the studio with Todd Howard leading his passion project intrigued me (a project 25 years in the making). Commandeering a spacecraft in exploring an unknown galaxy and its planets in the B.G.S. style sounded like a must play, despite my trepidation with other games in their catalog. Starfield is an ambitious undertaking with a lot of passion intertwined with several aspects of the game. Yet, there were too many glaring issues and often lazy decisions in design and dialogue that hindered my enjoyment of this game from being a must play to a wait until it is on sale or, in the case of Microsoft owned studios, perfect game to try on Xbox Game Pass.

Starfield contains the fewest bugs out of any Bethesda title, which is an achievement on its own merit. The modding community for B.G.S.’ most beloved titles have flourished over the last few years and have breathed new life into the games. Starfield has a modding community but not as robust as Skyrim or Fallout 4 so it remains to be seen how well the game will fare after a few more months. The character creation is the most fleshed-out and thoughtful one I’ve used in a B.G.S. game to date. It interested me enough to spend more time in deciding on my character’s background, perks and traits (Hero Worshipped and Kid Stuff being personal standouts). The role-playing aspect in the initial 12-15 hours was really immersive as I became more invested in the story and my interactions with companions (Sarah Morgan, IYKYK). Combat on the ground was smooth and with the inclusion of the jet pack, players were afforded more opportunities to be creative in dispatching enemies on various set pieces throughout the game. Space combat was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It was fun to fly through space, taking out spacers and pirates looking to either claim or annihilate my spacecraft. However, there were only a handful of battles that felt challenging enough. There were even fewer instances where the rewards were worthwhile in pursuing when I took out an enemy ship.

Weapon variety was pretty basic, with 4 levels set for each type of weapon. If only B.G.S. took a page out of Gearbox Software’s book with weapon scaling in Borderlands or even Bungie with Destiny. There were only a handful of weapons that I used predominantly throughout my time with the game. Keeping up with the various types of ammunition that is weapon specific was a frustrating task to undertake. This forced me to often switch to a more standardized weapon that had a large amount of ammo. In return, this produced the least amount of damage against enemies as they seemingly soaked up bullets as sponges. BioWare introduced the use of thermal clips in their weapons with Mass Effect 1 and expounded upon it in the sequel. A more streamlined approach was needed for ammo and weapons in a game set 300 years into the future where humanity now presides. The UI and Inventory management was cumbersome to navigate and keep track of. People make a big point of being able to pickup any and everything in a B.G.S. game where looting is involved. Being a packrat is often punished by limiting travel, which is ridiculous and defeats the purpose of the jet pack. Why not set limits to the amount of fuel that is available when leap frogging on terrain? Instead, we are forced to move at a snail’s pace when traversing a planet.

Exploration was not as expansive as most of us were anticipating. Fast travel usually unlocks when a player first discovers a new area or landmark, opening up a significant part of a map. I did not expect to be subjected to loading screen after loading screen when arriving to or departing from a planet. Hello Games’ work on No Man’s Sky, a game that made its debut years ago allowed players to enter a planet’s atmosphere from orbit. Flying through space in that game felt immersive and really helped sell the prospect of discovering unexplored planets, even though the studio failed to deliver on its lofty promises. The insistence of installing Starfield on a solid state drive on PC seemed pointless as the simple act of entering or exiting a room or ship was followed by a loading screen. The lack of a land vehicle (similar to Mass Effect’s Mako or Andromeda’s Nomad are key examples) to traverse the barren and repetitive planets really deterred me from fully exploring a planet unless it played a role in progressing the story (main or faction).

Shipbuilding is intuitive but difficult to master. I may be in the minority here but I felt a bit overwhelmed in using the shipbuilding mechanic. I understand B.G.S.’ approach in allowing players the freedom to dive in and figure it out themselves but it would have been helpful to feature a more in-depth tutorial in managing and ultimately constructing a ship. I have often scrolled through YouTube finding videos that do a great job of explaining and showcasing how to build a ship in Starfield.

Lastly, the writing in key aspects of the story fell flat for me. I was intrigued initially by a few of the side quests and factions that are introduced in the story but it felt a bit too similar to Deus Ex Machina, with the concept of parallel universes and ultimately having no choice but to follow one path defined by the game. When I make major decisions in a side quest or main story mission, I anticipated hearing more diverse opinions from my companions. Instead, I was often greeted with similar opinions across the board. I did enjoying interacting with and learning more about the companions, but the ones who stood out to me were namely Sarah Morgan, Walter Stroud and Barrett. Despite this, most of the companions’ loyalty quests wrapped up with no clear resolution and were often anti-climatic. The cinematic framing of characters during dialogue and key story moments was static and uninventive, with NPCs and companions I interacted with were positioned in awkward angles and took a couple of seconds to adjust themselves in the correct position. With NG+, the notion of undertaking 5 or more play throughs for a variation of alternate universes seems too much like a fever dream instead of creative license. While some of them are humorous, they do not add much to the overall makeup of the main story. I would probably do an additional play through before the DLC for Starfield releases to see if the events in Shattered Spaces adds to or detracts from the overall narrative.

If you have PC Game Pass, it is worth checking out. If you are an unapologetic Bethesda Game Studios fan, Starfield will scratch the itch for main-line RPGs since 2015’s Fallout 4. For people like myself who are not diehard fans, Starfield has a lot of good but it is littered with repetitive gameplay, cumbersome UI and inventory management, often bland and barren planets, and uneven story elements. From my time with the game, Starfield would have an important game and a highly touted sci-fi RPG…if it released in 2013, not 2023. Instead of being innovative in elements that are familiar to gamers, B.G.S. played it safe, which came across as lazy and uninspired.