OPPENHEIMER Review

Boy. Boy, oh, boy. A reminder why this man was the prince that was promised. Nolan finally gets to make his big return to megaplexes, and does so like a fireball through rice paper, leaving behind the head-in-its-own-alleyway tendencies of previous efforts for a missile-like focus of technical ability and storytelling. His flourishes fitting the subject matter and showing a real sense of restraint, compounding tension and payoff. He gathered 2,586 talented working actors for this marrow between the big Nolan moments, but even these "quieter" beats stand out in terms of coloring, story propulsion, and — with all the emphasis transmissible via word — the editing. And then the true blockbuster scenes come. And all are magnificent in sight and sound.

The midpoint. Each successive shot before the boom a testament to great filmmaking. Each actor with a distinct moment in the "sun", each score-note a new rung up the tension ladder, and each image seared into your retinas. In short: a coalescence of all abilities within ignited by ticking clocks, holy ambition, and unseen power. And then the bomb goes off...

And the noise cuts out. Clouds of tangerine and hellred lifted miles into the sky in silence. Awe on faces lit by ultraviolet. The awesome power of what can be created and achieved. Of men celebrating and crying and living strictly in the present. The celluloid presentation of mankind taking a step in some direction. Of a man, and of it all. And then the sonic boom rushes in and the second half begins. When sheets are brought in and aftermath feels like a little word.

---

The above was taken from my Letterboxd review.