Oppenheimer initial reactions: 'A truly spectacular achievement'

The initial reactions to Oppenheimer are in and it is safe to say Christopher Nolan has struck gold again.

Nolan has put together an all-star cast which includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh.

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The project is based on the book 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer' which was co-written by Bird and Martin J. Sherman.

Bird was granted an early viewing of the movie, and he is clearly impressed by what he saw.

“I am, at the moment, stunned and emotionally recovering from having seen it,” said in a conversation with David Nirenberg at Leon Levy Center for Biography in New York.

“I think it is going to be a stunning artistic achievement, and I have hopes it will actually stimulate a national, even global conversation about the issues that Oppenheimer was desperate to speak out about — about how to live in the atomic age, how to live with the bomb and about McCarthyism — what it means to be a patriot, and what is the role for a scientist in a society drenched with technology and science, to speak out about public issues.”

A select lucky few from the film community attended the premiere in Paris this week, and here are some of the reactions.

Oppenheimer reviews

"#Oppenheimer left me stunned: a character study on the grandest scale, with a sublime central performance by Cillian Murphy. An epic historical drama but with a distinctly Nolan sensibility: the tension, structure, sense of scale, startling sound design, remarkable visuals. Wow." - Matt Maytum (@mattmaytum) of Total Film.

"Christopher Nolan’s #Oppenheimer is truly a spectacular achievement, in its truthful, concise adaptation, inventive storytelling and nuanced performances from Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and the many, many others involved —- some just for a scene." - Lindsey Bahr (@ldbahr) of The Associated Press.

"Totally absorbed in OPPENHEIMER, a dense, talkie, tense film partly about the bomb, mostly about how doomed we are. Happy summer! Murphy is good, but the support essential: Damon, Downey Jr & Ehrenreich even bring gags. An audacious, inventive, complex film to rattle its audience." - Jonathan Dean (@jonathandean_) of The Sunday Times.

#Oppenheimer left me stunned: a character study on the grandest scale, with a sublime central performance by Cillian Murphy. An epic historical drama but with a distinctly Nolan sensibility: the tension, structure, sense of scale, startling sound design, remarkable visuals. Wow— Matt Maytum (@mattmaytum) July 11, 2023

"Am torn between being all coy and mysterious about Oppenheimer and just coming out and saying it’s a total knockout that split my brain open like a twitchy plutonium nucleus and left me sobbing through the end credits like I can’t even remember what else." - Robbie Collin (@robbiereviews) of The Telegraph.

"OPPENHEIMER is...incredible. The word that keeps coming to mind is "fearsome." A relentlessly paced, insanely detailed, intricate historical drama that builds and builds and builds until Nolan brings the hammer down in the most astonishing, shattering way." - Bilge Ebiri (@bilgeebiri) of Vulture.

"#ChristopherNolan's #Oppenheimer is incredible. Every aspect of the film is worth talking about from the brilliant performances, to #HoytevanHoytema's amazing work behind the camera, to the way Nolan tells the story. The 3 hour run time flies by." - Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) of Collider.