“Oppenheimer” opened to pretty much rave reviews and 94% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, which is pretty stellar. The theater was full as well which is a pretty good indicator.

But I was a little disappointed. The film chronicled mostly J. Robert’s social, cultural and political history, allotting only about 30 minutes to the circumstances of Los Alamos and the Trinity blast, which I thought the meat & potatoes of the man. 

It seems that the history as portrayed is pretty accurate, but there are at least two minor problems with that. First, as George Burns would say “It’s been done”, several times over through the years. “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” the authoritative 2005 biography by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Secondly, the history is pretty dry, especially in the first hour that details a lot of stuff most movie-goers wouldn’t be too interested in. 

The acting from all the A-Listers that lined up to participate in this film was excellent. Lead actor Cillian Murphy graces virtually every frame of the three hours, expertly directed by Chris Nolan. The story line is portrayed in fragmented sections, some in color and others in B & W that are sometimes a bit confusing if the viewer starts out knowing little about the protagonist and all the supporting players. That said, a really great film about J. Robert could have been made in two hours. 

It bears remembering that Oppenheimer’s stock in trade was corralling and working a bunch of finicky geniuses to maintain focus on the theoretical problem at hand. Actually, the real organizational skills resided in Leslie Groves, nicely portrayed by Matt Damon. Nolan doesn’t show the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that eventually killed as many as 200,000 souls.  Oppenheimer does actually watch the Trinity explosion is said to have uttered the famous words: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” 

Again, I was a little disappointed as I had just a bit of personal interest in the narrative. I’ve been to Hiroshima and I stood across from the ruins of the remaining building severely damaged by the bomb, now a memorial.  I have also been to Los Alamos, much of which is memorials and also to the Trinity site (only open one or two days a year) where I secreted a small piece of “Trinitite” (sand turned into radioactive glass by the heat of the explosion). It sits in a cup on my desk (see photos).

Now for some predictions. I think Nolan and Murphy will both be nominated for, respectively, Director and Actor in a lead role for the Oscars. There will probably be competition. The rest of the actors in Oppenheimer” were good and very good, but not stellar, with one REALLY big exception.  A nearly unrecognizable Robert Downey, Jr plays an absolutely incredible Lewis Strauss, a former chairman of the United States Atomic Energy. He is an absolute LOCK on a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Worth seeing the film just to see him.

I think this film, although with some dry spells is worth the price of admission, see it on a big screen if you can.

I give it 3.5 of 5 kilotons.