Yahoo Movies First reactions to Cillian Murphy's new movie Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is ready to battle Barbie next week at the cinema, and we now have the first reactions to Christopher Nolan's new movie.
The biopic stars Cillian Murphy as J Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, alongside Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr and Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss.
Following its world premiere tonight (July 11) in Paris, those lucky few who have seen Oppenheimer have taken to social media to share their first reactions.
So, has Christopher Nolan done it again? A sampling of early critical reactions points to Oppenheimer being one of the most memorable films in Nolan's already-legendary career.
Matt Maytum of Total Film praised a "sublime central performance by Cillian Murphy", calling the movie "an epic historical drama but with a distinctly Nolan sensibility".
The AP's Lindsey Beher wrote that it's "hard to talk about" the film because it's so "dense" but felt Oppenheimer is "a spectacular achievement" helped by "inventive storytelling and nuanced performances" from the cast.
Bibi Ebiri of New York Magazine called Oppenheimer both "incredible" and "fearsome" because Nolan "builds and builds and builds" a staggering story before he "brings the hammer down in the most astonishing, shattering way".
The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin acknowledged that he was sobbing through the end credits because he'd seen "a total knockout that split [his] brain open like a twitchy plutonium nucleus".
A sign that French audiences loved #Oppenheimer is that they stayed in front of the Grand Rex theater long after the film ended to debate about it!
— Elsa Keslassy (@ElsaKeslassy) July 11, 2023
#Oppenheimer is powerful stuff. Cillian Murphy’s flawless awards worthy performance is next level. Every player in this rich ensemble cast is at the top of their game. Christopher Nolan’s haunting opus is remarkable and Hoyte van Hoytema‘s execution of his vision is breathtaking. pic.twitter.com/oRFAVM64Kg
— Simon Thompson (@ShowbizSimon) July 11, 2023
Oppenheimer has been confirmed to be Nolan's longest-ever movie at an epic runtime of three hours. It's also received a 15 rating in the UK for "infrequent nudity and sexual content", among other things.
Murphy has tight-lipped about what viewers can expect from the new movie but promised in May 2023 that "people will be very surprised and wowed by what [Nolan] does".
"I'm really proud of the movie and I’m really proud of what Chris has achieved," he added. "This was, for sure, a special one, certainly because of the history with me and Chris. We were not walking around the set high fiving, but it did feel special."
Nolan has also been comparing Oppenheimer's ending to Inception's — not in the sense that there's an ambiguity about it, but rather that it'll leave people talking.
"I mean, the end of Inception, it's exactly that. There is a nihilistic view of that ending, right? But also, he's moved on and is with his kids. The ambiguity is not an emotional ambiguity. It's an intellectual one for the audience," he explained.
"It's funny, I think there is an interesting relationship between the endings of Inception and Oppenheimer to be explored. Oppenheimer's got a complicated ending. Complicated feelings."
Not too long to wait to find out what he means.
Oppenheimer will be released in cinemas on July 21.
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