I had been waiting a long time to see Christopher Nolan‘s new movie and so I was excited to finally get booked in to see the movie the way it was shot to be seen, so please sit back and check out my Oppenheimer IMAX review.
Oppenheimer refers to J. Robert Oppenheimer, a prominent American physicist and the scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Born on April 22, 1904, Oppenheimer played a crucial role in developing the atomic bomb. His leadership and contributions to the project earned him the nickname “the father of the atomic bomb.” Despite his scientific achievements, Oppenheimer faced controversy later in life due to his political beliefs and associations. Nevertheless, his role in advancing nuclear physics remains a significant chapter in scientific and historical discourse.
We’ve been teased for such a long time with the trailers for Oppenheimer and when the movie was finally released on the 21st of July it was inevitable that the movie would be very popular. I am very stuck in my ways when it comes to seeing a movie in IMAX and so it took me a little longer than expected to get to see Oppenheimer in IMAX as I wanted my usual seats that give you a great view and soundscape from the screening, but in the end, I got them and on Friday I headed out to Cineworld in Broughton to finally see the movie.
As expected the Oppenheimer IMAX screening was something very special, not only does the movie look stunning with the IMAX shot sequences it also has such an amazing sound that booms out through the screen and even the quietest moments sound perfect.
The soundtrack from Ludwig Göransson (The Mandalorian, Tenet) is a delight to listen to with the bonus of IMAX sound it pulls you into every scene and certainly adds to the atmosphere of the movie.
Christopher Nolan has brought us a stunning movie with Oppenheimer, it’s a movie that had me pulled in from the start and as with some of Nolan’s previous work he has given us the twist of several timelines running at the same time to tell the story of “the father of the atomic bomb”, now this may sound confusing but it isn’t.
The use of black and white scenes breaks the movie up and it looks amazing on the IMAX screen, but this also adds to the storylines very nicely giving the viewer something a little different. Kodak developed the first-ever B&W film stock for IMAX for this movie.
Cillian Murphy is brilliant as Oppenheimer and I found myself enjoying his performance the further I got into the movie, his portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer is something more than what I was initially expecting.
The rest of the cast also brings the characters to life on the IMAX screen very well, with some big names including Robert Downey Jr. Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh this is a movie that has well-known faces to bring such a powerful story to life.
Most of us know the story of Oppenheimer and why the bomb was created, but this movie takes us more into the creation and lives of those involved, the moment that the bomb is tested is a scene that works very well and when you consider it’s all physical and no CGI it looks even more amazing.
Look out for a scene with Oppenheimer giving a speech to everyone involved, the sound usage and visuals are so nicely done and show what is going through his mind after creating something that could have set the world on fire and destroyed all mankind.
For me, Oppenheimer in IMAX is a fascinating and superb piece of filmmaking, Christopher Nolan has brought us a thought-provoking movie that needs to be seen in the IMAX format and the bigger the better, this is a movie that will either have you discussing the movie with your friends on the way out the screen or, like me, have you silenced in contemplation of all that took place prior to the end of World War II.