The best Christopher Nolan movies, ranked (including Oppenheimer)

7. Oppenheimer

The highly-anticipated movie Oppenheimer just hit theaters on July 21 and has been killing it at the box office. Those who had a “Barbenheimer” weekend (going to see Barbie and Oppenheimer) were treated to two totally opposite movies but a great experience nonetheless. While I wish Oppenheimer met the expectations I had for it going in, it’s still a worthy addition to Nolan’s filmography.

In typical Nolan fashion, Oppenheimer follows a non-linear storyline as we see different captures of time from J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life, an American theoretical physicist who was best known for his role in developing the atomic bomb. The movie is framed by a hearing in which the titular character must recall his involvement in the Manhattan Project and his association with the Communist Party. Though we get a little bit of Oppenheimer’s moral struggles, I wish the movie put a more significant focus on this.

Instead of putting a bigger emphasis on Oppenheimer’s struggle to balance his patriotism with his moral responsibility and exploring that further, the movie takes focus on two hearings, incorporating Lewis Strauss’ involvement in bringing Oppenheimer down. The story is too big for its three-hour runtime, and the emotional aspect gets lost. The movie is also very dialogue-heavy, but with poor sound mixing a lot of is drowned out by the music, making it almost inaudible.

Cillian Murphy gives a fantastic performance as the lead, and I hope he’s nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal. I’d be happy if he wins it, too! He completely transforms and is the best part of the movie, hands down. Supporting actors like Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt are also great, though I wish Blunt played a bigger role.

While there are certainly good parts of Oppenheimer, I’m still left wishing Nolan would go deeper into the character’s internal struggles rather than trying to cover so many parts of his life.