I can understand why some are not totally on board with the idea of Christopher Nolan tackling J. Robert Oppenheimer’s story on-screen.
“Oppenheimer” isn’t sci-fi, and it’s surely not an action movie; in fact, this might turn out to be one of those rare times when Nolan isn’t really doing anything you might qualify as “geek” cinema.
Nolan is tackling the political and the historical in “Oppenheimer”. In that respect, its subject matter isn’t the biggest box-office draw and that’s why there are some who think it might make less money than its July 21st competitor, “Barbie.”
Nolan’s intro today at CinemaCon said it best:
Like it or not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived. He made the world we live in — for better or for worse. And his story has to be seen to be believed, and I am certainly hopeful audiences will come to your theaters to see it on the biggest screens possible.”
Nolan screened five minutes worth of “Oppenheimer” footage at CinemaCon Here’s a recap from THR:
The footage showed that, yes, Nolan had turned the historical story into a thriller, with what he described as the highest stakes imaginable. A key point comes when Robert Downey Jr.’s character delivers the news that the Russians are on the path to the bomb, suggesting there was espionage under Oppenheimer’s watch. At one point in the trailer, Oppenheimer grapples with the ethics of creating the bomb: “I don’t know if we can be trusted with the weapon, but I know the Nazis can’t.”
Several sections were shot in black and white, including an extended sequence with Robert Downey Jr., although Nolan assured the audience that there’s “not too much black and white, don’t worry.”
It would be a real shame if “Oppenheimer” was shunned by moviegoers for not having such an enticing subject matter. J. Robert Oppenheimer is actually extremely fascinating, basically influencing the current world order as the father of the hydrogen bomb.
The implications in the creation of the “bomb” cannot be understated. It’s shaped the geopolitical landscape in the most profound of ways. Post WWII, it has prevented, so far, to this day, any superpowers from engaging in direct wars with one another. Oppenheimer is the reason why.
Audiences will have to be adventurous enough to seek “Oppenheimer.” We’ll know just how strongly Nolan can carry a movie with his name and name alone. He boldly pushed for “Tenet” to be the first blockbuster released during the pandemic in July of 2020. It didn’t make a ton of money, but he kickstarted back moviegoing.
According to Nolan, a full-length “Oppenheimer” trailer will be released in two weeks.
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