Oppenheimer first reactions ‘Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece is spectacular’

Last night the world premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took place in Paris at Le Grand Rex.

The ensemble cast of the three-hour historical epic including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr were in attendance for the first big screening of the highly-anticipated IMAX movie.

As was expected, the first reactions from the critics are pretty spectacular, with some calling it one of the writer-director’s best movies.

Oppenheimer is based on the true story of “the father of the atomic bomb”, Robert J Oppenheimer, whose invention during World War II changed the nature of armed conflict forever. Check out what the critics had to say below.

Total Film
Oppenheimer left me stunned: a character study on the grandest scale, with a sublime central performance by Cillian Murphy. An epic historical drama but with a distinctly Nolan sensibility: the tension, structure, sense of scale, startling sound design, remarkable visuals. Wow.

Telegraph
Am torn between being all coy and mysterious about Oppenheimer and just coming out and saying it’s a total knockout that split my brain open like a twitchy plutonium nucleus and left me sobbing through the end credits like I can’t even remember what else.

Fandango
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is fantastic – big and bold with electrifying performances and an incredibly visceral pacing to it. It’s both quietly intimate and also a ferocious moviegoing experience at the same time. See it in IMAX 70mm & it’ll be among your favourite watches of 2023.

Sunday Times
Totally absorbed in Oppenheimer, a dense, talkie, tense film partly about the bomb, mostly about how doomed we are. Happy summer! Murphy is good, but the support essential: Damon, Downey Jr & Ehrenreich even bring gags. An audacious, inventive, complex film to rattle its audience. The downside? The women are badly served – Emily Blunt only once gets out of her stressed mother role. But it’s straight into my Nolan top three, alongside Memento and The Prestige.

Associated Press
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is truly a spectacular achievement, in its truthful, concise adaptation, inventive storytelling and nuanced performances from Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and the many, many others involved —- some just for a scene. It’s hard to talk about something as dense as this in something as silly as a tweet or thread but Oppenheimer really is a serious, philosophical, adult drama that’s as tense and exciting as Dunkirk. And the big moment – THAT MOMENT – is awe-inspiring.

Vulture
Oppenheimer is…incredible. The word that keeps coming to mind is ‘fearsome’. A relentlessly paced, insanely detailed, intricate historical drama that builds and builds and builds until Nolan brings the hammer down in the most astonishing, shattering way.

The Playlist
I was skeptical, but Oppenheimer has stuck with me since seeing it last week. Yes, it’s 3 hours, but in a dense-Scorsese way and the last 20 minutes (why Emily Blunt clearly took the role) bring its three narrative threads to a moving conclusion.

Atom
Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. A bold, tragic look inside humanity’s darkest hour. Riveting, world-class performances & breathtaking imagery that blows a load of emotion inside you. Not just another biopic, it’s the best historical movie ever! A fitting end.

Collider
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is incredible. Every aspect of the film is worth talking about from the brilliant performances, to Hoyte van Hoytema’s amazing work behind the camera, to the way Nolan tells the story. The 3 hour run time flies by. See it in IMAX 70mm if you can.

CinemaBlend
I think Oppenheimer is Nolan’s JFK. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE JFK. Cillian Murphy mesmerises in a star-studded moral quandary about Scientific Theory becoming deadly fact. The entire cast is outstanding, and while the history is DENSE, it’s Nolan’s most streamlined and accessible.

Oppenheimer hits UK cinemas on July 21, 2023.