Oppenheimer labeled a ‘MASTERPIECE’ by critics in great reviews as historical epic BEATS Barbie on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of ‘Barbenheimer’ box office showdown

The reviews are in and the critics are blown away by Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer.

The historical epic, which traces the rise and fall of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, considered the “father of the atomic bomb,” was almost universally acclaimed for its chilling treatment of the development of the first atomic bombs and for Cillian Murphy’s title performance.

Nolan’s astonishing ensemble cast of A-list actors also received acclaim – including Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and Emily Blunt – in small supporting roles.

The film even got a perfect five stars from Daily Mail’s Brian Viner, who wrote that Nolan balances thriller elements “magnificently” with “profound questions about the morality of turning Hiroshima and Nagasaki into nuclear waste.”

Oppenheimer has been the subject of “Barbenheimer” memes for weeks now, due to its shared opening weekend with Greta Gerwig’s equally anticipated Barbie movie, though Nolan’s epic puts the pink-coated comedy on Rotten tomatoes.

Face down: The movie managed to beat Barbie with critics, though that comedy still has an impressive 89 percent new rating

Oppenheimer currently has a staggering 96 percent new rating from the most high-profile critics polled by the site, while Barbie has a still-impressive 89 percent new rating.

While Murphy is far from an unknown having appeared in several of Nolan’s previous blockbusters and starred in the hit crime series Peaky Blinders, many reviewers said Oppenheimer was the most majestic showcase of his abilities to date.

In a positive review for the Los Angeles TimesJustin Chang wrote that Murphy was “extremely understated yet intensely expressive” as Oppenheimer, and compared the film to Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark historical drama There Will Be Blood for its vision of “an indelible American darkness taking root in Western soil”.

The New York Timesfilm critic Manohla Dargis called Oppenheimer a “Critic’s Pick,” noting that Murphy played the physicist with “feverish intensity.”

While she criticized some of the minor parts of A-listers, including a small role by Rami Malek, she praised compelling scenes of scientists debating future weapons of mass destruction. conversation.’

Ann Hornaday prescribed The Washington Post that Murphy “commands Oppenheimer” as his deceptively quiet little center,” and she applauded his visceral physicality and the way he “seems to become more viscerally more skeletal, more ethereal, a wraith whose chief features are glassy blue eyes, ever-present cigarette and feline purr of a voice.’

She gave the movie a perfect four stars and called it a “masterpiece.”

Several critics praised Nolan’s visual style as one of the film’s most compelling aspects.

Matt Zoller-Seitz, editor-in-chief for Roger Ebert. comgave the film four stars and praised Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema’s masterful use of extreme close-ups, especially when Murphy is in frame.

He wrote that the film “rediscovers the power of huge close-ups of people’s faces as they grapple with who they are, and who other people have decided they are, and what they’ve done to themselves and others.”

Star turn: Critics from the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the New York Times all praised title star Cillian Murphy, while also praising the ensemble’s impressive cast

In detail: Matt Zoller-Seitz, Editor at Large for RogerEbert.com, gave the film four stars and praised Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema’s masterful use of extreme close-ups, especially when Murphy is in the frame

He’s back! One of the most acclaimed Nolan’s high-profile ensemble cast was Robert Downey Jr., who plays Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and longtime colleague turned nemesis of Oppenheimer.

One of the most acclaimed Nolan’s high-profile cast was Robert Downey Jr., who plays Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and longtime colleague of Oppenheimer.

But their growing feud led him to urge FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to investigate Oppenheimer in the mid-1950s, and Straus’ failed nomination as Secretary of Commerce in 1959 was partially sunk by his earlier battle with the academic.

David Rooney wrote for The Hollywood Reporter that Downey “gives the drama’s standout performance,” despite a cast of “heavy-hitters.”

In a somewhat underhanded compliment, he alluded to Downey’s years playing Iron Man almost exclusively before finally freeing himself up for more adventurous fare, calling his Oppenheimer performance a “memory of skills many of our best actors have brushed aside as they frolic around playing quippy’. superheroes for huge amounts of money.’

Others also credited Tom Conti for his performance as Albert Einstein and scenes of him talking to Oppenheimer that are a break from the film’s darker parts.

In a mostly positive review for The protectormuch to praise Peter Bradshaw, but added that, “rightly or wrongly, [Nolan] uses non-Jewish actors for Oppenheimer and Einstein, two of the most famous Jewish people in history and, in fact, doesn’t quite get to grips with the anti-Semitism Oppenheimer faced as an assimilated secular American Jew.”

Among the rare negative reviews, Kristy Puchko complained Mashable that Florence Pugh, who plays the psychiatrist and activist – and Oppenheimer’s early lover – Jean Tatloc, has been “reduced to crying and nudity.”

She also criticized the screenplay’s treatment of Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, whom she felt had to defend him throughout the film.

Wasted: Among the rare negative reviews, Kristy Puchko lamented for Mashable that Florence Pugh, who plays the psychiatrist and activist — and Oppenheimer’s early lover — Jean Tatloc, has been “reduced to crying and nudity”

Toe to Toe: Despite the quibbles, Oppenheimer seems to have come out ahead of its fellow opening film Barbie with critics, though the comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is expected to dominate at the box office

Despite the bickering, Oppenheimer seems to have gotten ahead of his fellow opening film Barbie among critics, though the comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is expected to dominate at the box office.

However, Oppenheimer will benefit from the more lucrative ticket prices of premium formats, which will attract many Nolan fans.

The film has managed to snag on IMAX screens for an unprecedented three weeks, and several theaters across the country will showcase it in original IMAX 70mm film, the format Nolan shot the film in, while smaller movie theaters that are still equipped with rare 70mm projectors will show the film. in the normal version of that format.

Larger than traditional 35mm film, 70mm film has superior definition and color reproduction compared to 35mm, though both formats have largely been supplanted in movie theaters around the world in favor of digital projection.