I used to be a diehard Christopher Nolan fan. I'm talking Die. Hard. There was a time when nobody could say a bad word about Christopher Nolan movies in my presence. I simply wouldn't allow it.
You didn't like Insomnia? You just didn't get it. You thought Following was amateurish? You're amateurish! Memento wasn't your jam? Well, you just gotta watch it again then, my man.
But then, The Dark Knight Rises happened, which is definitely one of the weaker flicks when ranking the Batman movies. Then Interstellar happened…which I hated! (more on why later). There was Dunkirk, and that was…fine. I guess. But, finally, Tenet happened, and I had HUGE problems with that one. There was a time when I used to think that Tenet was make or break for me as a Nolan fan, but Oppenheimer truly is the last shot I'm willing to give him, and I have four reasons why.
The Last Christopher Nolan Movie I Truly Loved Was Inception
Do you know when Inception came out? 2010. That was 13 years ago! That’s a long time to stick with a director when you really don't like their movies since then, but I think that just shows how much I used to love Nolan. In fact, I was so enamored with this movie, that I wrote a whole article wondering what if Inception was analyzed by dream experts. (As if I could be considered a dream expert. Ha!)
That’s how much I loved it. In fact, everybody seemed to love it (except for Elliot Page, who said he got shingles when working on the picture). It just had it all. It was “scientific,” but in a loosey goosey sort of way, it was exhilarating, and it was creative. That’s why I still think that Inception is Christopher Nolan’s best movie.
Here’s the thing, though. I don’t want to feel this way. I wanted Interstellar, Dunkirk, or Tenet (Especially!) to be my new favorite Nolan movie, but I just didn't like them, and for a number of reasons.
So, Oppenheimer has a lot resting on its shoulders for me, which has me worried. Because while it's not a sci-fi thriller like Tenet, there looks to be a lot of science behind it, and, well…
I Kind Of Despise The Super Scientific Side Of Nolan
I feel like all of the people I once ignorantly said “you just don't understand” to when they said they didn't like movies like Insomnia, because when it comes to Interstellar, and Tenet, well, I "just don't understand’’ them. And, I’m not talking about the science behind those flicks, because I could follow both of them, for the most part. No. It's more a case of "I just don't understand” what was actually good about them, because they both bored me to tears. Especially Tenet, but I’ll get back to that one in a second.
Personally, I found Interstellar to be obnoxiously smug in its storytelling. I'll give you an example. Spoiler alert, but there’s this one scene early in the movie where the message "Stay" is "mysteriously" written in the main character's house, and we're supposed to wonder how it got there. But, it was pretty obvious (to me anyway) that McConaughey's character had written it to himself in some alternate time or dimension (the movie is about time dilation and wormholes, after all).
Later in the film, it seemed like Nolan thought we’d be surprised when the obvious was made clear, and it was supposed to be this big emotional scene. But, the whole time I just kept thinking, did you really think we wouldn’t see this coming? Because I sure did. And I’m sure I wasn’t alone.
I didn't care about any of the characters, making everything else feel completely pointless to me. But, maybe I just don’t like super technical, big idea sci-fi movies. Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director, after all, and even though I know 2001: A Space Odyssey is supposed to be his masterpiece, it’s probably my least favorite movie of his. It just feels too intentionally cold, and too lifeless for my taste.
So, I guess I can forgive Interstellar, since I know a lot of people love that movie.It’s more a me thing rather than it actually being a bad movie. I don’t think I can excuse Tenet, however, which I genuinely do think is a bad movie. Apparently, I’m really not alone here, as Rotten Tomatoes shows Tenet is Nolan’s lowest reviewed movie, with a 69% fresh rating.
Yes, I know, a 69% is still considered “fresh” on the Tomatometer, so enough critics didn’t outright hate it like I did, but this was a major L for me, as the entropy and inversion plot just didn’t hold my interest. Unlike Inception, where the “science” (made up as it were) served the story, the science in Tenet actually bogged it down, making the plot unwieldy and needlessly complicated. So, I just hope that Oppenheimer isn’t as bogged down with the science as Tenet was. In fact, I hope it's more of a character study, because honestly…
I'm Also Not Much Of A Fan Of Nolan’s Real Life Dramas Like Dunkirk, Either
I thought Dunkirk was…just okay. I definitely didn’t hate it, and I think there was a lot to admire about the film, as it really did feel as taut as that excellent trailer. That said, I found Dunkirk to be lacking where it counted the most, which was in character development, as, even though there are characters in the film, none of them really feel all that important in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the actual event (which is probably intentional, I know).
This kind of has me worried for Oppenheimer, because I honestly don’t want the characters to get overshadowed by the event of the Manhattan Project itself. I don’t think we’re getting that with Oppenheimer, since the film takes its inspiration from the Pulitzer Prize winning book, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, so I’m hoping the main character doesn’t get as lost in his own story as some of the soldiers seemed to in Dunkirk, especially since…
I LOVE The Subject Matter In Oppenheimer, And I Feel Like Only Christopher Nolan Could Make A Grand Scale Film Like This
I would be lying if I said I knew a whole lot about Oppenheimer, as I know very little, other than the famous quote, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” and that he worked on the Manhattan Project. But, I am infinitely fascinated by movies based around the atom bomb, such as Fat Man and Little Boy. The atom bomb represents humankind’s genius, but also its path to destruction, and I really want to see a modern movie about this specific event in history.
I think Nolan is perfect for this subject matter. Did I like Interstellar? No. Did I like Dunkirk? Not really. Did I enjoy Tenet? God no! But, the director behind all three of those pictures put his heart and soul into all of them, just as he did for grand scale films that I actually did enjoy like two of the Batman movies, The Prestige, and, of course, Inception.
Honestly, I hope he gets back to telling unconventional human stories like Memento, which relied more on performances than scientific accuracy, and I think Oppenheimer can be the best of both worlds. Or, at least, I’m hoping it is. Because if it's bad, then this is going to be Nolan's last strike for me. For real this time.
Is Oppenheimer as make or break for you as it is for me? For more news on all things Christopher Nolan, make sure to swing by here often.
