Ronald Gilmour

I find this subject matter fascinating as the threat of nuclear war hangs over us all possibly more than ever. I have read many books on the Manhattan project and how Oppenheimer struggled with the morals of his creation. Therefore I was eagerly anticipating the release of this movie for months. Fresh from having seen it I have to say I left the Cinema confused and deflated. All the hype about this film sadly seems to have been just that. The first problem I found is three hours is far too long . The timeline was very confusing. The direction was very muddled, jumping from one scene to another too quickly without enough background explanation for any viewer who may have had little knowledge of Oppenheimer or the creation of a weapon which could wipe out our planet. There were also far too many Cameos from big names who seemed to have more than a few scenes and lines between them. As if the Director was trying to cram as many big names as he could into three hours which ultimately led to the detriment of the narrative and the coherence of the script. This would have been a better movie if the director had concentrated on either just the story of Oppenheimer's struggles at Los Alamos with all the political and moral struggles involved or the personal cost to him in the aftermath of WW11. Finally the soundtrack was overbearing and far too loud creating a sense of tension when sadly there was little in a long and disappointing three hours