Review: Oppenheimer

After many weeks of planning, we finally found the time to watch Oppenheimer at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall's newly opened Showplace Ikon movie theater at 16:10.

 Once we purchased the tickets (with assigned seats), we walked over to the theater and reclined in the excellent chairs.

According to Wikipedia:

Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical drama film^[5] written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project—the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. The film is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, it chronicles the career of Oppenheimer; the story predominantly focuses on Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing. In addition to Murphy, the film stars Emily Blunt as his wife "Kitty", Matt Damon as head of the Manhattan Project Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as U.S. Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss, and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer's communist lover Jean Tatlock. The ensemble supporting cast includes Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.

 The Plot:

In 1926, 22-year-old doctoral student J. Robert Oppenheimer grapples with anxiety and homesickness while studying under experimental physicist Patrick Blackett at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. Oppenheimer, upset with the demanding Blackett, leaves him a poisoned apple, but later retrieves it. Visiting scientist Niels Bohr recommends that Oppenheimer should instead study theoretical physics at Göttingen. He completes his PhD there and meets Isidor Isaac Rabi. The two later meet theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in Switzerland. Wanting to expand quantum physics research in the United States, Oppenheimer begins teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Institute of Technology. He meets his future wife, Katherine "Kitty" Puening, a biologist and ex-communist, and has an intermittent affair with Jean Tatlock, a troubled Communist Party USA member who later commits suicide.

In December 1938, nuclear fission is discovered, which Oppenheimer realizes could be used to create a bomb. In 1942, amid World War II, U.S. Army General Leslie Groves recruits Oppenheimer to lead the Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer, who is Jewish, is particularly driven by the Nazis potentially completing their nuclear weapons program, headed by Heisenberg. He assembles a scientific team including Rabi and Edward Teller in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and also collaborates with scientists Enrico Fermi and David L. Hill. Teller's calculations reveal an atomic detonation could possibly trigger a chain reaction that ignites the atmosphere and destroy the world. After consulting with Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer concludes that the chances of catastrophe are acceptably low. When Teller proposes a hydrogen bomb, it is swiftly rejected. He attempts to leave the Project but is retained by Oppenheimer's persuasion.

Upon Germany's defeat in 1945, some Project scientists question the bomb's relevance, while Oppenheimer believes it will end the ongoing war in the Pacific and save Allied lives. The Trinity test is successful, and President Harry S. Truman orders Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be bombed, forcing Japan's surrender. Oppenheimer, though praised by the public, is haunted by the mass destruction and fatalities, and suggests restricting further nuclear weapons development, which Truman curtly dismisses. As an advisor to the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Oppenheimer's stance generates controversy, while Teller's hydrogen bomb receives renewed interest amid the burgeoning Cold War. AEC Chairman Lewis Strauss resents Oppenheimer for publicly humiliating him by dismissing his concerns about exporting radioisotopes, and for recommending negotiations with the Soviet Union after they successfully detonate their own bomb. He also believes that Oppenheimer previously denigrated him to Einstein.

In 1954, wanting to eliminate Oppenheimer's political influence, Strauss secretly orchestrates a private hearing before a Personnel Security Board concerning Oppenheimer's Q clearance. However, it becomes clear that the hearing has a predetermined outcome. Special counsel Roger Robb fixates on Oppenheimer's past communist ties, and negatively twists the testimony of Groves and other associates. Teller testifies that he lacks confidence in Oppenheimer and recommends revocation. The board revokes Oppenheimer's clearance, damaging his public image and limiting his influence on nuclear policy. In 1959, during Strauss' Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce, Hill testifies about Strauss' personal motives in engineering Oppenheimer's downfall, resulting in the Senate voting against his nomination. In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson presents Oppenheimer with the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of political rehabilitation. A flashback shows Oppenheimer's conversation with Einstein in 1947, and revealing that Strauss was never mentioned and Oppenheimer instead expressed concern he had started a chain reaction that could destroy the world.

 Movie Rating

I found the movie excellent, closely matching the original text of American Prometheus (which I have previously read). Still, I did not like the frequent switches between past and future events.

Overall, I rate Oppenheimer as 4 out of 5 stars. Cillian Murphy deserves an Oscar for his outstanding acting performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Dinner

After the 3-hour movie, we stopped by for dinner at the Bamboo Sushi. Inna had reservations at another restaurant in Santa Row, but we wanted to stay in Valley Fair. On the spur of the moment, we decided to try Bamboo Sushi. We ordered from this menu:

• Drinks: Hot Green Tea
• Appetizer: Shrimp Tempura (tiny shrimp), Miso Soup
• Signature Rolls: 
• Hoki Poki Box (Pressed sushi rice, spicy crab, tuna, avocado, green onion, togarashi, tangy poke dressing)
• Friday the 13th (Spicy salmon, cucumber, avocado, seared albacore, spicy aioli, eel sauce, tempura crunchies).

Miso Soup was watery and uninspiring. The Shrimp Tempura was very small. The Hoki Poki Box and Friday the 13th signature rolls were okay but nothing special. Tea refills needed to be requested, and overall service was very sluggish. Not Recommended.

After dinner, we decided to return to Eataly for desserts. We ordered the Sfero, along with Bicerin coffee drinks. They were fantastic!