Christopher Nolan and Universal Pictures brought a 5-minute exclusive featurette of "Oppenheimer" to CinemaCon in Las Vegas, and this movie looks like it's going to be Nolan's true masterpiece.
Watch CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell break down what he saw, and if the new footage changed his mind about which feature he'll be seeing first on July 21: Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer."
Based on the true story, "Oppenheimer" follows physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he works with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the atomic bomb. "Oppenheimer" stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.
Watch CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell break down what he saw, and if the new footage changed his mind about which feature he'll be seeing first on July 21: Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer."
Based on the true story, "Oppenheimer" follows physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he works with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the atomic bomb. "Oppenheimer" stars Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Trust me when I tell you this looks like Christopher Nolan's masterpiece.
00:04 Hey guys, I'm Sean O'Connell, the managing editor at CinemaBlend
00:12 here in Las Vegas for CinemaCon 2023.
00:15 And Universal brought a slate of blockbusters that are going to be coming to theaters,
00:19 starting with Christopher Nolan's latest film, Oppenheimer.
00:23 We got to see about a five-minute featurette,
00:25 giving you an idea of what to expect from Nolan's latest film.
00:29 We imagine a future, and our imaginings horrify us.
00:33 So if you follow along on CinemaBlend, and even if you listen to our Real Blend podcast,
00:39 you'll know that I like Christopher Nolan, but I'm not like a huge Nolan guy.
00:43 I like a bunch of his films. I don't like a few of his films.
00:47 What I saw out of Oppenheimer truly leads me to believe
00:51 that this is going to be his masterpiece.
00:53 And it's hard to tell exactly why, but the footage that we saw just really, really worked.
00:58 It focuses on Cillian Murphy, who is playing Oppenheimer
01:01 at the time when they are going through the process
01:03 of discovering what is going to become the atomic bomb.
01:06 And the research that they're doing out in the desert of the United States,
01:10 as they are trying to race both the Nazis and the Soviet Union
01:16 to be the first ones to develop this technology.
01:18 It's during World War II, and we know that eventually
01:21 Oppenheimer is going to succeed in the process.
01:24 But what he is wrestling with is, am I creating a weapon
01:28 that's just far too powerful to exist in this world?
01:31 But at the same time, if they don't complete their mission
01:34 and he's not able to complete the bomb,
01:36 he knows that the people that he's racing against are almost there.
01:40 And that tension, I think, is going to be something that Nolan has a ton of fun exploring.
01:44 I say fun, but Oppenheimer looks like it's going to be extremely serious
01:48 as the results of what's going to happen from the creation of this bomb
01:52 are nothing short of devastating.
01:54 So when Nolan uses a phrase like, "The event that changed history forever,"
01:58 he means it and he's actually serious.
02:01 This is an incredibly tense and riveting story that, if told properly,
02:05 is going to be one of the better historical epics that Nolan has ever delivered.
02:10 The cast also is truly remarkable.
02:13 It starts off with Nolan using black and white photography
02:17 to show a summit of leaders getting together
02:19 to talk about what had happened out in the desert
02:21 and how close the team came to succeeding.
02:24 That quorum is sort of led by Robert Downey Jr.,
02:28 who looks like he's giving an incredible performance,
02:30 and I can't wait to see more of him as he interacts with Cillian Murphy.
02:33 Then it follows Murphy into the desert where he's doing the work on the atomic bomb,
02:37 and his team includes Matt Damon and also Emily Blunt,
02:41 who I think is the wife of one of the scientists who's working on the technology,
02:46 but she becomes really involved in the process,
02:48 especially as they get closer to succeeding.
02:50 You know that Christopher Nolan is a masterful filmmaker,
02:53 so of course the footage looked incredibly good.
02:55 Nolan talked about how he's using the IMAX photography and IMAX cameras
02:59 to capture what is happening, the action in this film.
03:03 So this is one of those movies that you're going to want to go out to the IMAX theaters
03:06 to see in the proper format.
03:08 I also do want to see how he blends the black and white with his color photography
03:11 and how he's working with director of photography,
03:14 Hojda van Hoijdema, who also does incredible work with Jordan Peele.
03:18 I think the two of them working together is going to be a really remarkable collaboration.
03:21 I didn't expect to see as much of Oppenheimer as they showed,
03:24 but I think Universal is really, really confident in this,
03:26 and Nolan seems really confident in it because he's usually a secretive guy
03:29 and doesn't like to show off footage before it's truly ready,
03:32 also in the best format possible.
03:34 So when he came out on stage and introduced this footage,
03:36 I knew that we were in store for something remarkable,
03:39 and that's exactly what we got with Oppenheimer.
03:41 All right, time to answer the debate of all debates.
03:44 What am I seeing first, Barbie or Oppenheimer?
03:47 Now before this, the answer was Barbie,
03:49 and the answer probably still is Barbie.
03:51 But I will say that after seeing this footage,
03:53 Oppenheimer edged a little bit closer.
03:56 [BARBIE GROWLS]
03:57 I'll probably see Barbie first,
03:58 maybe then do Oppenheimer,
04:00 and then cleanse the palette with Barbie a second time.
04:02 That feels like the right way to do this, right?
04:05 I'm actually not sure.
04:06 Just sort of sandwich Oppenheimer between two screenings of Greta Gerwig's Barbie.
04:10 That seems like the right way to do this.
04:11 I think Nolan would appreciate that.
04:13 I think Greta Gerwig would appreciate that.
04:14 It's the least that I can do for this power couple of Hollywood cinema.
04:18 We're going to have plenty more on Oppenheimer as the film comes out in July,
04:21 so keep it right here on CinemaBlend.
04:23 And more coverage from CinemaCon 2023 is on your way.