‘Oppenheimer’ Review: Christopher Nolan’s Epic Is a Scorching Depiction of America’s Ability to Create and Destroy Its Heroes

Both a probing character study and a sweeping account of history, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a brainy, brawny thriller about the man who led the Manhattan Project to build the bomb that ended World War II. To dispense with the inevitable weapon of mass destruction metaphors, it’s more slow-burn than explosive. But perhaps the most surprising element of this audacious epic is that the scramble for atomic armament ends up being secondary to the scathing depiction of political gamesmanship, as one of the most brilliant scientific minds of the 20th century is vilified for voicing learned opinions that go against America’s arms-race thinking.Related StoriesMoviesAndrew Garfield Falls for Florence Pugh After Her Car Hits Him in 'We Live in Time' TrailerMoviesDoug Liman and Tom Cruise Are Still "Talking About" Doing an 'Edge of Tomorrow' SequelChiseling Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman’s whopping, definitive biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheime...