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.
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