Oppenheimer Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs

Ever since The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has garnered a reputation for mishandling sound mixing in his work. Because of this, there are times during his films where it's impossible to hear what the characters are saying. Since this was a sticking point with Tenet, fans hoped Nolan had learned the error of his ways.

Sadly, this issue is apparent throughout Oppenheimer. The sound mixing is nowhere near as bad, but there are times where the dialogue can't be heard, since Nolan can't help inserting rumbling sounds and deafening blasts in the background.

Although these noises are intended to heighten the drama, they impair it, since they drown out everything else. Since the characters are often talking about intricate legalities and quantum mechanics, listeners need to hear every word to comprehend what they're saying. But no matter how attuned your ears are, at least 15% of the dialogue is too muffled to be understood.

Even though it's clear what this sound mixing is trying to accomplish, it feels like Noland should retire this counterproductive technique, or at the very least, rein it in.