A Movie About Atomic Bomb Blows Up Netflix's Top 10 (It's Not Oppenheimer)

Summary

• After the phenomenal success of Nolan's Oppenheimer last year, the public has become more interested in the history of development and use of nuclear weapons.
• On February 16, Netflix released the documentary Einstein and the Bomb, which tells the story of the scientist's relationship with the development and consequences of the atomic bomb.
• Despite polarizing reviews, the film made its way into the Top 10 on Netflix.

Throughout his life, Albert Einstein considered himself a pacifist and actively opposed the use of scientific discoveries for military purposes. Nevertheless, the special theory of relativity he created in 1905 and the resulting mass-energy equivalence he formulated, led, like a nuclear chain reaction, to the development of one of the most terrifying and destructive weapons known to mankind — the atomic bomb. No, we're not talking about the phenomenal success of last year's Oppenheimer, although its popularity certainly led to no small amount of hype surrounding the recently released documentary, which instantly became one of the most watched movies on Netflix.

We're talking about Einstein and the Bomb, a documentary that, as the title suggests, explores the relationship between the brilliant scientist and his indirect contribution to the development of the atomic bomb upon his arrival to the US from Germany in 1933. Audiences, as opposed to critics, have given the film a mixed reception, but the dramatization of the life and tragedy of one of the greatest minds in human history has no small merit, as the film, riding the wave of Oppenheimer nuclear hype, has become one of the most popular documentaries on Netflix per se.

A Docudrama About Albert Einstein

Last year, we saw the events surrounding the development of the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. To a much lesser extent, however, the story focused on the man who brought humanity closer to understanding atomic energy, Albert Einstein.

Recognizing the danger, Einstein, along with Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, and Eugene Wigner (all of whom you may remember from Nolan's Oppenheimer), sent an alarming letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, pointing out that if Nazi Germany succeeded in developing nuclear weapons, not only would the US suffer the consequences, but so would all of humanity. As part of the Manhattan Project, the Americans were indeed ahead of the Germans with a working atomic bomb – even more, they were the first to use it, dropping it on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, which haunted Einstein for the rest of his life.

Ardent pacifism, complicated relations with his native Germany, a desire to do only the best for mankind, a quest for advances in theoretical physics, and years of anti-war activism became a tragedy for the genius scientist, leading to public scorn and self-loathing for the rest of his years. The new documentary effectively combines both archival footage and dramatization of the events.

Despite Polarized Opinions, the Movie Immediately Reached the Netflix Top 10

Despite Oppenheimer's popularity, the new docu-drama has received very mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 88% approval rating from critics and a 55% approval rating from audiences.

Critics have mostly liked the movie, noting the moving story, which is a great introduction for those who want to learn more about the events behind Christopher Nolan 's film. Audiences, on the other hand, felt the opposite: many felt that the cheesy dramatization did not help the film and that it was sensationalistic. Nevertheless, the use of archival footage and narrative voiceovers, the attention paid to German society and the mass psyche under the influence of authoritarianism, and the educational value of the film itself were among the positives.

But that didn't stop Einstein and the Bomb from becoming one of Netflix's most-watched movies upon its release. According to What's on Netflix, it has become one of the most successful releases for documentaries, and in the week of February 12-18, the 2024 documentary made its way to #4 in the top 10 most watched English-language films with a total of 8,500,000 views.