Hi! So sorry for the late review. Things have been crazy around here and I haven’t found the time to review this monumental event in film until now. Since the world hasn’t seen a double feature like this in quite some time, I thought it’d be fitting to review both films in one post.
To start, I didn’t intend on watching Barbenheimer. What I mean is, I didn’t intend on watching both films on the same day. I had secured my opening night tickets to Oppenheimer months in advance, since I am fortunate to live close to one of the 30 theaters in the world that can project in 70mm IMAX. I was going to watch Barbie the following week to space them out, but fate had bound me to the double feature. You can imagine how disappointed I was when, on opening night for Oppenheimer—me and my friends all ecstatic to see Nolan’s newest feature—are notified by the manager of the theater that the film projector had broken, and that they were unable to play the film in 70mm. One guy in the crowd shouted, “I flew from Tennessee to see this!” How incredibly sad for that guy. Unfortunately, that’s just how it goes for movies using an actual film projector nowadays. It’s so antiquated and so rarely utilized that most people don’t know how to operate it anymore, which is truly a shame. So, because we were shafted on opening night, I had to reschedule my showing of Oppenheimer 6 days later, while enduring the suffering of having not seen it and hearing all my friends talk about it.
As it turns out, I had a friend coming from out of town the following week, and she was free that same to watch Barbie on the same day I was going to see Oppenheimer. And so it was spoken into being. Barbie at 8pm, Oppenheimer at 11pm. A double feature of the most epic proportions. I had no doubts that I’d stay awake for both, even though I’d leave Oppenheimer at around 2:30AM. Barbie is up first. Let’s go, baby.
I love Greta Gerwig. She’s one of my favorite directors working today, and the idea of a movie about Barbie seemed simply ridiculous to me. If anyone was going to make it work though, it’d be Gerwig. Well, I think I enjoyed it for the most part. What were the best parts about the film? Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, easily. Both were perfectly cast, but if I had to pick one, it’d definitely be Gosling. He steals the show completely, and it’s probably his funniest performances to date. Ever since The Nice Guys I’ve wanted Gosling to start in more comedies, and he really kills it here. Both actors have a lot of chemistry even if their characters don’t, and it’s just funny to see them interact throughout.
I didn’t mind the absurdity of the story and thought that it was quite impressive how they put everything together all things considered, since it’s a movie about toys entering the real world. My biggest criticism were with the overall tone of the film. It’s the funniest movie of the year for sure, but it also tries to tell a poignant message on the patriarchy and feminism. I think it’s fine to tell a message about that, but the film often fights with itself on the messaging because it wants you to take it seriously, while also wanting to make you laugh. I think the film would have benefitted more if it was just more comedic in nature and didn’t outwardly preach at you at some points in the film. There were moments in the film that I think were intended to feel very empowering, but it kind of fell flat for me because the characters weren’t very developed. To be honest, I kinda just wanted to see more Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie throughout, but the whole third act has a lot going on that’s not necessarily related to them.
Despite the muddled tone, this film has some pretty incredible production value. I can see why the entire world suffered a pink shortage because of this movie. A lot of the sets looked beautiful and it was kind of surreal seeing all of it put together like the real Barbie dollhouses. Even though I’ve never played with Barbies and was not able to appreciate the attention to detail that they put into making sure all the models and sets looked just like the toys, it was still fantastic to see it on a big screen. I had no idea there were so many different types of Barbies, and that just made the overall film a fun and refreshing watch. I was also a big fan of many of the musical numbers, especially the big party at Barbie’s house near the beginning. Just really, really good stuff. I just wish that the overall film was a bit more consistent in how it wanted to present itself. Overall it’s easily my least favorite Greta Gerwig film, but I’m immensely happy for the success that it’s gotten. I cannot believe that it’s Warner Brothers’s highest grossing film of all time, that’s just absolutely baffling to me. However, I hope it teaches studios to give female directors more opportunities to direct big budget films, because they’re clearly capable of doing them just as well as men.
Barbie Grade: B/77
After waiting for six miserable days from the opening premiere, I finally got to see Oppenheimer in all its 70mm IMAX glory. And boy, did it live up to the hype. For anyone who doesn’t know, Nolan is my favorite director so please feel free to take whatever I say with a big ol’ grain of salt. However, I don’t think anyone does spectacle like Christopher Nolan these days. His obsession with filming on IMAX cameras and advocating to see films on the biggest screen possible have done nothing but enhance my moviegoing experience for each one of his films. I’m so surprised that at the moment of writing this review, Oppenheimer has surpassed Inception and Interstellar in box office gross, and is nearing the 1 billion dollar mark. For a movie that is 3 hours in length and primarily features people in rooms talking, that is immensely impressive.
Similar to many of Nolan’s other films, this one requires a rewatch. I had a hard time taking in all of the dialogue in this film, but thankfully it was because there was so much of it, not because I couldn’t hear half of it due to the abysmal sound-mixing like in Tenet. People are spewing out technical and scientific terms real fast in this film, and it’s hard to be fully engaged with what everyone’s saying while also admiring the beautiful visuals. It also didn’t help that I was not very familiar with a lot of the scientists and key figures in the film, so when I went to watch Oppenheimer a second time, I did some research on who everyone was and I also managed to find a theater with subtitles (they do exist!). As great as it was to understand all of the dialogue the second time around, it almost felt like a different movie since the showing was on a standard non-IMAX screen. If you could only watch the film once and maybe only retain about 85% of the dialogue, it’s worth seeing it on the biggest screen possible. The visuals, the music, the cinematography, the writing, everything was just firing on all cylinders here. Ludwig Göransson’s score is his finest yet. I know much has been said about Nolan writing this screenplay in first person which is sort of unheard of, but it’s probably his most powerful script in his storied career. There’s a lot to love about this film, but I’ll also understand if it’s not for everyone either. For people who really cannot stand films where people just talk, then yeah, perhaps this isn’t for you. However, I felt that way before the film came out, and now it’s grossed over 900 billion dollars. I don’t understand how it’s been such a huge draw, it’s truly unfathomable. Regardless, I’m happy for Nolan’s success and I’m even happier for lead Cillian Murphy, who finally steps out of the supporting role and into his most memorable role since Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders.
To say that the cast of this film is stacked is an understatement. There is so much star power in this film, and some of them only appear for one scene. It almost felt like a Wes Anderson film with the sheer number of A-list actors appearing for just a quick cameo. Every scene felt economical though, and every actor puts in their best effort in the short amount of screen time they’re given, with the one exception of Florence Pugh. I love Pugh and I think she does get shafted a bit in her screen time. Nothing against her acting, but I do feel like Nolan kind of gave her the short end of the stick here. In context it kind of makes sense that she’s pushed to the side because at the end of the day, it’s a story about Oppenheimer’s life. I do hope that if Nolan ever gets around to making his first film with a female lead, then he could consider Pugh as a way of making it up to her though. That’d be sweet.
There are very few directors working today whose films I would consider to be cinematic events every time they come out. Nolan, Spielberg, Cameron, Scorsese, Villeneuve, Tarantino, Fincher, PT Anderson, Cuaron, Malick, and now hopefully Gerwig, to name a few. Out of all of these, I don’t think any director controls the cultural zeitgeist quite like Nolan at the moment. I’m so glad that Nolan does not box himself into a certain genre or franchise and is able to make whatever he wants to make. Oppenheimer is not a film I would have anticipated him to make based on what he was doing a few years ago, but he continues to surprise, 12 feature films into his career. I don’t think Oppenheimer hits the emotional highs as some of his previous films do, but it’s still nothing short of a technical marvel and just a really damn good film.
Oppenheimer Grade: A/92
I know both films are over a month into their runtime, but they are still very accessible to see in theaters right now as they are still occupying many of the premier showtimes. If you haven’t taken yourself to see at least one of these films, I highly suggest that you do. The phenomenon known as Barbenheimer is quite a rare cinematic sight due to its good timing and organic marketing. Bring back the age of double features! If I had to grade the double feature as a whole, it was an incredible experience and I hope I can feel this way again. This was a moviegoing moment that I won’t soon forget.
Barbenheimer Grade: A+/100
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