Barbie and Oppenheimer Reviews

 It's been a crazy weekend at the theatres with two huge movies opening on the same day in what feels like a long time. Two completely different movies in Barbie and Oppenheimer opened this weekend to a lot of great buzz and attendance. Seeing lots of people dressed up for the Barbie premiere was nice and all the manly men who rather watch Oppenheimer because it's a Nolan movie. Mostly kidding about that last part, but I did hear a lot of older men talking in the theatre about how they don't want to see Barbie. The hype for these two movies was pretty big, did they live up to all that or were they letdowns? Here's MY opinion. 

BARBIE

Greta Gerwig returns to the director's chair after creating a lot of great movies so far like Lady Bird and the recent Little Women adaptation. This is her first big blockbuster that she's a part of and it's a movie that got a heavy push from Warner Bros. The movie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie as well and Ryan Gosling as Ken. The story follows Robbie's Barbie as she lives a perfect life in Barbie Land, where everything is always amazing and every day is just one big fun party. In their world, women rule the nation and all the men (known as the Kens) are just there to try to impress them. Everything changes when Barbie starts having dark thoughts and everything around her starts falling apart. She must travel to the real world (with Ken) to find her original owner and see what is wrong with her to fix their connection. The story ends up going to a lot of wacky places and I won't go further than that to not spoil the fun that happens after. 

The thing I loved the most about the movie was just how visually pleasing it was. The use of real sets and cool visual tricks really make this movie feel so unique and like it's really taking place in a toy set. The sets are all real and painted up like an actual Barbie play set along with the great outfits taken straight from the real toys and brought into life. The movie just has this really fun atmosphere that is really fun to look at. It's not just the visuals though, but the performances are all pretty good too, especially from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, but the other stars do bring a lot of fun with maybe a few exceptions. Will Ferrel is in this movie, but he was one of the few parts that I wasn't too big on. 

I think this movie does a good job with the message that it's trying to tell young girls and women. It does so with a lot of great humor that works for the most part, but also some nice slower moments that really feel like they're speaking a heartfelt message to their audience. While yes, the movie is mainly focused on women and their struggle, there are still some good messages here for the men and a fun story involving a reverse equality storyline that was often times hilarious, but also had a good message at the end. 

Overall this movie was a ton of fun, with lots of great visuals and laughs throughout. There weren't very many dull moments and when the movie slowed down it did so with good reason, to tell its story and to speak to its audience. While not all the moments worked and some characters felt like maybe didn't need to be there, it's still overall very good. 

Overall Grade: B+ 

Oppenheimer

This one was not nearly as fun but for very good reasons. Christopher Nolan returns to the big screen with his new movie Oppenheimer. A story that many people know about, but not as many know about the man behind it all. Cillian Murphy plays J Robert Oppenheimer in this movie that tells the story of the man who led the team behind that created the atomic bomb that changed the world forever. This movie has a ton of well-known actors in it that all make short appearances, but the movie is always focused on the main character. 

It goes without saying at this point that Nolan knows how to make a beautiful-looking film, and this one is possibly the most beautiful looking one yet. Yes, the big explosion looks amazing, but outside of that, it's still an amazing-looking film. The way to visuals are used to tell this story is the kind of thing that only great directors like Nolan can really pull off masterfully.

The story is told in a non-linear way but never feels confusing in the way it's told. There are moments where we flash into a black-and-white scene that feels appropriate as it's an easy indication that this is happening at another time. The story is being told through the eyes of Oppenheimer for the most part, as we see his rise through school and his groundbreaking research leads him to eventually be chosen to lead the Manhattan Project. I think the story and writing do a good job at not just presenting Oppenheimer as this hero character who accomplished a great thing and helped the Allies win WWII. It shows a lot of struggle in the character as he fights with what it means to create something as powerful as an atomic bomb and how it's going to be used eventually. It goes beyond that into a lot of political fights and moral dilemmas. 

I can't lie and say there weren't moments where I found myself checking out a little, the story can be a little slow at times, especially in the beginning. Nothing feels like a waste of time though, even through its slower moments it's clearly telling you something important about Oppenheimer and where his story is heading. There are some truly scary moments in this movie, which was not surprising when you think about the subject matter, but I'm glad the movie wasn't afraid to go into the darkness to tell a complete story.

It's interesting to see these two movies come out on the same weekend and be the completely opposite of each other in their presentation. But I think it shows how amazing movies can be and how many different stories there are to tell through film. Whether it's a funny movie with a heartfelt message or a darker movie that leaves you thinking at the end of it, it's all pretty awesome. Nolan and Gerwig made two great movies and if you have the chance to watch them both, you should. 

Overall grade for Oppenheimer: A-