Barbenheimer: a cinematic adventure
The movies Barbie (Greta Gerwig) and Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan), took over the cinemas on their simultaneous release date, July 21, 2023. Rather than being deliberately marketed as a double feature, fans created the idea of seeing both at one time in theaters, an experience called Barbenheimer.
Barbie, as a lighthearted, yet meaningful comedy, has made a whopping 1.4 billion dollars worldwide. Oppenheimer, a drama about the making and aftermath of the atomic bomb, made around 890 million at the box office. They are very different films, and it is difficult to say if one is “better” than the other. For me, they each had their unique charms or power and both educated me and others about the danger of war and toxic masculinity.
How was the acting? The origins of the Barbie movie started in 2009 when the Barbie company Mattel, signed with Universal Pictures. The search for the actress who would play Barbie started soon after. Margot Robbie who plays Barbie, but also produced the film, chose Amy Schumer, Anne Hathaway, and Gal Gadot before she eventually decided she was the best candidate for the part.
Robbie has had much success in other films such as The Suicide Squad series, The Wolf on Wall Street, and I Tonya, but I truly think that Barbie was her best performance yet. She changed many minds on the ideals of Barbie and portrayed the feminist, inclusive, and sensitive part of the character very well. I would give her performance as an actress a 9.1/10
Oppenheimer on the other hand is a very different film. Based on the making of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer focuses on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and The Manhattan Project. The film goes back and forth between times in Oppenheimer’s life and shows the development of the atomic bomb.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Oppenheimer, had an extraordinary performance and brought light to the emotion behind the making of such a violent and history-changing weapon. Unlike Robbie, Murphy hadn’t seen as much publicity before the release of Oppenheimer.
He has had smaller roles in bigger films like A Quiet Place II, Inception, and Dunkirk, but I think Oppenheimer was his best act yet. He brought much emotion and passion to what was considered one of the most important films of the year.
Deadline’s Pete Hammond lauded the actor’s ability to embody the complexities of the character, deeming the film “the most important motion picture of 2023, and maybe far beyond.” Considering the amount of praise and publicity it gave Murphy, I would give his performance in Oppenheimer a 9.7/10.
What about my overall critiques? Barbie, on the whole, was a great film. I thought the music, the casting, the storylines, and almost everything was done very well. When I first saw the ads for the Barbie movie everywhere, I thought it was stupid, and would be a movie about girls and their stereotypical interests. I was surprised when the first scene showed real depth, and that continued throughout the movie, pursuing a story so many women can relate to. Overall I would give the Barbie movie a 9.5/10.
Oppenheimer was a movie that shocked me. The action, the audio, and the set design were some of the best I have seen from Christopher Nolan. Nolan does an incredible job showing the historical accuracy, and moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb, which viewers may not have been aware of. The commitment and attention to detail in Oppenheimer was also incredible but no surprise to me coming from Nolan. I would give Oppenheimer a 10/10.
While my ratings were slightly different, I would 100% recommend watching both movies as they both are high-quality entertainment, but more importantly educational on important issues in our current world.
