Where to watch: Cinemas
The biggest release grouping in the last five years, Barbenheimer (Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer) has really excited audiences. In an act of pettiness towards Nolan, Warner Bros moved the release date for Barbie to match Oppenheimer.
But not only has Oppenheimer done well, Barbie is WB’s highest grossing film of all time, a huge accomplishment for director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie.
Statistics aside, is the film worth seeing? Absolutely. 100%. No doubt about it. Is it a 10/10 film? No, but that’s ok as well. Barbie, is rated PG15+ and is more entertaining for older audiences with its meta jokes on society and overall message of societal equality.
Some have said the film is ‘too preachy about feminism’ or ‘makes men look like pigs, but given Greta Gerwig’s previous films focusing on empowering females, this is not unexpected and the feminist lines work well for the overall narrative of the story.
Getting to the actual movie, the plot focuses around Margot Robbie’s Barbie as she travels to the real world to search for answers for her feeling of unrest. Joining her on her quest is arguably the best character in the film, Ryan Gosling’s Ken. Coming from a world where Kens are second fiddle to Barbie, he comes to the real world with no insight and leaves with a comedic misunderstanding of patriarchy, and a sense of worth and purpose.
From a visual standpoint, the Barbie world looks phenomenal. Created with print pastel pink and practical sets, it gives a fun blossoming aesthetic, especially when compared to the scenes in the real world.
This movie is fantastic, the comedy hits perfectly and the characters are well written and developed throughout.
7.5/10
