Barbenheimer has been a real phenomenon in cinemas since the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer last Friday on the same day.
After a rather disappointing Box Office performance for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and admittedly fairly good numbers for the latest Mission Impossible, this double bill has brought back levels of excitement that haven't been seen at cinemas in ages.
The Vue cinema chain reported that a fifth of its customers at the weekend completed the full five hour Barbenheimer marathon. That would require a serious amount of salted popcorn!
It makes a refreshing change from the endless Marvel releases and sequels to have two films I'm genuinely excited about watching. This week, we'll focus on Margot Robbie's tour de force in Barbie. I had such fun watching this film that I immediately went home afterwards and convinced my wife to watch it with me next weekend!
Director Greta Gerwig has pulled off the ultimate balancing act, in paying tribute to Barbie's legacy, whilst at the same time absolutely ripping it to shreds in satirical terms. The humour is clever, Ryan Gosling is spot on as Ken, and there's even a brilliant cameo from Rob Brydon as a "Sugar Daddy" doll, amongst other cameos to watch out for.
Helen Mirren's narration is class and, as for Margot Robbie, she is just the perfect choice for this role. There's even an in-joke within the script making reference to this fact! Will Ferrell shines as the ruthless but hapless Mattel boss, and we follow Barbie's trip to the Real World to find out why she is starting to have dark thoughts of death, and something of an existential crisis. Her feet are flat,, she can feel the cold water in her shower, and her seemingly perfect universe has a few rips in it. Will the Real World be as perfect as she expects?
This is such a fun ride, and being a 12A is probably not for smaller kids (I'd take them to see the beautiful Elemental instead). I reckon if you're a hardened sceptic, convinced you'll hate Barbie, you are in for a surprise. The script is funny, the visuals are great, and the storytelling is superb. The message is also positive, although it's upset a few blokes apparently. Sorry, men. Your disparaging quotes have been put on mock posters on Twitter for our amusement. This is smart, engaging, and a definite 9 out of 10 from me.
It's quite amazing that Mattel have let this movie be made in a lot of respects, but it may well have saved Barbie's reputation. Let's face it, it had gone the same way as the likes of Miss World. This could just rescue her for the next generation. It's even outdone the Super Mario Brothers movie in its opening weekend, and made more than Toy Story 4 in its first few days. The marketing may have been ubiquitous, but it has certainly worked. More importantly, there's actually a great film that justifies it. Come on Barbie, let's go party!
