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| "0": "Margot does the best with what she's given, but this film was very disappointing to me. It was marketed as a fun, quirky satire with homages to other movies. It started that way, but ended with over-dramatized speeches and an ending that clearly tried to make the audience feel something, but left everyone just feeling confused. And before you say I'm a crotchety old man, I'm a woman in my 20s, so I'm pretty sure I'm this movie's target audience. The saddest part is there were parents with their kids in the theater that were victims of the poor marketing, because this is not a kid's movie. Overall, the humor was fun on occasion and the film is beautiful to look at, but the whole concept falls apart in the second half of the film and becomes a pity party for the \"strong\" woman.", | |
| "1": "Before making Barbie (2023), Greta Gerwig single-handedly directed two films: Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019). Both were about girls on the precipice of adolescence, both had nuanced and layered portrayals of mother-daughter relationships, both combined imaginative visuals with clever dialogue. Both were very, very good. Given those credentials, one may expect Barbie to be as intelligent, convincing and amusing a picture - and, well, it isn't.The fantasy comedy begins in Barbie Land, a place where Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) is having the best day every day, in the company of other Barbies and, occasionally, Kens. The designs, costumes, and cinematography do an excellent job re-creating the Mattel vision in its pink plastic perfection. The introduction is referential but not overtly reliant on what is external to the film; it is smartly self-aware and presents a world where Barbie can be anything - a President, a Physicist, a Journalist, a Lawyer, or a Mermaid. Much like with the original toys, Ken (Ryan Gosling) comes as an afterthought and 'only exists within the warmth of Barbie's gaze'.The plot is set in motion when Barbie begins having thoughts about death and, normally suspended in the state of standing on the balls of her feet, she feels her heels hit the ground. What follows is The Wizard of Oz (1939) journey in reverse (the parallel is explicit) and, ultimately, a Pinocchio storyline of the doll in the Real World.If Barbie was fully dedicated to that conceit - as promised by the trailer - it could be an interesting exploration in the way of The Truman Show (1998) or Stranger Than Fiction (2006). Instead, the film chooses to introduce a handful of conflicts, threats, and plot-lines that are never fully realised. What is the nature of the connection between a Barbie and the girl who plays with the doll in the Real World? What would happen if Barbie were put back in the box? Why is Gloria (America Ferrera), the receptionist at the Mattel headquarters and, later, Barbie's Real-World companion, depressed - and how is that eventually resolved? Why is Gloria's daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) cross with her mother? Why does the board of Mattel spend one third of the film hiding in the bushes? Most importantly, the crux of the third-act conflict - set in Barbie Land now renamed 'Kendom' - contradicts what had been previously established about that world and its inhabitants.Towards the finale, the production evolves into explicit commentary on gender roles. One side is presented as clueless and attention-seeking, while the other is manipulative and vengeful. The film repeatedly takes offence with 'mansplaining', yet behaves in a blithely patronising manner towards the viewer. Much of what is declared is not supported by what has been shown, and the picture relies on the presumed prior experience of the audience, rather than on storytelling. While the denouement includes one of the film's highlights, the musical number 'I'm Just Ken', the ending does not resolve (or acknowledge) much, and the final scene is reductive to the point of being offensive.Barbie is very easy on the eye, and the acting ranges from competent to inspired, with praiseworthy performances by the leading actors. Margot Robbie is pitch-perfect as Barbie, and Ryan Gosling shines as her counterpart, often stealing the show. Situational comedy and slapstick mostly land, while some of the bon mots are funny, yet hardly plausible when spoken by the characters.If only this were better written. If only the joyride in the pink convertible did not leave you with blond hair in your mouth.", | |
| "2": "The first reason to go see it:It's good fun. It's fairytale comedy, over the top, pastiche and it works! It simply does! Margot Robie and Ryan Gosling have great chemistry. Everybody sorta agrees on that.Kids are probably not the target audience, although if they would watch it, they wouldnt be shocked or something, they would merely be missing the social and gender issues and jokes of many scenes.The second reason to go see it:It really looks the part. I am not into sets or costumes in particular (at all), but I was impressed with the fun world they had created. It really looks fabulous and I really appreciate it when a movie is eyecandy from start till finish.The third and best reason to go see it:I am a dude and I honestly feared the worst when going along with my wife. But I honestly did not expect this sugarcoated, fairytale Barbieworld to touch my heart in the end, but it did! What the what!They somehow created a finale, that gave me goosebumps and a terrific feel good vibe. You cant wish for more than that. As a dude watching a Barbie picture. Hello!The only reason AGAINST seeing it:If you are a dude and dont like men being portrayed as weak and emotionally inferior to women, then better not go see it, because all the men are (hilarious) loosers and whiners in this movie, with a brilliant performance by Ryan Gosling as an insecure crybaby, who just cant get Barbie to love him.Feared the worst, but in the end I was pleasantly suprised. It's certainly not a brilliant movie, but it is a perfect summer escape movie, with lots of jokes and a wonderful feel good vibe!", | |
| "3": "As a woman that grew up with Barbie, I was very excited for this movie. I was curious to see how they would evolve the \"stereotypical Barbie\" into something more. But the messaging in this movie was so heavy handed that it completely lost the plot. I consider myself a proponent of gender equality, and this ain't the way to get it.Barbieland flips the script on the patriarchy of the real world, giving women the power and leaving the Kens as attractive accessories. Once Ken gets a glimpse of the real world he brings the patriarchy to Barbieland and the Barbies are \"brainwashed\" (this happens suddenly and without much explanation). The Kens are bumbling fools with zero understanding of governance, and Barbieland falls into disarray.The movie's solution to this is for the Barbies to give a lot of Ted talks on the patriarchy, fool the Kens into war with each other, and rule once again. But isn't the point if gender equality... equality?The feminist messaging could have been so much more effective if it was laid on so THICK. More humor and nuance please. The story gets lost, the real world characters don't add much, and not much changes in the end.What was enjoyable was the acting, the sets and of course the nostalgia.", | |
| "4": "I don't know if I put spoilers in here. I am super worn out. Haha So I will just put that I did.I had no clue what this movie was like or about. It just seemed like a strange, different type of movie. To me, it was going to be some kind of movie for kids that tells you everything is perfect. It was nothing like that.There were a couple of young teen girls on the right of my mom and me. I felt weird knowing that. There is no way I would bring a kid or teen to see this.The movie is really all focused on political and gender views. So that one totally surprised me.There are points in which I kind of rolled my eyes. A bit of the singing kind of went on. There were also times that I was all teary.There are sexual references in this. Young kids would not understand. But one part in which she tells of a specific thing that she does not have, and a specific thing Ken does not have, that was a bit strange.The end threw me off. Here is a movie that seems to be saying we are equal, but we are not treated that way. Yet, at the same time it seems to be making men out to be mindless idiots. Also, something one of the male characters asks at the end and the reply the woman gives, seems to lead one to believe that things will be the exact same as they were. But unlike the way things seem to be, in Barbie land, the women will be above all men. I didn't really get that. Then, what may be the last lines of the movie, place Barbie somewhere. I didn't get the point of it.I heard adults laughing repeatedly. The kids that were their kind of sat silent.This is one of those movies that I cannot see every watching again. But it was fun and unique seeing it in the theater. Also, I dug the set design all the other stuff in the Barbie world. It was just cool to see.", | |
| "5": "The quality, the humor, and the writing of the movie is fun for a while. It's quirky and it's unique. When they get into the weeds and try to explore deeper themes, the movie is a miss. The middle expositional phase of the movie, I must say, is a bore.The movie was so close to being great, but it was incapable of delivering a message without having a character literally give a speech worth of dialogue.What could have been a great satire and what began as a cleverly funny movie turned into a preachy and moralizing movie in the end. But I guess the charm of the first half of the movie made up for the shortcomings.", | |
| "6": "I went to see this today, everyone in my group dressed in pink and ready to at least be entertained by pastel-colored camp for two hours. BARBIE kind of succeeds there: I loved the costuming and sets of Barbieland, and Margot Robie is such a fantastic actress, the perfect embodiment of the optimistic, she-can-do-it-all Barbie. Ryan Gosling was a scene-stealer with his horse obsession and faux mink coat.Despite all this, the movie as a whole was disappointing. As much as it succeeds at campy comedy and musical numbers, its attempts at feminist commentary and existentialism fall flat. The messaging is so on the nose, spelled right out for the audience so no one will have to strain their brain. Not that these scenes can't be funny or hit home (the guitar gag gave me college flashbacks), but a little subtlety could not have hurt.I also had issues with the differences between Barbieland and the real world. I can accept everyone in Barbieland talking in what many term \"Marvel speak.\" If you've watched anything made in the past 15 years you'll recognize it right away: \"You know, we make all these pop culture references (like Spiderman in the MCU with ALIENS) and we say what we think in the bluntest way possible because it's so awkward that it's funny... oooor it WAS when it was novel and new years ago. Now it's staler than a can of Pepsi Clear. Oh yeah-- I remember the 90s! Macarena!\"The Barbies and Kens are supposed to be simplistic figures with no sense of emotional nuance. However, the humans in the real world are supposed to be the opposite-- messy, complicated, not that charming. Why are they also talking like that? It just feels lazy.And then there are the existential themes: Margot Robie's Barbie gets tired of being an ideal of independent womanhood in an eternal paradise. At the end, she chooses to be human and embrace mortality because mortality is ultimately what gives our lives meaning. A decent theme. Too bad the movie never really delves into it. It's given lip service, nothing more.It had some cute moments but honestly, the end experience was meh. The hype was more memorable than the finished product.", | |
| "7": "I thought this would be so much different. The ending made me feel sad and empty. Ken and Barbie don't end up together and they made Ken seem like a complete idiot. Actually they presented men as being dumb throughout the whole movie. And I'm not a man but that's just not true. It was depressing and sad and never the way Barbie was created for. I know a lot of people won't agree with me and that's okay but it was just pointless going to see it. The only good thing is that the Barbie aesthetic was beautifully done.I just do not like the way they presented men, it's almost like they want women to turn against men. Which in that case the point of the movie is very degrading for many people.", | |
| "8": "Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have a knack for incorporating the many little observations of life, whether funny or deeply interpersonal, into a screenplay. Gerwig manages to direct them with great visuals and clever transitions.Unfortunately, the only major weakness of the film, in my opinion, also lies in the screenplay. When dealing with larger societal issues, it lacks depth and possibly understanding. The observations work, but the contextualization falls short. The approach feels crude and superficial. This creates a confusing overall impression, as the finely crafted small observations remain convincing. A film that is so intelligent, funny, and creative on an individual level suddenly seems foolish in the grand scheme of things.Key moments in the film, such as the encounter with the inventor, fail to evoke emotions and come across as insincere. The angry rant about the struggles of being a woman feels cheap. There seems to be a lack of sensitivity, as if someone wanted to vent without making any effort to package it intelligently.Any scenes that trigger a sense of injustice and express societal criticism in small moments no longer feel precise and may even intentionally appear exaggerated, rather than being convincing parts of a larger whole.Overall, I'm not entirely sure what to make of the film. On one hand, I had a great time, but on the other hand, I left the screening with mixed feelings.Making it even more confusing are the consistently brilliant acting performances across the board, with Ryan Gosling obviously standing out.", | |
| "9": "Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are really great in their roles of Barbie and Kent. Gosling is specially hilarious. I expected a funny, cool, deep and entertaining movie, but I was highly disappointed. The movie is so terribly preachy that ends being an embarrassment. We (the audience) have brains, so, please, preach somewhere else. Furthermore, this is a movie to divide, not to unite. And I'm a woman. The script of the movie is horrendous and the direction is plain bad. There are some great actresses that have too little to say, like Emma Mackey, and that's a pity. Overall: a huge disappointment and a missed opportunity. 3/10 (1 point for Margot Robbie, 1 point for Ryan Gosling, and 1 point for the art direction (super tacky and pinky, as Barbie's world).", | |
| "10": "Wow, this movie was a love letter to cinema. From the Kubrick reference at the opening, to the soundstage being 100% real - no cgi for the sets. There were dance sequences like in the olden days (think Grease) and the costuming , wow the costuming. Greta Gerwig dug deep to make this masterpiece using all of her technical chops along the way. The casting director also nailed it, everyone was wonderful.The acting was perfection, I loved seeing the variety of Barbie's on screen and there were so many jokes that would be appropriate for all audiences, this has to be a voluntary PG13 rating as there wasn't swearing or nudity. There was one beach fight amongst the Kens but that's not really violence compared to today's average films, no one was harmed nor any fake blood used.I actually didn't like the ending at all, and I was quite annoyed that Rhea Perlman played the creator of Barbie but made two quips about the IRS getting her for tax evasion - something Ruth Handler never dealt with. Her problem was with the SEC after she had signed off on a positive Mattel earnings forecast when they knew they were in a down quarter - how's that so tough to explain?Irregardless, I want to see this movie again. And again. And again.", | |
| "11": "This is a movie that was way overhyped. Everyone kept saying it was so amazing, but when I finally go to watch it, it was not at all what I thought it was going to be. The storyline was not good. It was a basic and corny storyline, in my opinion.I didn't care for how they portrayed Ken. Ryan Gosling is an amazing actor, but he is not a good representation of Ken when it comes to how he looks and how the actual Ken doll looks. The way he acted as Ken was not that good either, but he didn't get much help from the writers for the way they wrote his part. The movie had so much potential, but was definitely a let down. One positive is that it had some funny parts, but it could of been written much better and could of had a much better storyline!!", | |
| "12": "I do not usually write reviews, but this is beyond description. Last time I wrote a review it was for the absolutely horrible wrinkle in time. This is almost as bad. At least Gosling plays his part well, but the story is abysmal. If you can find anything else to do like watch paint dry, then yes please do. You will save your brain cells the agony of a painful slow ..... nearly two hours long this was mind-numbing storytelling at its mediocre worst. How many ways can I say do not go see it if you have a choice. See anything else but this exercise in horrendous cliches and exaggerated self-importance. If I could give it negative 10 stars I would.", | |
| "13": "This movie is so much fun. It starts off really strong although the story does move away from \"Barbieland\" sooner than I would have liked. Nonetheless, it regains its footing with the final act in particular and I could not stop laughing at Ryan Gosling's portrayal of Ken. That song will forever be stuck in my head.There are also plenty of good messages to be taken away from this experience, that is if you're not an insecure middle-aged male terrified of women. I loved everything the movie had to say about the patriarchy and barbies and growing up and consumerism and so much more.I am excited to watch it again soon. The pacing is not perfect and its huge potential is not fully matched, but purely as a cinematic experience I will never forget this movie.", | |
| "14": "I watched this with my wife who was ready to turn it off after about ten minutes, but I talked her into watching it - \"It'll get better, honey. They'll be going into the real world, soon.\"Well, it didn't get better, after they went into the real world. I feel like it was a better show in Barbieland where it seemed more realistic.There isn't anything wrong with the acting or production, but the script is weak, particularly when they get to the real world. People just don't act like that. I'm disappointed for the actors, I think they thought it would be a great movie, however it's much more of a letdown.", | |
| "15": "I played with barbies a lot as a kid, so I thought this movie was going to be fun. The trailer looked great, I thought, why not, let's have a girls movie night, kick back relax, watch a funny iconic movie about my favorite toys as a kid. But I was greatly let down really fast. The movie was all about a strong message of what a woman is, what a man is, how the world defines those roles and how we should just be whoever we are. There was nothing in the movie that made me laugh. It all felt kinda heavy with the message they were telling. It's definitely not a kids movie either, I don't think they would understand half of it. Really wasn't happy with the movie.", | |
| "16": "Wow. I did not see this masterpiece coming. And that's not a joke. Somehow, Greta Gerwig took Barbie, and made a movie that tackles some really tough social issues....well? It's crazy. But wow, does it work. The story is very mature, thinker of a plot. Once you're done laughing your butt off, you'll get really emotional. The production design is so on point. The whole movie is pink everything, but it's never polarizing. All the shades melt together in a very pleasing way. And of course the cast! Margot Robbie was born to play Barbie, and she hits a home run, but Ryan Gosling. This dude rocks as Ken. He knocked it all the way around the world and hit himself in the back of the head. He steals every scene he's in, and I would be so on board with a Ken spin-off. America Ferrara and Simu Liu are also great in their respective roles, but the cast overall is just perfect. Overall, Barbie is probably the best movie based off a toy (sorry LEGO Movies) and an overall fantastic time at the movies.", | |
| "17": "My 15-year old daughter wrote the following review and posted it to my IMDB account.As a Barbie fan I was very excited for this movie. I was expecting a light-hearted goofy comedy. Instead I got a movie that felt as though it didn't know where it was going or what it was doing.The movie starts of as a fun goofy comedy, then things start changing.Things start going wrong for Barbie and she has to go to the real world to fix it. She is supposed to help the person who has been playing with her to fix her problems in Barbie Land. This on its own would've been enough for a movie, but it keeps going.Instead of going in depth about the life of the mother who has caused these problems for Barbie, the movie goes off in a totally different direction.Ken sees the real world's patriarchy and goes back to Barbie Land to replicate it. Barbie has to go back to Barbie Land to save it from its new patriarchy.By the end of the movie Barbie decides to live in the real world. The Kens of the Barbie Land are basically back to as little power they had before their uprising. I find the treatment of the Kens at the end to be hypocritical compared with the movie's supposed messaging about equalityThis movies writing and plot were bad. Even as a feminist I acknowledge that the messaging was terribly preachy. I feel as though many of these different plot ideas could've been good on their own. They are just too confusing all together.On a good note the acting and sets in this movie were really good. I loved seeing the plastic Barbie houses life-sized. The movie was also very funny at parts. I just wish the movie picked a clearer direction.", | |
| "18": "The film's universe and settings are fantastic. The casting is really good too, with Gosling excelling in the role of Ken.Regrettably, however, the film completely misses the chance to appeal to people who grew up with Barbie. Instead, we're left with a film that almost divides and pits men against women, in an attempt to make it a feminist and political film.Instead of seeing a light, fun film, I saw a rather heavy-handed movie whose storyline is centered around patriarchy.It's a real shame, because the film's potential is pretty amazing. I came away disappointed, but not totally disgusted either.", | |
| "19": "I have been waiting for this to release for so long and I finally got to watch it today. I absolutely loved it! It was fun, it had Margot Robbie (and extra stuff for Tarantino's out there if you know what I mean) And it had some absolute bangers! What more could you want from a new summer classic?Honestly the depth of the story ain't there but what do you expect from a film about a Barbie? Lol I'll probably go back and watch it again tbh and I'll probably purchase it once it releases on blu ray as I did rather enjoy it (seriously my mouth hurts from smiling and laughing) there are some touching moments where Robbie really shines I just wish there were a little more because as everyone I absolutely adore Margot and her films.Anyway Barbie is a blast. It's a definite recommend on my list.", | |
| "20": "I've been excited for this movie for over a year. The casting was perfect and the acting was amazing! The set was next level, the tiny details were all there and even the highest barbie fan couldn't ask for anything more from it. It is PERFECTION.The first half of the movie was really good, a decent plot, plenty of laughs and a decent explanation of what is going on. Unfortunately, after a while it just becomes a rant about feminism & how oppressed women are. I'm a woman myself, and I'm all for equal rights, but the amount they shoved into this movie just overtook the fun completely, it felt very forced and by the end, you were left with the same feeling you get after scrolling through a toxic comment thread on a social media post. So sad.( SPOILERS AHEAD )Even more sad, the end message of the film when the barbies take back barbieland is basically that they are no better than the kens (or 'men') are. They manipulate them, undermine them, and then when given the chance to be better (the kens asking to have one ken presented in the Supreme Court which is all barbies), they laugh and tell them no, choosing to treat the kens or 'men' how they've 'always' treated women. So they are no better than the kens in the end. How sad! Isn't there a world where they can be better? Include the kens and all be equals?? What are we trying to teach young girls? That feminism is demeaning men just like we have been demeaned in the past? Also, I would have hoped we were past making a movie entirely about how 'hard' women have it. Life is hard for most people, men & women alike, and it's easier when we acknowledge that and treat each other like fellow humans instead of two warring species..", | |
| "21": "Barbie, a movie about the beloved doll and all her identities and her friends, what could go wrong? A lot apparently. It started with voice over narration and went downhill from there. There was too much telling rather than showing. Most of this movie constantly explained everything and often told me how I should feel about it. The writing felt like it was trying too hard to be profound and tried to oversimplify complex subjects and gender roles. There were some funny moments, but a lot of the humor and story were far from subtle. I never felt drawn into the characters and what they were experiencing. The story lacked stakes. I didn't care about Barbie or Ken. In the right hands, this movie could have been fun. But Barbie didn't seem to know what it wanted to be or what story it wanted to tell.", | |
| "22": "I really enjoyed the first 20 minutes of the movie. It was very upbeat, positive and light. However, things soon became negative about 20 - 25 minutes into the movie. I couldn't stand it. Barbie's world and attitude was a constant bummer. Ken's attitude was sour. For the next hour (and more) the movie just lived in negativity.I bought tickets to this show a month ago. And, I saw it the day before the official opening day. I was very excited about this movie. And, I was playing the music (Dua Lipa) song almost every day. I was really excited for this movie - and was looking forward to something very positive. But, the vast majority of the movie was the \"conflict\" part of the writing. It was just too much! The movie didn't need to go that way, that far, that fast. I would have preferred a more shallow and fun Barbie movie vs. This Barbie movie filled with over an hour of conflict.", | |
| "23": "My Review - Barbie\nIn Cinemas now\nMy Rating 6.5/10I've been keenly looking forward to seeing this much publicised movie because I'm a great fan of Margo Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig's work.I held the opinion from first hearing about it that it was either going to be brilliant and I'd love it or a huge disappointment and I'd loathe it in other words no in between for me.How ever that's not the case I didn't love it and I didn't loathe it I have to accept that I\njust didn't get it ?Perhaps it's because that I'm a 70 plus baby boomer male who felt that the strong feminist message directed towards the predominantly heterosexual male patriarchy for me was just preaching to the converted .Barbie is a comedy fantasy which certainly packs a not so subtle feminist smack in the face of the men who devalue the equality and contribution that women play in our society but they won't see Barbie.The audience on this special preview was young mainly women and they seemed to get the jokes that I didn't and seemed to react very well to the movie applauding at the conclusion.No spoilers about the plot you should judge it yourself as the story is not as simple as the trailer portrays it to be. Barbie and Ken leave the other Barbies and Ken's behind in Barbieland to venture through a portal caused by a stereotypical Barbie played to perfection by Margo Robbie . Barbie is experiencing disturbing emotions that she has to explore further in the real world of humans to understand in an effort to retain her eternal optimism.Ken her buff nerdy and needy boyfriend played by Ryan Gosling joins Barbie on her quest to travel through the portal landing at Venice Beach California complete with roller skates only to discover that the values and gender roles of Barbie land are reversed in the real world . The question for both the surprised dolls is which world do they want to live in?Pink cloud sunny Barbie land where every day is the same and perfect or the human world of Corporate greed and misogyny where you grow old and die?Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling both are impressive and their comedy timing adds a light touch to the darker undertone of the film.Barbie for me has some entertaining moments but they were melting moments for me and while I hope it's popular for the creators of the movie I'm left puzzled at what audience it's aimed at ?The male population that Greta Gerwig cleverly parodies through Ken and his Ken buddies certainly wouldn't see her movie and I think the Disney generation of under 15 would be bored .I did enjoy the technical aspects of Barbie and the incredible amount of research and effort that has gone into producing this very expensive would be box office blockbuster.I also enjoyed homage to great movies of the past like Stanley Kubric's 2001 A Space Odysee , Saturday Night Fever, and of course The Wizard of Oz .It's one of the most anticipated movies of 2023 and has been in the pipeline for over a decade and in 2018 after little action was passed into the hands of Warner Bros then in 2019 they finally announced Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig as the lead actor-director duo for this film.Director Greta Gerwig co wrote the screenplay with her partner with Noah Baumbach basing their story on the famous Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel . It is the first live action Barbie film so a lot of creative reputations are dependent on its success .Mattel, the toy company that created Barbie obviously approved of the movie getting screen credit and representation in Greta Gerwig's clever perhaps to clever script.Mattel contributed input towards the set design of the film keeping the old-school charm of the Barbie world intact and I suspect there will be a surge in sales as all the famous Barbie dolls get a mention in this film.Noah Baumbach is Executive Producer as well as his partner Greta Gerwig and Margo Robbie the movies effervescent star are all producers on this project that has an estimated production budget of $145 million US$.Margo Robbie has been quoted as saying \"that the film's aim is to subvert expectations and give audiences \"the thing you didn't know you wanted.I'm not so sure about that statement as Barbie didn't reach my expectations and I felt the thing I didn't know I wanted wasn't what I wanted at all.Top marks to Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto who created a unique color palette for the film that Greta Gerwig named \"Techni-Barbie,\" after the Technicolor format. Also top marks to two time Academy Award Winner designer Jacqueline Durran. It's a given that costumes would be one of the most important factors about the movie,", | |
| "24": "The film opens strongly with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling delivering compelling performances. Their star power and acting prowess add depth to the movie. However, as the film progresses and Barbie encounters her human counterparts in the real world, the thin plot becomes more noticeable. Some viewers might have preferred a subtler approach to delivering the political message, as the film can be seen as overly direct, leading to a polarizing and preachy tone. This approach aligns with the directorial style and screenplay motifs commonly associated with Greta Gerwig.The production design of Barbie Land is visually captivating, offering a feast for the eyes. The music soundtrack, featuring a standout disco track by Dua Lipa, complements the film well. Dua Lipa's cameo as Mermaid Barbie is a highlight.The film incorporates satire and self-aware humor, which adds depth to the story. However, the humor doesn't consistently land, and some moments feel forced. The character Stereotypical Ken provides sporadic moments of humor.In summary, 'Barbie' is a film worth watching at least once. It includes an empowerment monologue delivered by America Ferrera's character, addressing societal expectations placed on women. While there is still some double standard in gender role expectations, it is less prominent in today's society compared to the past. Anyway, an overhyped film from 2023 that I wouldn't watch again.", | |
| "25": "Completely forgot to review this, the sets are easily the best they're really gorgeous to look at, the characters are fun to watch and the characters are all really enjoyable. The movie gets a bit preachy but only for one scene, I also think the movie is slightly contradictive as every male character is treated as dumb and arrogant despite them promoting equality. It's done for jokes though so I know it's not meant to be an actual message with the humour, I just think it weakens the messaging of the film, it's still a really really good film the ending is super sweet and meaningful and overall it's a great movie especially considering this is a movie about barbie dolls lmao, I personally didn't find it to funny but I still appreciate it for its charm and most of its storytelling.", | |
| "26": "This is very much a movie that will get devided opinions on it, my cousin said well this is two hours of my life i will never get back, and me? I left the theatre in such a good mood. It was the sense of humor for me, laughed so hard. Specially Ryan Gossling was sooooo good and funny, many familiar faces to spot also. And margot robbie come on... the perfect casting for Barbie. I also have to say, the way they created Barbie land was so amazing, it just makes you just want to there. I don't really have anything bad to say about this movie. I can understand not everyone will love it. But i am sure it is a iconic film already.", | |
| "27": "I personally expected the movie to be fun and adventurous. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what it is supposed to be? It's literally a movie about Barbie. Instead, it felt more like an agent of woke culture, and basically Mattel's (the company that produces Barbie dolls) way of capitalizing the emotional aspect of the cinephiles to make their business more popular and trendier. It continuously tried to portray the fact that Mattel is no more producing white barbie dolls, it is now producing dolls of all colors and races. Well, that is definitely a good thing, but making most of the movie focus on that aspect felt very boring and wrong. If they didn't quite make a movie that is fun and adventurous, why make the marketing events misleading? They could've just focused on the audience for whom it was made, rather than on the entire world through their absurdly irrelevant marketing events that made the world think that this movie is going to be all about fun and adventure. Sadly, it was not nearly as enjoyable as the misleading marketing made it seem.", | |
| "28": "Im not really disappointed or love the movie to be honest. It was kind of weird and strange at the beginning: we understand it later because we are in the Barbie world. So they played with the culture reference of the barbie, the dolls and what they represent: an ideal world with where the womans are in power. Things will get pretty normal after they enter the real world and all the problems: sexual remark, womens and their place in society (the inequality with mens.) I was pretty sure they will talk about the problems with womans and their complex because of Barbie and the perfect women she is and how this is contrasted with the real world. Its pretty obvious that they will talk about it. I love also how Ken will also notice how mens are more powerful in the real world: its like everyone see that reality is not really what they perceived themselves in their own reality and power will shift also later in Barbie Land. I understand why they act like this and stuff but i didnt really get into the movie to be honest: i only identify myself when they talked about society and business but all the musical things, the choregraphy and even the morality was kind of superficial. But i enjoyed that Barbie realised the problems of our world and compare to her own. Some moments was funny and some more serious or drama sometimes even if its pretty soft because we are in Barbie Land. I mean i spend a great time but it was kind of ok. And i still think its a great Barbie movie: the task was not easy to represent that world but i enjoyed the set design, the colors, the camera movements. I think people who played with Barbie dolls or just know the universe will be happy; they have a lot of references to the world and a lot of Barbie references to the dolls and the differents clothes and the impact of her in society. Some moments were also absurd ( the fight with all the Kens). Its good anyway.", | |
| "29": "Firstly, let's just say that I am not in the ideal demographic for 'Barbie', being male, 66 years old, and I don't have children, so it's taken me a while to get to this film. Anyway, what a lot of fun this film is. The concept works brilliantly and it's all carried through with self effacing charm and humour that both wins you over from the start , opening wonderfully with a parody of 2001, and then keeps you engaged throughout. Margot Robbie is perfect in the lead and Ryan Gossling couldn't be better as Ken (or one of the many Ken's), and the whole thing chugs along effortlessly and humorously. The idea of the conflict between the wonderfully created female world of Barbieland and the male dominated real world is milked for all it can give, with director Greta Gerwig hardly missing a trick. On so many levels this is a clever and tremendously entertaining film and I really loved it - even an old guy like me....", | |
| "30": "The concept of a Barbie movie is really unique and got me all exited. But unfortunately to me it delivers the same messages that we keep hearing as of lately.It started off quite funny, but after 45 minutes or so, the movie went in a direction I did not like. It took itself a bit too serious. I would have preferred a more lighthearted movie.Ryan Gosling did the best job out of everyone playing Ken I thought. The perfect guy with the perfect body and yet very campy, girly and insecure. Job well done, especially toward the end.If you are a fan of Barbie, you will probably get your money's worth.", | |
| "31": "Some friends freaking out that I went to see Barbie lol I mean I mentioned I went coz my sister insisted since ages. Anyway the movie was bad. These days, every other director and producer wants to convey messages about women rights and feminism through whatever platform possible and this movie was a perfect example of that with sheer cringe to convey all that. I wished I had gotten the ticket for Oppenheimer in the same timings as my sister's Barbie show. Other than that, the acting done by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling was great so can't take that away from them. They did justice to their roles.", | |
| "32": "They really did some fantastic marketing with this movie.It's not exactly bad. It's just mediocre. It's very pretty to look at, and some of the music is actually quite funny and fitting.But this is nowhere near what was advertised, it's not a fun jokey movie that brought homage to old movies, some saterical jokes etc. It's that, followed by story with heaaaavy messaging, followed again by a quick joke.However none of it is funny or interesting enough to justify its runtime. The ending in particular was very obvious and just kept going, it's so clear they want you to feel something but you don't. It's just not interesting enough with the story they out forth and how long the \"ending\" goes on for.", | |
| "33": "Its like watching at \"Truman's show\" but all the set it's pink color with a hint of extreme feminist ideas. I grew up with barbie dolls and I felt very disappointed, I was expecting a different kind of story, the ending was the worst. I think the message should be more with the real feminist concept of Simone de Bouvoir, we all deserve the same rights. In the end Instead of just Barbie Land they should changed as; Barbie and Ken Land.Definitely is not the best movie of Greta.I enjoyed the music, the set and loved the clothes. Although I excepted to hear the Aqua song! Why it wasn't played in the movie.Anyway its not a bad movie, it's just good movie.", | |
| "34": "It was sooo boring, I could have left in the middle of the film and not care less about what was happening to the characters. I love the cast but everything was soo unfunny. I left the movie fealing like I learned nothing knew. The movie is trying to be this inclusive thing but with all the jokes directing into the old steriotypes it contradicted its self the hold time. Margot is beyond beautiful and calling her self ugly in the movie even though she is \"The Barbie\" isn't so clevver as they think it is, not even with the narrator. I Love Greta but it dosen't feel like her. Kinda like with Wednesday not feeling like a Tim Burton thing. But good job with the marketing, it got me.", | |
| "35": "But damnit, it was GREAT. The opening scene was good, then the first scene in Barbieland worried me. Not worried me like it would be bad, but that I would be right: that it would be good by virtue of being so over the top. And it was that too. But it's a surprisingly serious movie. In theme, not execution. But it says a lot of quiet parts out loud. What we did with our Barbies. To them. Who is Ken anyway? Why is Ken? What is death and why does it matter? What is motivation and what is success? What is feminism and what is dementia t progress? Honestly. I would have thought you were blowing my horn. And that sounds fun for a Friday night, but this is worth it. And a good movie to brave the theater for. The link was weird but vibrant and balanced in a way the big screen really lit up.Also, no spoilers, but the Ken bonfires scene made me actually laugh out loud. And I love comedy, but almost never laugh out loud.", | |
| "36": "Yes. Day by day it becomes more obvious that now the movies are made just because of the income they generate and nothing else. Ok, Barbie itself was not a creative idea, I know. And actually I didn't expect to see something unseen something unique in the first place, all in all it's \"Barbie\".But wouldn't you agree with me in that it could have been excelled better? It totally could have been. This movie has a huge budget. Then why such a mediocre story at best? I'm not saying it was a bad movie as well, but it was just \"ok\". Just that.Nowadays movies have become nothing else but live-actions, sequels and prequels. Now it seems like the only thing matters is to have known faces in your movie and the promotions; and creating a story and excelling it good became the least important components of a movie. Unfortunately, Barbie does not fall short in these criterias.", | |
| "37": "I believe I came to this movie with an open mind. In my opinion a movie balled Barbie needs to be a comedy. And while there were pieces here and there that were funny, for the most part we (and everyone in the theater) only laughed occasionally. The production design and costumes are great. The screenplay is the weakest part. The direction is next weakest. And those two caused a great cast to overact. When this movie takes itself seriously it gets tedious. It's preachy. We are constantly being told what we are seeing and what we should think about what we are thinking. This is not engaging. Why can't we think for ourselves based on what we see? I hated being treated like a ten year old and being spoonfed the morals, thoughts and feelings. But then maybe the target audience is ten-year-olds. In any event, I thought it would never end. By the time they were talking about ordinary Barbie, all I could think was \"Sanctimonious Barbie.\"", | |
| "38": "The film does not live up to the marketing. Its about as subtle as a steamroller and deep as a puddle. There must be primary school books with more depth and nuance than this film.The music is good and the plot moves along at pace but its like it was written by an angsty tween. \"Yay feminism\" is about as deep as the message gets and its pretty much the entire purpose and plot of the film. It doesn't offer up anything to think about, just a bubblegum world that is just a carbon copy of the toys.With all the \"Barbenhiemer\" hype and marketing I expected more from the movie, Oppenheimer and Barbie are about as polar opposites of film-making as its possible to get.", | |
| "39": "I loved barbie growing up, and even at 42 years old I couldn't wait to go see the movie! I didn't have any expectations because I had no idea how they could make a movie about barbie that's for adults and not kids. I adored Barbieland, but unfortunately they leave it behind so fast and with it they also leave behind everything good about bringing barbie to life in a movie! It got silly, had no storyline, was overly political and woke, man bashing and made men silly, and I really didn't care for the ending which is just as well because it was abrupt and crude.The music is good, but I wasn't prepared for a musical and it became that for some unknown reason at one point.Ryan Gosling as Ken stole the show. He looked like he was having the time of his life making this movie!Margot Robbie is perfect as Barbie but it wasn't that interesting to watch and I didn't understand why she was being forced to get in the box and what would happen if she did get in.", | |
| "40": "BARBIE is a film I find incredibly difficult to both review and rate. On the face of it, the trappings are pitiful and the tone is all over the place. The audience I saw it with were laughing at the dumbest jokes imaginable (like Gosling bouncing off the plastic wave) and missing all of the depth, which is what I personally found appealing. It's very hard to take such a tongue-in-cheek approach seriously, but then you could argue that it's deliberately bad, deliberately plasticky. Not that that excuses the bad acting from the likes of Ferrera et al. Despite this, the film's skewering of the patriarchy is spot-on, and Gosling turns out to be very good, stealing the film from the others. So it's a film I appreciate some parts of, and not others.", | |
| "41": "I Understand that Some People are Going to Have Big Big Problems with Some of the Messaging within this Film. But Sometimes, in Life 😂, You Just Have to Go With It.Hashtag NUMBER 1 Lesson You Should Take From this Film: Build, Hone, Grow, and then Come Together and Become KENOUGH! (Both Guys and Girls)Greta Gerwig Nailed this Thing!I was just sitting Their Watching it and I was like \"Man, I'm Actually Enjoying what the hell is going on here\" 🤣Things I Liked About The Film -1. Firstly, the Plotline and More Importantly, the Execution of this Plotline is Great imo. It's Interesting and Kept me Engaged from Point to Point. It hits the points it needs to hit with it's Comedic Tone and Some Serious Moments too. The Balance is Laced in and Out of the Film and is just about PERFECT. (Again, People are Going to have Problems with Certain Things)2. Secondly, the Aesthetics are so Good. It is Such a Unique Watch. You Won't See Anything Like It. What a Watch! WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!3. The Tone 🏩 and the Way much of the Dialogue is Delivered is Fitting For this Film.4. The Cinematography and Some of the Shots at Times are So Good. It's Gorgeous.5. Margot Robbie Literally Perfects This Role as Barbie. Her Acting, Her Tone, Her Look. 🌸 Not to Mention Some of her Costuming (Pink Cowboy Outfit) 🤠 makes Her Look Out of This World.6. Ryan Gosling Nails it. He was Absolutely Hilarious at Times (Especially in the 3RD Act)7. Much of the Comedy Landed for me (Comedy is Subjective, so also, Some Didn't) and from what I Heard, it Landed for a Lot of the Audience I was with. (Beached off Wasn't Funny, but after That, The Laughs Started Coming in). (4th Wall Ugly Joke, Margot Is the Wrong Example for this, was the Biggest Laugh in the theatre 😆)8. So to Summarise, I Really Liked the Beach Battle, The Dance Scenes, the Plotline, The Comedy, the Tone, The Aesthetics and the Atmosphere in that Theatre whilst Watching this Thing.From what I watched, it was Well Put Together, Well Excecuted and everything Came Together So Well. And that Cherry on Top Quip 🍒🎂 from Margot Robbie was Just 👌Overall, if You have Problems with the Some of the Messaging, You will Not Enjoy it, Bottom Line. (Guys, You don't have to agree or Take any of the Messaging to Heart, just go with it, Become Kenough and Extract that Entertainment Factor For Your Own Enjoyment) (Ladies, Take Some of the Positive Messages From this Film because there are Some Genuinely Positive Messages in Here)", | |
| "42": "When the execution banks on shrewd humour and clever writing, the movie thrives as a vivid spectacle, as a lighthearted entertainer, but whenever it delves deeper than the surface and enthusiastically seeks for the hidden under-layers, the psyches of Barbie and Ken, their understanding of the world and their impaired perspectives, the output just becomes so much fuller, the film comes to be something else altogether.However, the emotionally motivated instants seldom come out in the open, as the narrative, for the most part, leans on the fun, humorous side, and frankly speaking, it was bound to be like that.After all, it's a feature that is made mainly by keeping younger audiences in mind. It's just that Greta is a great storyteller, and I think highly of her directorial skills; thus, I expected to see more of 'her'!", | |
| "43": "While the production value, cinematography and acting were what you would expect from Margo Robbie and the supporting cast. I felt the movie fell short of not preaching to me and spreading a message of division rather than unity. Men and women cannot survive without each other but you'd never know it watching this movie. And me having my 13 year old daughter with me almost caused me to walk out of the theater. I kept on waiting for the writers to hit the direction of unity but it never came. After the movie my daughter brought up the message to me saying how she even noticed the weird agenda they're trying to push and said that is not a movie for the easily impressionable. Come to find out my daughter is better suited to take on the world that I thought she was. Proud day for me as a father.", | |
| "44": "Margot Robbie was born to play Barbie. Of course she's incredibly beautiful, talented, funny, and hip; however, I didn't have some life-altering epiphany, like so many others did. I actually thought the film was way too cheesy, 45 minutes too long, and also confusing at times. I love the originality and strong feminist viewpoint, the idea of Ken learning about misogyny and sexism, essentially bringing these twisted ideas to Barbieland, leading all Barbies to succumb to a more subservient role, while ultimately forcing them to rediscover their own power, talents, intelligence, and individuality. But after an hour or so, I kept thinking, \"Why can't Barbie just sing a song?!\" I wanted a fluffier, comedic Barbie, while what I got was a doll having an existential crisis. It was depressing at times. The cast was phenomenal, of course. I just didn't expect it to be such a mess in terms of storytelling.", | |
| "45": "This is an odd movie. On the one hand the presentation of the Barbie world... and Mattel making fun of itself... is fantastic.But on the theme / plot / moral of the story side, all I came up with is a big \"What?\". The Barbies are initially presented as real life dolls who all have vital roles in society, but in reality are scripted airheads who live the same life every day. The Kens are presented as bumbling fools who live only to grovel at the feet of the Barbies. Which is kind of how the toys really are, I guess. I can get the satire.But then we get further into the movie, and the Kens become pompous overlords and the Barbies mysteriously, for no reason whatsoever, turn into Ken-worshippers without a real purpose of their own.Somehow this is all supposed to represent masculine vs feminine roles in real life, but in truth don't accurately represent either. The movie presents a real world in which all men are successful and in charge and all women are subjected and repressed. While that does exist, are there no female doctors, attorneys, real estate moguls, business owners, etc etc?The movie presents this as extremes, and doesn't really do a very good job of it. About 2/3 of the way through, I can't tell whether the movie is against sexism or promoting it. The roles of the sexes become clouded... and like so many feminist movies we've seen, men are presented as idiots and women revert Barbie World right back to its female-dominated status.As a result although semi-brilliant in presentation, the movie is preachy, heavy-handed, bigoted, and loses the element of believe-ability and relevance. I had been told the movie is great... but because of the questionable script it's just so so.I enjoyed it, but in the end wondered exactly what the movie was trying to say? And in the end, the Barbie doll joins the real world? What's that all about? Perhaps they had some hidden meaning there, but I'm not sure exactly what it was.I give it 6 stars (better than mediocre) because of the sets, presentation and often enjoyable script lines, but there's a lot of head-scratching when it comes to the point this movie was actually trying to make... if any.", | |
| "46": "Let me start by saying that I'm by no means a conservative or traditional woman. I believe that inequality for women still is rampant even in first world countries and that we go through many problems. But damn...this movie is so corporate and shallow. It's clearly ordered and tailored by executives at Mattel to rebrand and sell more dolls. The movie starts well and has the potential of becoming something very good, but then it just goes downhill: the premise of the owner's feeling being projected onto the doll was going to lead to a very nice build up about a person's life journey and then Barbie and Ken go to the human world and cue in the speeches and preaching. This movie suffers from a bad case of showing and not telling, they keep repeating the same dialogues: patriarchy bad patriarchy bad patriarchy bad sexism sexism sexism, not even one time but MULTIPLE TIMES. These characters go into random rants like its a ted talk! The chemistry between the mother and daughter is absolutely nonexistent and their relationship is so cringe, You cant root for them or feel their feelings at all. Barbie should have understood how Kens had been feeling in the Barbieland the whole time which is a mimic of how many women are still treated in the society: just existing for the gaze of a woman (man). Yet what do they do? They manipulate them (with a super nonsense plan) and force them back to their original position while she gives him a half assed apology that could have been done better and end up to a more accurate point about equality. (I guess this is again meta and a reflection of how women are pitted against each other while people in charge benefit from that but its so badly done that it feels meh.)\nI can imagine that in the boardroom they went through a discussion like this: People are going to think this is a feel good movie so we need to give them something deeper but also lets make it absurd and fast paced so that we can finish the plot quickly and also jump on the \"not taking itself serious\" bandwagon and also market these dolls again in the age of smartphone kids. The only reason this movie gets at 5 from me is the humor, which sometimes becomes very meta and creative and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling have acted very well. Besides this, they could have just given us a simple feel good movie and I would have respected the creators more. Pass.", | |
| "47": "But it is also in its smallest details, from the art direction, costumes, and any technical choice completely thought of referencing all Barbie generations and the like. A soundtrack that will take you from laughing to crying (yes, very musical moments, after all it is a Barbie movie), in addition to the hand-picked cast, Margot is impeccable and manages to express all her feelings, just with her eyes. Greta's direction and screenplay, just amazing, strong, emotional, empowering and very, very feminist, not only for the women who are already fighting for the cause, but to open everyone's eyes to a sisterhood.", | |
| "48": "This movie is an excellent marketing product. Cinemas were full, Even in Baku city. It was very difficult to find tickets. People dressed in pink clothes were coming to this event. I wore my black shirt and went. I think the movie was not good. I fell asleep in some scenes. There were lots of boring speeches. The movie was fun, that's obvious, but I didn't laugh much. This movie became one of the most different and crazy events of our day. I don't think it has any value as a movie. It was indeed a bad movie, but as an event it was fun. I don't regret. There were some references. I liked most of them. The acting wasn't bad, I think it was good. I was getting bored again near the end of the movie. Anyway, I think it was a crazy and fun event, but it was a bad movie.", | |
| "49": "I really thought this would just be a cute movie, but it actually had a very deep message and I really hope people can take the messages away from this movie because there was a few. I think they did great with the Barbie movie. It was entertaining. The special effects were adorable, but the message was so HUGE in this movie.Watching these light fluffy cute reviews, I know most people missed it.First of all, Barbie was very empowering in her own world where she could be anything she wanted and looking her best while doing it AND the men were not needed, NOT IN CHARGE and all The Ken's cared about was whether or not, they received any attention from their Barbie\nSound familiar kept wives? Trophy Wives you have no other purpose except to look incredible for your stupid rich husband. That was Ken.The second she went into the real world. She was cat called had her ass slapped, got arrested for defending herself, and was treated with pretty privilege at the police station all while being treated like a blonde bimbo by people in the street. The complete opposite of Barbieland.I hope that people can take away from Barbie and Ken how the roles were reversed when they went from Barbieland to the real world and you could see Barbie becoming very anxious and self-conscious, while Ken became very self-confident, felt amazing he felt empowered immediately for the first time in his life, and you could almost see him go from proud to being a man to toxic masculinity within one scene.The teen angst was a good part too. Barbie was empowering to millions of girls but not to everybody. She has also given millions a very severe complex about body image, pretty privilege and society accepting them only if they look a certain way and Barbieland totally emphasizes that.Even the biggest Barbie was well done up. Dresses well hair done speaks delicately.Everyone there was picture perfect. Dainty and feminine. Even the Supreme Court were beauty pageant champions.This movie is actually deeper than I thought it would be. It was really good I really like Margot Robbie I think she's absolutely adorable as Barbie and I felt bad for her for most of the movie because she went from being a brilliant, beautiful and inspiring idol to some cat called bimbo with pretty privilege in the real world that they wanted to just put in a box.", | |
| "50": "The movie isn't as fantastic as it was hyped to be. Its deconstruction of patriarchy and satire fall short of what was expected. Instead, it seems to remain on a rather superficial level of \"girls can do anything\" and \"find yourself.\" The most controversial aspect of the Barbie character, whether it exacerbates women's appearance anxiety, is hardly mentioned at all. In my view, it's essentially a reiteration of the same old themes, just presented in updated ways. However, considering Hollywood's consistent conservatism and focus on profits, I appreciate that this is a brave attempt at expressing feminism within the world's most profit-driven film industry.", | |
| "51": "Margot Robbie is the best possible choice to play Barbie and Ryan Gosling is terrific as Ken. It's a very interesting story and not one I would automatically expect from a Barbie movie, but I love how it dives deep into the complexities of gender roles. It shows the negative impacts that a society dominated by one certain gender can have (female in Barbie Land and male in the real world) and we see why it's important to try and understand everyone's perspective. I also love how this movie dives into men's mental health with Ken's arc. It's something that gets overlooked in society and I adore how we got to see Ken learn to come to terms with who he is without Barbie and realize that he is enough just being himself. The movie gives a great arc to Barbie as she tries to understand her purpose. She realizes that the world of extreme happiness that she has been raised in isn't what she wants anymore. There are so many beautiful scenes where Barbie experiences the highs and lows of everyday humanity and in the end she chooses that she wants to become a real human. At first she starts off thinking that she's a great role model because she is always happy and positive but learns there are so many complexities to life that she was oblivious to. She becomes prepared to take on the challenge of being a human because she is desperate to feel something real. It's a great story and Greta Gerwig did a brilliant job directing. The set designs are very impressive and lots of shots are very beautiful. The movie is also very funny and the details and references to Barbie as a brand show just how much care was put into this movie. The music is incredible, there are so many songs in here that are great, but Ryan Gosling's performance of I'm Just Ken and Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For are my favorites. They do a great job representing the themes of the movie. If I had some complaints I think sometimes the movie is a bit heavy handed in its messaging and there are a couple of side characters that are a tad annoying but overall Barbie is a success. 8/10.", | |
| "52": "I really wanted to enjoy this and I know that I am not the target audience but there were massive plot holes and no real flow. The film was very disjointed. Ryan Gosling as good as he is seemed to old to play Ken and Will Ferrell ruined every scene he was in. I just didn't get it, it seemed hollow artificial and hackneyed. A waste of some great talent. It was predictable without being reassuring and trying so hard to be woke in the most superficial way in that but trying to tick so many boxes it actually ticked none. Margo Robbie looks beautiful throughout, the costumes and the sets were amazing but the story was way too weak and didn't make much sense at all.", | |
| "53": "Despite the strong commercial tone, it is still possible to perceive that we are watching a film by Greta Gerwig, director known for dramatic comedies that capture the complexity of femininity in an original way - although, in this case, it is almost inevitable to fall into some clichés. The undeniable feminist tone exists through the presence of this female director - in addition to Margot Robbie herself as a producer. \"Barbie\" has sharp and intelligent comments on the dynamics between men and women over time and also on how these social roles are seen and problematized today. And the film does it with a big heart: the story is genuinely fun, with a humor that walks between acidity and innocence, but also moves with the existential journey of its protagonists, reserving touching moments and provoking reflections, especially in its final stretch. Debauchery is the great ally of Gerwig and Baumbach to deal not only with sexism, but also with the \"corporate\" issue. It won't be strange if you catch yourself thinking \"how did Mattel let this film see the light of day?\" Laughing at yourself, after all, seems to be a prerequisite for establishing communication with a young generation of consumers who associate their consumption habits with a critical eye on consumerism itself.In the debate proposal for important social disparities in the face of the artificial tackiness of the Barbie Universe, the direction manages to create precious dialogues and situations, very well dosed with humor and other variations of the dramatic genre that permeate the acts of the project. In these changes of atmosphere, we were able to appreciate the creative photography by Rodrigo Prieto - who shoots 50 shades of pink in the same scene without making us want to vomit - and the dozens of visual references that influenced the director in the aesthetic configuration, between composition of scenes and very particular plastic choices, such as costume pieces, type of hair or cinephile jokes that we had already had contact with since the trailer parodying 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here, we'll catch glimpses of \"The Wizard of Oz\" and \"The Truman Show\"; we'll go through the fairytale-like artificiality of Jacques Demy's films; for the dance and choreographic performance of Gene Kelly; for the visual and dramatic intensity of The Little Red Shoes and All That Jazz... it's a lot. \"Barbie\" is a well of enriching cinematographic references.But, leaving aside that the film is indeed fun and has a creative and stunning look, in addition to addressing important points of today's society, Greta Gerwig ends up exaggerating her hand and transforms \"Barbie\" into a blatant and extremely exaggerated feminist activism. The production is very much in line with a famous Quentin Tarantino interview in 2021 given to Bill Maher on his HBO broadcast \"Real Time\" in which he said: \"Ultimately, ideology trumps art, individual effort, good, entertainment\". Unfortunately, in this film, this doll that belonged to the imagination of several generations of women was dragged into the cultural war, used as a puppet by political militancy, full of language, allegories, open messages and ideological discourses. The film misses an opportunity to be a film for everyone, to be a comedy and romance epic, and it had the quality to do so, but it preferred to focus on the most brazen militancy that cinema has ever produced, trying to please a specific audience and clearly attack certain targets of this ideological patrol.The film has an interesting premise, that's undeniable, and it flows most of the time, but the audience is bombarded with pervasive indoctrination especially in the art scene at every turn. Since the target audience here is females of all ages, this audience may even enter the cinema wanting to be entertained, but will graduate in all subjects addressed among feminists: an ode to the intrinsic evil of patriarchy; criticism of beauty standards; the hypocritical discourse against consumerism (as if Warner, Mattel, artists were not going to profit millions from movie ticket sales, from selling new dolls, etc.); man-hatred (all men portrayed in the film are portrayed as idi*ts, gr*edy, d*mb, or wanting power for themselves). Greta Gerwig's goal as a screenwriter is super smart in this regard, because the \"Stereotyped\" Barbie comes to the real world completely innocent and she is being indoctrinated following the feminist primer that shows how she has to think and act, mainly in the perception of men and progressive militancy - the character Sasha, played by Ariana Greenblatt, is the one who plays this role, like the militant of today, always connected and who knows everything about life (where Gerwig puts her speech in the mouth of the character so that she speaks her true s intentions).The truth is that the film essentially revolves around hate, not love. Barbie, here, hates men, capitalism, fun and hates Barbie doll herself (calling her a fascist and worse throughout the plot). Barbie also hates women who have cute memories of the doll, if you're a woman and you played with her as a kid, according to the movie, you supported patriarchy. Barbie can't just be a pretty, blonde, thin woman either, after all, that doesn't encompass the mandatory \"diversity and inclusion\" in Hollywood today. To resolve this issue, they created a universe in which everyone is Barbie (we even have a Barbie who was born a man, yes, a trans Barbie - who, by the way, is a doctor). The men in Barbieland (who cares) are there to be mistreated and ignored. Ken is just an accessory. When Barbie and Ken come into the real world, everything changes. Ken discovers patriarchy (a word spoken a dozen times throughout the plot) and likes that world. Barbie finds unbridled machismo (if Barbie were set in the 60s it would even make a little sense). Romance between Barbie and Ken? Not at all, after all that wouldn't be \"empowering\" at all. Ken even rejects the doll at one point.Ken represents the \"evil patriarchy\". Everything in this film becomes one big lecture, one big sermon (Barbie scolding workers who whistle at her; police officers harassing Barbie at the police station; a man slapping her on the butt out of the blue), that is, victim of the \"toxic\" men of the world. Barbie still has to choose between flip-flops and heels, showing that in the end there is only one choice to be made: follow feminism, that is, flip-flops. We also have the passage of the protagonist Gloria cheating on her husband (a fool, by the way), and the film shows that the betrayal was legal and she had an advantage in cheating.All male clichés are portrayed here according to the feminist view (because apparently men have had no problems in life since the beginning of time, according to the film's script). Here, the Barbies were co-opted by the brainwashing of patriarchy and used by the Kens in a kind of macho dystopia. Everything Ken likes is depicted as toxic, evil, and terrible (Stallone, Godfather, horses, Zack Snyder, etc.). Barbieland is portrayed as a perfect world for women (women have everything, men have nothing); Mattel executives are all portrayed as white, straight men and still calls this type of profile \"conservative fascist\". For the director, it is never enough to be a woman, you have to be a mother, a wife, work and still receive criticism. The unsuspecting will also believe that even today women do not have leadership positions in large companies, and that they cannot study, work and that they receive lower wages than men doing the same type of work (Yes, because apparently the \"evil businessmen\" hire men to pay higher wages when they could pay less for a woman to do the same job!!). At the end of the plot, Gloria's feminist discourse is the antidote to the brainwashing of oppressive patriarchy. Kens are beaten because they are \"d*mb\". The Barbies plan was to pretend to be submissive and then make their respective Ken jealous with another Ken, of course, after all, all men only know how to create wars, destroy everything they lay their hands on and are automatically stupid (After all, if men are stupid, why do they dominate the world according to what was propagated in the film? A basic and inexplicable plot hole here).\"Barbie\" is a great satire, but when it touches on feminist issues, it gets serious and uses irony to make fun of men, since women are portrayed as being totally perfect. Sasha and Gloria are the main Latin characters here and the Barbie character is just the shell for the director to propagate her feminist ideas. Obviously, the film will have an excellent box office due to all the hype and marketing made for the film and, of course, the popularity of the Barbie doll that has been successful for generations, in addition to having many merits, especially in the technical part. The detailed, creative and extremely tasteful scenarios, especially in Barbieland, are a spectacle in themselves, in addition to the magnificent performances by Margot Robbie (charismatic and incredibly beautiful) and Ryan Gosling (hilarious as ever). The musicals, on the other hand, are horrible, poorly performed and owing a lot in that regard.\"Barbie\" talks about choices and changes. In the hands of Greta Gerwig, the typical behavior of dolls and dolls, via imagination, takes on a critical form and points to many paths, visiting metalanguage, political-social relations, patriarchy and feminism, feelings (including the arrogant and insensitive posture of Barbie in front of Ken; as well as the unhealthy dependence of the doll on his girlfriend), existential crises or acceptance of one's social and gender condition. The work fulfilled the promise that we would have a product different from what could be imagined from a live-action Barbie, that is undeniable. The problem is that, in the end, Barbie doesn't even get a satisfactory answer to the simplest question of her journey of self-discovery. \"Who is Barbie?\"", | |
| "54": "No way on earth this was possible but that's the thing it was possible that the actual barbie movie was so inspiring that I just had to make it the movie of my month despite all odds there's like no way I'm hell that it would surprise any one all the hype worth it all the praise worth it and behold all the stars worth it everything barbie is just golden sorry platinum just to be precised in my opinion, it's like am the only one who feels this way but thinking about how awesome all the connections sums up it's just so magical from the story to the history infact just see this movie. Am a feminist so that's all thee more reason.", | |
| "55": "Im not really disappointed or love the movie to be honest. It was kind of weird and strange at the beginning: we understand it later because we are in the Barbie world. So they played with the culture reference of the barbie, the dolls and what they represent: an ideal world with where the womans are in power. Things will get pretty normal after they enter the real world and all the problems: sexual remark, womens and their place in society (the inequality with mens.) I was pretty sure they will talk about the problems with womans and their complex because of Barbie and the perfect women she is and how this is contrasted with the real world. Its pretty obvious that they will talk about it. I love also how Ken will also notice how mens are more powerful in the real world: its like everyone see that reality is not really what they perceived themselves in their own reality and power will shift also later in Barbie Land. I understand why they act like this and stuff but i didnt really get into the movie to be honest: i only identify myself when they talked about society and business but all the musical things, the choregraphy and even the morality was kind of superficial. But i enjoyed that Barbie realised the problems of our world and compare to her own. Some moments was funny and some more serious or drama sometimes even if its pretty soft because we are in Barbie Land. I mean i spend a great time but it was kind of ok. And i still think its a great Barbie movie: the task was not easy to represent that world but i enjoyed the set design, the colors, the camera movements. Its good anyway.", | |
| "56": "The brilliant marketing is what led us tonight to pay for the tickets. The brilliance ends there.Performance of the lead actors is very good - as good as you may expect given the very poor story and weak directing. And that's it. The humour is forced. The satire is replaced by lectures conveyed by characters. All the \"bad\" characters are absolutely flat, lacking any depth. Even dancing is very poorly choreographed. Whatever you may expect from the trailers is missing in the movie.The photography is good though. So the average is 5/10\nIt is another plainly bad movie that is trying to hide behind agenda.", | |
| "57": "BARBIE is a great example of hype over substance. It is laugh out loud at times and Gosling steals every scene he's in. The art direction is on point. What makes it tiresome is THE MESSAGE pummelled into the audience, but then were we expecting any subtly? Probably not. Ultimately my wife just thought, 'I already know this. I don't need to hear it. But maybe some women do?' I get her point. In the end it felt like we were being sold Barbie Dolls as some kind of icon of feminism. But seriously, they are a very poor example of female role models. Not surprisingly Mattel was one of the producers.", | |
| "58": "Barbie is simply a mind-blowing experience, and in a truly fine way! I was taken aback with the 2001 opening, since I have a personal aversion to seeing toys get destroyed, but then it starts to unfold.And what we have is a combination of The Twilight Zone and 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.It really focuses in on one Barbie (Margot Robbie) who finds herself out of her element, and her struggle to comes to terms with herself. Though the film has some weirdness to it, it sets us up for the second half of the film which really shines.And its messages pack a wallop!!!The casting is top notch, starting with Ms. Robbie in the title role. Ryan Gosling also delivers a fantastic performance as well, with a wide range. But one actress truly deserves a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and that is America Ferrara. The other performers are likewise great!I'm also struck by how Mattel allowed itself to be show in a fantasy way that isn't always flattering. And toward the end, we have the Barbie doll's creator, Ruth Handler (Rhea Perlman) tell Ms. Robbie's character some facts about herself that are less than flattering. That scene alone is incredibly powerful.And of course, the visuals are something to behold!On the whole, a truly incredible film that has a lot of originality! Highly recommended!", | |
| "59": "I was pretty excited to see this film and hope I'm not going to get put on a list for saying I didn't enjoy it that much. The message of female empowerment was fine, but didn't really speak to gender equality. Barbieland is the opposite of real world where Barbies are in control and kens are perceived as the mindless accessories. However, the ending just puts Barbies back on top and doesn't do much to equality which I hope is our goal. The movie itself was very sloppy and all finish with no build up. You could tell the writers had ideas of what they wanted to have happen but had zero clue how to get there. They wanted Ken to take the patriarchy back to Barbieland but this happens immediately and off screen despite the Kens being bumbling morons the entire movie. It's all payoff and no buildup. Good acting from a strong cast made this more fun to watch but when you start thinking a little deeper it didn't make much sense. I think this was a made for tik tok movie where there's 100 great scenes to throw up on the internet but not very cohesive when put together.", | |
| "60": "I thought the storyline of this movie was not well structured. The first act was mostly fun with some genuine humor. We see Barbie living in a world that looks like the toys brought to life. When she decides to go to the \"real world,\" it disrupts life for the residents of toyland. We also learn that many girls resent Barbie dolls because of the unrealistic expectations they set for females. Then, the conflict shifts completely to the male dolls taking over the Barbie world and treating the women poorly. So now there are two competing storylines, and as the characters work to resolve both issues, we get repetitive monologues about finding oneself. It gets very muddled and isn't much fun at this point. I thought they should have kept it simple, because they seemed to be on the right track early on.", | |
| "61": "This fulfills my childhood in a way I could never have anticipated. It reflects upon the flaws of our world and helps us all accept them by also accepting the imperfections in ourselves, like the fact that we are all a little dark and weird and crazy sometimes. And that doesn't make us any less men or women, or whater we are or want to be.It gives agency to all our wildest thoughts by putting the innocence of childhood in the context of the real world that all adolscents must eventually enter. It convinces me that someone out there thinks of the world in the same unique optimistic way as I do. And that's enough. Growing up is mandatory. But it doesn't have to be uncomfortable or ugly. It can ne okay. Thank you Greta Gerwig for this comedy gift.", | |
| "62": "Who exactly was this film aimed at? Most of the audience when I saw it were adolescents, and there were numerous (perhaps too many) colourful song and dance scenes, which might have appealed to younger viewers, but also a lot of philosophical debate about gender roles and inter-relationships that would have gone over their heads, particularly as these were delivered at a frantic, garbled pace. There were some good comic scenes, and stand-out performances by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, but as the film wore on, it all became a bit preachy. The message seemed to be about finding self-fulfilment rather than romance. Okay, not every film, or every life, has to end in a fairy-tale romantic coupling, but the emphasis on individual fulfilment within the support structure of the sisterhood seems a little bleak. It also makes nonsense of the final confusing pay-off line of the film.", | |
| "63": "Barbie (Margot Robbie) travels from Barbieland to the real world where she learns to her surprise that men are in control...I'm not a fan of this Barbie movie - regardless of whether I agree with its feminist message about the patriarchy or not, I just didn't find it funny and I didn't find it enjoyable. The humour was lame, I thought that the performances were weak (am I the only person who isn't a Margot Robbie fan?), and the songs were beyond awful.About the only thing that I can commend about the film is its production design, but even that got on my nerves from time to time (the travelling to the real world from Barbieland on cardboard cut-outs -- sheesh!). Obviously, I'm in the minority for not liking this film, because it has a high rating and has made a mint at the box office, but I guess we can't all like the same things.", | |
| "64": "It's an incredibly fun movie. Lots of laughs. Very campy over the top humour. But also surprisingly touching. My favourite scene of the movie is just rather a small quiet moment where Barbie is observing every day life and tells an old woman how beautiful she is. Margot Robbie shines in the lead role. Ryan Gosling clearly was having a lot of fun with the role, but don't sleep on Michael Cera as Allan. I know a lot of people say that Ryan Gosling is a scene stealer, but personally I thought Michael was.The soundtrack also works really within the film. I don't know how many of them I would listen to separately. I also wouldnt be suprised if either \"Im just Ken\" or \"What was I made for?\" or both was nominated for an oscar. Speaking of oscars, I think this is also has a good chance of being nominated for production design, costumes, hair and makeup - because visually this movie is such a treat.Now I dont think all aspects worked for me. I don't think the Mattel/CEO subplot was needed. There could have been another way for her to go back to Barbieland organically. I felt like the film was already tackling a lot with themes of patriarchy and feminism and having this \"chase scene\" didnt add much. Also, Gloria's (America Ferrera) monologue. Now, dont get me wrong I think there is a lot truth to it. But I just found it somewhat one-note. It didn't exactly blow me away as it has for others. And lastly, I undertstand the importance of having Ruth Handler featured in the movie....just a little weird that it was represented as her being a ghost that lives in Mattel headquarters.Overall, I would definitely recommend the film. You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll have fun. This isn't just a movie, it is the moment.", | |
| "65": "POSITIVES:1) Ryan Gosling completely steals the film for me. He's hilarious, but also completely sells the emotional moments too. A great performance 2) The film had several moments that made me laugh out loud. A lot of the humour is very clever, as can be expected from these two great writers. I should also say that I think the emotional moments were written very well too, particularly Barbie and Ken's 'breakup' at the end, which I thought was the best scene in the film 3) The production design and costume design were both terrific and will probably win their respective OscarsNEGATIVES:1) There are multiple times where the film was far too goofy for me. Examples include the chase scene in the Mattel headquarters and the car chase scene that follows it 2) The message, whilst respectable in a way, was just far too on the nose for me at times. When it was done subtly it felt clever and interesting, but then when they just did big monologues at the end it just became too over the top 3) The film felt quite dated for me. If this had came out in the 90s or 2000s I feel like it would've been much more impactful and relevant, whereas nowadays not many kids play with Barbie dolls and the male-dominated society is nowhere near as prevalent.", | |
| "66": "The first Barbie fashion doll was released by Mattel in 1954, there have been several straight-to-DVD computer-animated cartoons, but it has taken 64 for a live-action movie to be made. This was one of the most hyped-up movies of the year, I certainly couldn't ignore it, directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women). Basically, the film opens with the Narrator (Dame Helen Mirren) explaining the history of dolls before the introduction of Barbie (a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey) and how Barbie came to change the world. Barbieland is a matriarchal society where all ranges of living Barbie and Ken dolls reside. All the women are self-confident, self-sufficient, and successful, while the men spend their days engaging in recreational activities at the beach. All Barbies hold all important job positions such as doctors, lawyers, journalists, pilots, astronauts, and politicians. \"Stereotypical\" Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives her best life all day every day, while her on-off boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling) is only happy when he is with her, and she shows him some attention. Ken seeks a closer relationship, but Barbie rebuffs him to be independent and continue her female friendships. Barbie holds one of her regular parties at her Dreamhouse, which momentarily halts when she asks a question about mortality. The following day, Barbie finds her regular routine has altered, her raised feet have gone flat and she has cellulite. Her friends, including Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp), Physicist Barbie (Emma Mackey) and Lawyer Barbie (Sharon Rooney) tell her to visit Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), a wise but disfigured outcast who was played with badly, giving her permanent splits and felt-tip pen drawn on her face. Weird Barbie tells her to cure her affliction, she must go to the real world and find the child playing with her. Weird Barbie does offer her the option to take her heal shoe and everything will return to normal but really wants her to take the second option (a parody of The Matrix). Driving her pink convertible outside of Barbieland, Barbie finds Ken stowed away, he insists he is coming with her, and she reluctantly agrees. Barbie and Ken travel by car, by boat, by rocket, by bicycle, by campervan, and by snowmobile (all deliberate cut-out scenarios), until they arrive at Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California. The two cause a stir while exploring, including with their colourful roller-skating gear and blades, then changing into cowboy outfits. At toy manufacturer Mattel, the creators of Barbie, the all-male board members are informed that Barbie has entered the real world. The CEO (Will Ferrell) orders her to be captured and brought to them to be put back in her box. At the local school, Barbie encounters a tween girl named Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) who criticises Barbie dolls for encouraging unrealistic beauty standards and attitudes about women. Meanwhile, Ken explores the city and learns about the patriarchal system, mistakenly believing it was all started by men and horses. It is through simple interactions with people that he feels respected and accepted for the first time; with everything he has learned he returns to Barbieland. Feeling distraught by Sasha's comments, Barbie soon meets Sasha's mother Gloria (Ugly Betty's America Ferrera), a Mattel employee, who is the person who was playing with her. Gloria is the catalyst of her existential crisis; she was playing with Sasha's old Barbie toys while experiencing her own identity crisis, inadvertently transferring her concerns to Barbie. Soon, Mattel agents arrive and take Barbie to headquarters. They attempt to put Barbie in a toy box for remanufacturing, but she escapes with Gloria and Sasha's help. During the pursuit, Barbie enters a room containing a 1950s home scenario and encounters an elderly lady (Rhea Perlman) who recognises her. Returning to Barbieland, they discover that it has changed dramatically. The Kens have taken over, while Barbies have been reduced to submissive roles, such as maids, housewives, and agreeable girlfriends. Barbie tries to convince Ken and the Barbies to return to the way things were, only to be rebuffed. Barbie becomes depressed and returns to Weird Barbie and her group of discontinued dolls. Gloria gives an inspirational speech about society's conflicting expectations of women, and Barbie's self-confidence is restored. Meanwhile, the CEO and board members are making their way to Barbieland. With the assistance of Sasha, Weird Barbie, Ken's friend Allan (Michael Cera), a lone and discontinued character, and other discontinued dolls, Gloria repeats her moving words to all Barbies to snap them out of their subordinate behaviours. Ken intends to cement the changes to Barbieland and create male superiority by changing the constitution, allowing men to become President and replace all other roles taken by the women. The restored Barbies manipulate the Kens to fight against each other to distract them from the alterations. The Barbies regain their positions of power but also realise the errors of Barbieland's previous societal system. They decide to make changes, including better treatment for the Kens and all outcast dolls. Barbie and Ken apologise to each other and acknowledge their failings. Ken feels that he has no identity or purpose without Barbie, she encourages him to find himself. Barbie remains unsure of her own purpose and identity. She suddenly finds herself in a heavenly place where she encounters the elderly lady again, revealing herself to be the spirit of Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. Ruth explains that she created Barbie as a toy that represented what girls \"wanted to be\"; she named \"Barbie\" after her daughter Barbara. After a montage of home footage of young girls playing, Ruth explains that Barbie's story has no set ending. After the Barbies, Kens, and Mattel executives bid Barbie goodbye, she decides to become human and return to the real world. Sometime later, Gloria, her husband (Ryan Piers Williams), and Sasha take Barbie, now going by the name \"Barbara Handler\", to a building for an appointment, and she enters asking to see her gynaecologist. Also starring Issa Rae as President Barbie, Hari Nef as Dr. Barbie, Shang-Chi's Simu Liu as Tourist Ken, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Basketball Ken, Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa as Artist Ken, Jamie Demetriou as Mattel CFO, Scott Evans as Stereotypical Ken, Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie, Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie, Derry Girls' Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie, Dua Lipa as the Mermaid Barbies, John Cena as Ken Merman, Asim Chaudhry as Warehouse Employee, Ray Fearon as Dan at the FBI, Erica Ford as Skipper, Emerald Fennell as Midge, Lucy Boynton as Proust Barbie, Rob Brydon as Sugar Daddy Ken, and costume designer Ann Roth as the Woman on the Bench. Robbie is gorgeous and perfectly cast as the loveable \"stereotypical\" Barbie going on an adventure, Gosling as the muscly, foolish, attention-seeking Ken is splendid, McKinnon is hilarious as the mangled Weird Barbie, Ferrera is good support, Ferrell is amusing, many other supporting cast members and the cameo performers are terrific, and the voice of Mirren (occasionally breaking the fourth wall) is great. Gerwig and her co-writer/real-life partner Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, Marriage Story) were given full creative freedom for the script. They are unafraid to poke fun at the Barbie world, including many references to discontinued lines and how kids play with the toys, and interesting ideas of feminism, body image, female empowerment, the battle of the sexes, and the human experience. The visuals are sugar-coated and saturated with colour, pink obviously most prominent, with impressive set and costume design, and the soundtrack of catchy pop songs (\"Pink\" by Lizzo, \"Dance the Night\" by Dua Lipa) (the original \"Barbie Girl\" by Aqua does not feature?!, there is the new version by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice with Aqua) and fun song and dance routines. It could have been a conventional girly Barbie film with a dull love story or something and a happy ending, but it goes the other direction and benefits completely with its deliberately surreal and cheesy approach, a bonkers but inventive and worthwhile fantasy comedy. Very good!", | |
| "67": "In Greta's \"Barbie,\" the iconic doll takes on real-world problems in this comedy-meets-existential film, transforming from a seemingly superficial figure to a multi-dimensional character. Through physical and emotional challenges, Barbie discovers the true strength that comes from within, while the movie skillfully balances humor with deeper existential questions. As her journey unfolds, Barbie's exploration of empathy and self-discovery resonates profoundly with audiences, reminding them of the significance of creative freedom in cinema. The film's portrayal of Barbie's evolution from a controversial symbol to a beacon of empowerment becomes a captivating exploration of womanhood and the enduring spirit of femininity.", | |
| "68": "I really enjoyed the movie. The acting was amazing. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling was amazing. I just thought it was too on the nose. Like the message was literally forced in your face. It seemed lazy to me. I went in thinking it was going to be similar to The Truman Show and I wished it had've taken some elements from it because it would've made it much more powerful if so. I'm not going to spoil the ending but I thought the writers just gave up. Overall for me it's a 6/10. Good film but that's all. Definitely could've been less preachy. Ultimately, it's nice movie to see and I'd see it again at some point but it wasn't great.", | |
| "69": "I didn't expect a lot, but got even less. I just found it irritating from start to finish - well, start to halfway, because I just couldn't take any more. I had thought that maybe it would be clever like Enchanted (the original, not the appalling sequel) with a short sequence in Barbie World (like Enchanted's cartoon cliche intro) and then quickly turn into a humorous and entertaining fish out of water story of Barbie adapting to the real world. Instead the opening Barbie World sequence goes way too long, and then the 'real' world she goes to isn't just short, it's more plastic and silly than Barbie World. When she returned to Barbie World, I couldn't take anymore and switched off. My advice? If you're not hooked by the first 15 minutes, do the same. It only gets worse.", | |
| "70": "I was really surprised about how much i liked Ryan Gosling in this. I had totally forgot about his comedic talent and timing. The movie works. There is definitely a moral message in this, even though I believe the majority of viewers will be too distracted by Margot Robbie and Ryan Goslings great performances and all of the comedy elements in this and the fact that the script is hardly worth being filmed. I feel like with a different script they could have created something truly great.Over all it's a fun family movie to enjoy together. I watched this and afterwards Oppenheimer last night and I am truly glad I did it in that order, because I doubt that I would have been able to enjoy this even nearly as much if I had watched Oppenheimer first.", | |
| "71": "I was not expecting this movie to be great; I'm not into this kind of stuff, but still, I watched it, and man, it was great; some scenes are relatable to how people react to something nowadays, like, come on, everything and everyone can be cancelled, the overall acting of the cast is super great. I love it; almost all the song are catchy and complements the movie (like this song, by the way (Im just Ken)); the production set for this film is majestic, and parts of the movie are touching and somewhat relatable to our everyday life, and there can be something to learn from, very recommended to watch this with your whole family and friends.", | |
| "72": "Barbie it's not just a movie about some dolls and perfection. This movie says a lot about everything. In the first seconds of it I thought there wouldn't be something meaningful. I thought it would be some fun movie just to chill while you're watching it. But this movie is a lot more than just fun. With this movie we can see ourselves in it. It shows how powerful women are. But also how hard it is to be a woman. And not just that. Also our childhood. The barbieland is our childhood. Peaceful, enjoying life. But when it's our time to leave it, it's scary and new because that's the adult life. The finale scene shows us that to live is the most beautiful thing we can experience. And some people are stereotypical barbies who don't know how to live their life in the most human way. We are here to smile, cry and improve ourselves. But sometimes we get lost and need to find ourselves again. It's a cycle that we need to go through. This movie represents a lot of things not just one. And I think everyone who watches that film can find a different meaning.", | |
| "73": "The trailers and marketing for the movie were so good that I was really disappointed when the movie took an odd turn after 20-30 minutes into it.There could have been so many better turns than the one they took:\nBarbie could have inspired the real world to be more Barbie-like (example: the movie Enchanted)Barbie could have spent her time in the real world helping the sad girlBarbie could have spent the whole rest of the movie in the real world figuring out who she wanted to beInstead it became an odd war between men and women, which in the end, ended with just as much inequality as there is in the real world but with women in power and men not even having any homes. I don't get why they went with that. The Barbie movie could have ended with equality.", | |
| "74": "The casting for the roles is pretty well spot on. Margot Robbie is an absolute superstar and nobody would fit the role of Barbie better. I liked the little joke when Barbie says \"I'm not pretty anymore. I'm not 'stereotypical Barbie' pretty and the narrator replies \" Note to the filmmakers: Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast if you want to make this point.\" Even when they try to make Margot Robbie less pretty they can't really achieve it. Robbie shines with charisma every time she is on a screen and this movie is no exception. Not only is she very attractive but her acting is superb as well.They also found perfect roles for Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrell. The roles fit their skill sets perfectly and made the best of what is overall a pretty unusual and scattered movie. The costumes in the film were also fantastic and probably helped tap into some nostalgia with people who played with Barbie's before.The movies biggest issue in my mind was that it couldn't ever really decide what it was. This led to an inability to achieve any momentum as you aren't sure whether it's going to hit you with silly jokes that were quite funny at times or whether you were supposed to scramble through the social messaging it was also clearly trying to send. The problem is especially clear when the two blurred together. I wasn't sure whether some topics were serious social messages they are trying to advance or to simply be viewed as a joke.The ending made it all even more confusing. I don't mind endings being preachy but it was unclear what the audience is supposed to take away from what went down.Overall I would have preferred if the entire movie was one big comedy , but I suppose the filmmakers knew best since they're the ones raking in the cash right now. Kudos to them. Great Casting but is it Satire or Social Commentary?", | |
| "75": "I saw this movie tonight and it was very entertaining but if your a parent and have young Children THEY WILL GET BORED as this is not a kids movie, it is on a higher intellectual plain than that. You could honestly say this is a movie for feminists, now thats not a bad thing as I saw it with my daughter and have always encouraged her to be whoever she wanted to be and played with Barbie when she was young (she's 23 now) .This movie has it's moments of comedy and is well done especially when in the Barbie world and has been well thought out and written. Cast very well as the two leads carry the movie and i'm sure there will be a sequel. But remember this is not a KIDS movie.", | |
| "76": ": I feel confused about this movie, probably like a lot of people, on one hand I laughed as I hadnt with a movie in a long time and the vibe this movie has is just very appealing, but on the other hand while not being an anti-men movie and actually trying to have a deep message, it feels at some parts like a tantrum. The way it handles its feminist message is not the best, because while it tries to give a meaningful speach, it almost boarders with hate speach and ridiculization, I say almost, because a lot of this situations are just played by the laughs and when theyre not, while being bad, theyre not terrible. But this makes it sound like a bad movie, which barbie is not, at the end it manages to actually give a meaningfull speech about the wrong in the real world and takes some minutes to understand both sides. It is still not the best ending possible because it can be a little too ridiculous, when you have a movie thats like that all the time I dont think it matters all that much. And at the end of the day I took home with me the minutes of laughter this movie gave to me, an enjoying fun time that is worth watching.", | |
| "77": "My wife and I did the double feature of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Barbie started off strong and Ryan Gosling is very funny in the movie. The problem is none of the Barbies are in a comedy. This movie should have been 90 minutes of comedy. It maybe could have had a simple heartfelt moment between a mom and her daughter but this movie has several preachy moments that made me wonder, who is this movie for? Little girls won't enjoy this, teenage girls won't enjoy this, adult women won't enjoy this. So who is the target audience? Who are the preachy moments for? If you are thinking of watching something this month, choose Sound of Freedom or Mission Impossible.", | |
| "78": "I'm not a Barbie fan. The only time I loved Barbie was when she was in the Toy Story movies. But that changed after I saw the Barbie movie. This movie is not only Greta Gerwig's best film but also the year's greatest movie so far!!!!! Margot Robbie (my favorite actress of all time) is beautiful and portrays Barbie with pure perfection!!! And then there's Ken (played by Ryan Gosling in a career-best performance)!!! Robbie and Gosling shine and are easily the years best duo.The story starts with Barbie doing her usual routine in Barbieland, a land filled with multiple Barbies, each with a different occupation. The Ken's also visit playing the roles a woman would play. Barbie starts experiencing real emotional symptoms like thinking about death, crying and flat feet. She learns from Weird Barbie that the Real World will have the answers to her questions. Barbie than travels with Ken to the real world and find out many things : Barbie is a doll played by a grown woman named Gloria (America Ferrera in her best movie performance), Mattel wants to put Barbie back in the box and Ken learns about America's patriarchy and men rule the world. All of these problems combine into a hilarious comedy that provides great messages about woman empowerment and being who you want to be.The production design of Barbieland and costumes of all the Barbies and Kens are Oscar-worthy. The soundtrack is pretty solid with two great songs: Ryan Gosling's 80s ballad called I'm Just Ken and Billie Ellish's emotional song at the end of the movie, \"What was I made for?\".The direction of Greta Gerwig is finally put to great use in Barbie as she's goes to make the best comedy in years and the script she wrote with her partner Noah Baumbach is the perfect mixture of stupid comedy, great-comedy drama and emotional drama.Gosling gives his best and definitely deserves an Oscar nomination as his role of Ken is up there with the comedy greats of Meliss Mccarthy in Bridesmaids and Robert Downey Jr. In Tropic Thunder.The real scene stealer is Margot Robbie. Robbie has been in multiple box office failures but Barbie changed that. She's been nominated twice for the Oscar for her incredible performances in I, Tonya and Bombshell. My favorite actress is about to be nominated for Best Actress and Best Picture for Barbie!!!! Margot Robbie is astonishing and a tour de force in Barbie, which is the best performance of her whole career!!! Go Margot Robbie!!!!!This movie is definitely worth watching!!!!!! I want to watch it again!!!!!!", | |
| "79": "Fantastic movie! The writing and storyline is so much deeper than I could have imagined for a Barbie movie. I loved this movie so much that I saw it twice opening week and plan to buy it once it hits streaming. I think women and girls of all ages will love it. I know plenty of guys who like it as well. It's smart, funny, clever, deep, thoughtful, etc. I was actually in tears during the America Ferrera monolog. These actors are all amazing. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling were the perfect Barbie and Ken. The music was amazingly hilarious. The Ken battle scene cracked me up so much. Greta Gerwig is a phenomenal. I loved her version of Little Women and this is every bit as good. Barbie is a must see. Don't wait, go see it now!", | |
| "80": "Honestly it's Ryan Gosling that made this movie for me and no not just the holy cow hot body! He's got such a great sense of humour so funny, him and Simu Liu just bounced off each other so well. It's a cute little fun movie if you just want a good laugh. Im still trying to understand Will Ferrells character though, it was very lame and I know he's supposed to be the antagonist but it really did not work for me.The sets and the costumes were fantastic exactly how I imagined my Barbie used to live-😁. I think they could have dug a little deeper and done multi-era costumes, regardless it was just a lot of fun to watch!", | |
| "81": "Honestly I really have no idea why this movie seems to be so popular. Again honest - I went there just for Margot Robbie (I'm a married 34 year old male, and margot is one of my top 3 favorite actrices of all time, and arguably the most talented one from my list). And for that part it was totally ok. But the movie absolutely doesn't deserve an imdb rating above 5.6. The plot itself was very simple. Absolutely nothing particularly special in it. So if it is in fact getting rated so high just because of Margot alone, then why do her other movies don't get rated that well and get that much attention? Honestly I really don't understand and I think this movie is way too overhyped for no reason. And I have no idea why... For other movies that get hyped like that I do see the reasons why they're getting so hyped. So the movie is not awful, but it's rather average, if you're not going there specifically for Margot then I am pretty sure there will be multiple movies at your local cinema at the time you're reading this, which are way more worth watching than this one...", | |
| "82": "This film had the potential to become a cult classic with its strong cast, stunning costumes, and iconic character. However, it failed to live up to expectations, falling flat just like *spoiler Barbie's heels.The script initially captured the essence of little girls playing with their Barbie dolls, evoking a sense of nostalgia. Barbie dolls were once seen as limitless in their potential, inspiring young girls to explore various careers and fields, including STEM-based jobs. She helped promote young girls interest in science, engineering, math, and technology to hopefully bridge gender gaps in these fields. Barbie encouraged girls to dream big, fostered a love for learning and promoted self-confidence.Barbie symbolizes beauty and fashion-forwardness, allowing young girls to express themselves and embrace their individuality through styling their dolls. Playing with Barbies also promoted emotional intelligence, empathy, creativity, and problem-solving as girls created their own storylines and engaged in role-playing.Regrettably, this movie seemed to disregard the sentimental value associated with the traditional Barbie doll. Instead of embracing themes of friendship, teamwork, feminism, and self-discovery, the film failed to deliver. The friendships between the Barbie characters felt superficial, lacking depth. Rather than promoting equality and dismantling the patriarchy, the movie shifted to a full blown matriarchal focus, missing an opportunity to advocate for gender equality and alliances. There's a monologue by America Ferrera's character that just feels like a very negative view point on being a woman today. I thought it would start that way then maybe turn back toward how beautiful it is to be a woman... but it never did.In the spirit of equality, I also had high hopes this film would promote Barbie and not just a girls toy, but a great toy for any kid (girl or boy). It didn't go there at all.One aspect that felt problematic was the portrayal of Barbie and Ken's relationship, which verged on being toxic. It was evident that Barbie did not reciprocate Ken's feelings, creating an uncomfortable dynamic. The movie missed an opportunity to address this issue and explore the importance of open communication and respecting others' feelings. Ken, was extremely co-dependent and Barbie just saw him as an accessory. Yet when the tables were turned she didn't really learn anything from that.In terms of humor, the movie fell short of expectations. Most of the funny lines that appeared in the trailer seemed to be the highlights, leaving the rest of the film lacking in comedic impact. Additionally, the Ken dolls singing and fighting montage felt out of place, adding nothing substantial to the plotline. It came across as awkward and disconnected, failing to contribute meaningfully to the story.Overall, the film missed opportunities to address important relationship dynamics and deliver consistent humor, leaving these aspects underdeveloped and unsatisfying for the viewers.Additionally, Barbie's journey of self-discovery felt underwhelming, culminating in an anticlimactic ending at the gynecologist's office. It would have been more impactful if her desire to become human stemmed from her longing to share the qualities that Barbie stands for with the real world: friendship, kindness, perseverance, self-expression, and imagination. Sure she's 'ordinary real-world' Barbie but that doesn't mean she can't have extraordinarily character. The story just seemed to glaze over the opportunity to drive home a real lesson for the audience.Overall, I had really high expectations and this movie fell short in my book.", | |
| "83": "Barbie surprised me in all the best ways. It was funny, moving, inspirational, and all around ridiculously entertaining. I mean that with every sense of the implication to.There were moments that everyone could relate to the film - at least as I observed, and it was heartfelt in delivery and message. Some of the narrator quirks delivered by Helen Mirren are just perfect and I found myself laughing more than anything else.There are so many nuanced things that make the movie so sweet but the best is probably the nod to the original creator of Barbie and the reason the doll was produced to start.", | |
| "84": "This movie is many things. One may say it is a story of strength, and finding the beauty in yourself. Others, may just not like it. I am in the middle of all of that. The movie was a little better than meh, but lacked in some aspects that it could have dealt with more. I think Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were good, but I really didn't like their characters (Mostly Ken) The musical numbers and camera work were amazing. But, by far three things stood out to me. One, the costumes design and sets. The directors sculpted amazing set design with colorful costumes to go along with it. My honorable mention is Rhea Perlman. I thought she was phenomenal. While anyone could play that role she really brought it. Finally, America Ferrara. Since her days on Ugly Betty, she has became a household name. But in this movie she was wonderful. I enjoyed Superstore quite a bit and wanted to see Barbie mainly for her character. Her speech was moving and she brought so much to her simple, yet relatable mom.", | |
| "85": "Brilliantly written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Everyone in this is fantastic. It's a wink at nostalgia and commentary on society. Never played with Barbies but my daughter did. Tribute to the inventor of Barbie, Ruth Handler. Helen Mirren narrates. Kate McKinnon almost steals the movie. Not a movie for little kids but most of the references will probably go over their heads. My girlfriend and I laughed out loud many times. It's about 20 minutes too long for my taste. The music is spot on. It's a perfect summer movie. Guess what? It has value and substance. Margot Robbie is not only gorgeous but more importantly, she's highly intelligent as actor and producer. This movie is going to make bank!", | |
| "86": "As much as it pains me to give a movie called \"Barbie\" a 10 out of 10, I have to do so. It is so brilliantly handled and finely crafted, I have to give the filmakers credit. Yes, I am somewhat conservative person and former law enforcement officer. I'm a guy. I like guy things. Hell I even enjoyed the Battleship movie a few years ago (an absolutely ridiculous but fun romp of an action film). But I also like to experience other perspectives. And man oh man does this movie deliver that in spades - pretty much encapsulated everything my wife has tried to convey about her entire career and life experience wrapped up into two hours! The humor, the sets, the acting, and the ability to weave the current narrative into the story was just perfect. I don't agree with some of the points of the movie, but again, that's ok. This movie wasn't designed to give a balanced perspective of men versus women; it is a no-holds-barred unapologetic crazy ride of a rant about the real issues that women have faced since they were \"allowed\" to have \"real jobs\" and do the same things as men. Give me a well done film that is a blast to watch, that makes you think, and that was done from a place of creativity, passion, and attention to detail, and I'll call it what it is: a 10 out of 10 masterpiece.", | |
| "87": "It pains me to say it, but I enjoyed this movie so much more then I was expecting to, musical numbers, humour, there truly is something for the whole family yo enjoy.Bright, garish and somewhat kitsch, those were my expectations, and sure it's a veritable cornucopia of glitter and rainbows, but what I wasn't expecting, was for the film to be so engaging, there's actually some real depth that I wasn't expecting. That opening introduction, that came as a major surprise, and pretty much set the tone.Of course there are plenty of double entendres, laughs that adults will enjoy, kids will no doubt chuckle away too.I'm pretty sure this film is going to win awards for its production, it's very well made, creative design and visuals, a lot of thought has gone into this. Greta Gerwig did a great job.Margot Robbie is glorious as Barbie, Ryan Gosling was great I thought. The pair shared some terrific scenes, real chemistry, and plenty of cutting one liners.Great use of music, everything fitted into the film so well.8/10.", | |
| "88": "8.5/10\nWhile i'm not so sure at first, the movie kept getting even more fun, entertaining, and definitely better, also surprisingly deal with a legit serious stuff, Barbie is a weirdly fun movie that fills with this very interesting concept, definitely the first time that's ever done, Greta Gerwig has created this whole new style of filmmaking specifically for Barbie, from the intentionally weird yet creative editing, some awkward and cringe scene, i found the comedy so funny instead of cringe, Barbie is one of the most original movie of the year and also one of the most original movie i've seen in a while, we all know Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is gonna carry the movie and they are, but Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, and the whole rest of the cast were also great and entertaining, the soundtrack was just great, except Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice \"Barbie World\" song that are just absolutely terrible, but Billie Eilish \"What Was I Made For?\" tune that kept haunting in the background until it finally get the perfect scene to played it was really the best thing because that song was just beautiful and emotional, anyway, Barbie is a lot of fun, while there is still some noticeable flawed, most of them i found it funny, entertaining, colourful, creative, and fun, pure fun, it's something that i probably will love it even more the second time i see it, but as of right now, Barbie was a good time, definitely recommended and with this movie somehow it's actually possible to have a live-action Barbie movie, all you need to have is a good writer, good director, and good cast, and they delivers mostly.", | |
| "89": "I was honestly doubting this movie at first, but surprisingly I find myself really liking it quite a lot.Set in the colorful Barbie Land, stereotypical Barbie lives a perfect life every single day. One day, she shows signs of being...a human. She decides to go to the Real World to find the cure in order to make herself perfect again.Barbie is a fun movie that has surprisingly plenty of heartwarming moments and good messages to offer. The set designs are eye-catching and on point as well. Both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling nailed their parts, but it is Gosling who mostly shines.Something I'm pretty sure of is this movie getting nominated for the Oscars, most likely for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and probably Best Song for Billie Eilish. That song is beautiful and it's stuck in my head right now.", | |
| "90": "I walked out of the theatre thinking, \"Yeah, I had a good time in that movie\". But as the day went on I kind had that \"Ok, that kebab probably wasn't a good idea.\"The film is stunning in its production design and creativity, and Margot Robbie is perfectly cast as the Stereotypical Barbie. For the most part, the songs are catchy and performances are solid for the type of characters being portraying.When we strip away the outside world and all the messaging, Barbie and Ken have a few poignant moments - Barbie realising she's not as perfect as she's been made to believe, or when Ken receives his first modicum of acknowledgement of being a sentient being he's ever had in his life. They also share a couple learning and growth moments which I thought would pay off at the end of the film.I don't know why, but I was hoping for something that would actually enlighten its audience, to acknowledge that things are a mess and make intentional and meaningful steps to get us closer to understanding and equality. The Barbie brand, history, controversies are so engrained in our culture that this movie had a potential to change our perspective of the world, and what the future could be. That's a lot of pressure for one film, I know.However... this film is absolutely not immune to the not-so-subtle messaging that has permeated all forms of media and entertainment recently. In fact, it embraces is. So much so that you have a scene where a man walks up behind Barbie and slaps her on the backside, in broad daylight, in a crowded space, in front of her boyfriend.... And this kind of portrayal of men in 2023 appears to be how the film views the world.Maybe it was this kind of overt comical depiction of men and the world generally that allowed me to get through the movie and kind of enjoy it, but upon reflection, I realise now it's just kind of... yuck.Barbie had the rare opportunity to be a film experience that not only highlighted issues in the real world, but offer and foster some ideas for change. Instead, we receive divisive and mean-spirited attack on half the human population as well as anyone who thinking having a family is an acceptable path in life. And also flat feet and cellulite.If you kind of switch off your brain for an hour and a bit, and don't take this film too seriously, then maybe you'll have a lasting positive memory after seeing this movie.But if you need to do that to enjoy something, then you need to ask yourself: why?", | |
| "91": "\"Barbie\" is a movie that is setting all sorts of records, so it's obvious that the film is touching many people. For some, it's the fun of seeing a doll come to life, for others it's the theme of empowerment that make the movie a big hit. As for me, I did like it and thought it was a pretty good movie...but it's not for everyone.The first 2/3 of the film are simply fun and a visual delight. Seeing all the Barbie's in Barbieland was a joy. It also was very nice seeing Barbie enter the real world and interact with all the unfamiliar aspects of it. As for the final third, for me, this is what hurt the film a bit...at least for some viewers. Why? Well, I loved its message of female empowerment but I also felt it was delivered like a sledgehammer. Instead of talking about it and getting on with the plot, the movie bogged down for me and seemed to keep making the same point repeatedly. Subtle, it was not. On the other hand, who am I to complain...I did like the movie and am glad it had a nice feminist bent. Obviously this worked for many women seeing the film. Overall, a very good movie that slowed to a crawl towards the end. Not bad...but a film I wanted to like more than I actually did.", | |
| "92": "For a film like \"Barbie\" to succeed, every aspect had to come together perfectly. It needed to consummately balance satire with fun, the casting had to be spot-on, and the writing/directing required to pull off such a feat would need to be exquisite. Somewhat remarkably, that is exactly what writer/director Greta Gerwig pulls off here to create the best movie of summer 2023.For a very basic overview, \"Barbie\" sees its titular character (played by Margot Robbie) living her stereotypically perfect life in Barbieland. Well, that is until she is plagued by those pesky intrusive thoughts of death, a flattening of her perfectly-heeled feet, and a trip to Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) to figure out what is going on. As it turns out, a rift has developed between Barbieland and the real world that only Stereotypical Barbie--accompanied by Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling)--can mend. But when Barbie & Ken have extremely different experiences in the real world, it leads to even more messiness between the worlds that precipitates further adventure/hijinks.In terms of plot, somehow Gerwig manages to write and direct her way into the perfect tone with \"Barbie\". A mere mention of the term \"patriarchy\" in today's polarized landscape will more often than not lead to a line in the sand that neither side will cross, yet Gerwig perfectly examines and satirizes the subject by making the proceedings just so darn fun. Much like, say, Jordan Peele before her did with horror flicks like \"Get Out\" or \"Us\", Gerwig uses a genre other than straight-up drama to get her satire and story themes across here. Sometimes, that proves to be the best \"delivery service\" and it is certainly true in this case.Of course, solid/unique actors are required to carry out this quirky film's shenanigans and softer moments, and \"Barbie\" comes up aces in that department too. Robbie is perfectly cast as the lead, with both her beauty and dramatic acting chops lending themselves to the film's own dual nature. But more often than not it is Gosling who steals the show every time he's on screen. To do what Gerwig wants to do with \"Barbie\", the Ken role has to be perfect--and is here in the versatile style of Gosling (one of Hollywood's most underappreciated acting talents). The rest of the cast is also filled with solid performances and wonderfully fun cameos.\"Barbie\" is just as much a visual treat as anything else--they didn't short the area of pink paint for no reason. DP Rodrigo Pieto creates a universe that is a sight to behold in every frame and then transitions some of those characters into a real-world environment with similar panache. All of this is of course given some drive by a killer soundtrack featuring the likes of Lizzo, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and even Gosling himself!Not only do I feel that \"Barbie\" eclipsed (even if narrowly in some cases) the bigger blockbusters like \"The Flash\", \"Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning 1\", & \"Oppenheimer\", but it subsequently vaulted Gerwig into the upper echelon of my must-see writers/directors (alongside Nolan, Villeneuve, Peele, etc.). After not knowing exactly what to expect from this film going in, I was utterly blown away by this experience.", | |
| "93": "Barbie is everything expected of it and so much more, a self aware and meta comedy made for fans and newcomers alike that's also incredibly profound, layered and really funny. It's the best version of itself and just immensely satisfying that the Barbie movie that got made on this scale is so weird and unique.Margot Robbie is perfect casting as Barbie, she nails the movement and switches between the eccentric Barbie Land and more emotionally tolling real world effortlessly. She has a terrific arc that's full of emotionally resonant moments and the almost parental nature with Gosling works beautifully.Ryan Gosling is phenomenal as Ken. Note perfect casting that gives him another welcome chance to move away from his usual introverted roles and tap into his impeccable comedic timing present in The Nice Guys, only here it's dialed up to eleven. It all culminates in a musical number that is painfully funny.Will Ferrell is essentially playing Lord Business again and him and his whole team of execs are just as cartoonish as the people in Barbie Land but it actually really works as a nice bit of satire that emphasises just how out of touch all of them are.America Ferrara gets one of the biggest speeches of the film and really makes it work and her relationship with Ariana Greenblatt adds a lot of heart to the film whilst allowing it to have its both ways when it comes to acknowledging the history of Barbie.Greta Gerwig's direction is excellent, getting the bigger budget she absolutely deserves and uses every penny. Magnificent dance numbers, a fun car chase and a Barbie Land that is as vibrant as possible and despite fully embracing its own artificial nature it feels more real and visually stunning than so much of what's out there.The soundtrack is another standout element, a great selection of songs from some of the best artists currently working all at the top of their game. Like the film, some are just really fun, some are very profound and every single one fits in effortlessly.", | |
| "94": "The movie was very funny and really enjoyable to laugh at with the full theatre. However, the messages of the movie were the problem. I was never really sure what I was supposed to take away, there was nothing about finding equality or love it was all about how every man cat falls every woman or women can't be anything. It was really silly because there was no accurate reflection of America at any single point except for Barbie getting called a Fascist for no reason by a 14 year old. I enjoyed how they called out women for hating women and how they really tried to preach empowerment and the ability to be anything, but at the same time there was so much resentment and they ended the movie by reinstating hate. The majority of the movie was hating men as much as possible. That's just whatever because what really matters is the story. Well it fell short on that mark and it was really disappointing. The pacing was horrible, the villain won and was pretty irrelevant in the long run, the story was all over the place, and it is totally not for kids. I think the worst part is how disappointed I was at the opportunity to really make something special and it just wasn't. 6 points for all the laughs and fun I had and I would expect 6-7 to be an appropriate rating.", | |
| "95": "In this day and age with society overall becoming more and more polarized and our leaders around the world doing nothing to improve dialogue, it seems that people became broken records. Now everything in the movies and TV shows is perceived as preachy, not everything is a conspiracy, people need to consider that movies and TV shows at its core, and specially the good ones, are about sharing perspectives and allow the audience, if their minds are opened to it, to acknowledge all sides of the stories.So let's start with the actual review, Greta Gerwig seems to have found an actual legitimate story for the type of message she delivered, contrary to most criticism I didn't find the movie preachy or biased at all, I actually felt it was incredibly balanced and the message made sense considering the plot. Sometimes I do agree that these (for some reason) delicate social topics tend to be pushed into films because a lot of studio directors want to align with trends to make a few more dollars, but in this particular film I didn't felt that at all!It's a fictional story that has the ability to tell a bit of historical context of one of the most (if not the most) famous dolls in the world and how it impacted the world culture and how it actually affected women's image with its controversial decisions.The other aspect of this fictional story is providing perspective, of how women are perceived and treated in our society, the rooted systemic issues we tend to ignore AND with the Barbie plot device provide some fun and interesting analogy of how society would be if it was the other way around and women were the ones holding most power.But again there's no hidden dark meaning, it's just a woman's perspective and if you think about it, even though reality change a lot considering the country where you live, it's not that ridiculous, the story is ultimately about equality and its a fun innocent approach to it.Margot Robbie is insanely talented and its amazing to watch her portray this role, for once I am hoping that we keep the dialogue opened and stop inventing false theories .", | |
| "96": "I got free tickets for a preview and to be honest I was more than a little embarrassed to go. I did not tell a soul. As a cool middle aged gentleman if word got out this could have really affected my street cred.Anyway, I embraced the journey and I'm glad that I did. Here is my review written as a pretentious critic that I aspire to be in my next life:In Greta Gerwig's latest directorial venture, \"Barbie,\" the esteemed filmmaker takes on the monumental task of unravelling the enigma that is Barbie, the iconic doll that has fascinated and polarized society for decades.With Margot Robbie as the eponymous character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, Gerwig's live-action rendition delves into the complex world of Barbie, attempting to extract deeper meaning from this cultural phenomenon.Gerwig masterfully navigates the treacherous waters of branded material, infusing the narrative with a blend of adventure, comedy, fantasy, and romance. The result is a thought-provoking exploration of Barbie's role as a feminist symbol, challenging societal perceptions of femininity and girlhood.Can a doll with impossibly perfect features and a smile of perpetual happiness truly embody feminist ideals?Gerwig compels the audience to contemplate this question, weaving it throughout the fabric of the film.In reality Margot Robbie dominated the film as expected and has developed into a true cinematic icon. The flm was fun and far above my expectations hence I'm giving it an 8 and boasting I watched Barbie.", | |
| "97": "So I went into the movie with little to no expectations and I was pleasantly impressed with the movie overall.So basically the movie is about Barbie who is starting to feel emotions and not everything feels perfect in Barbieland. She ventures to the real world to discover the solution of getting everything perfect again. Barbie is joined by the one and not only KEN, Ken is obsessed with Barbie and sees her as the centre of his world, he goes to the real world and discovers patriarchy, which leads to many events.The movie overall is actually quite funny, Ryan Gosling is fantastic as Ken and the stand out for me, he needs to be many versions of Ken and he kills then all !! Margott is also great, she brings a range to Barbie, for me also Weird Barbie was great, she was funny and brought a difference.There were times I felt the \"woman power\" thing was just a bit much and took me out of the movie, I feel like the movie had that message and didn't need to shove it down your throat but it decided to at points so for me that does bring it down a notch, the daughter was also just annoying hahaha yes I get it she hated the world bla bla, she just had no redeeming qualities, otherwise no complains and I do think it's worth seeing, solid 8/10.", | |
| "98": "It's weird seeing a movie that puts gay male culture front and centre of a lesbian-free world.This highlights the movie's sloppy construction, it doesn't know what it wants to be.The movie starts with a homage to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey resulting in every child rejecting baby dolls. What started out as amusing is so committed to a shot-for-shot homage it becomes a sinister, disturbing message that closely matches 2001's statement of the human race discovering weapons.A chase scene in an office makes no sense.A key character at her kitchen table is a touching moment but the way she is found has no internal logic.Having seen this film with various friends I noticed audiences were left cold at same points.Why would Ken run into plastic moulded waves in an environment he lives in? One of many 'jokes' that fails to land such as the cartoon car crashes, the boardroom whisper gag among others.The movie has some cute moments having people enact doll play.That absence of internal logic reveals this movie has no idea what it wants to be.", | |
| "99": "I mean, Margo Robbie as Barbie just made perfect sense, but I really wanted to see the movie when I herd that Ryian Gosling was going to be Ken, I just thought that would be hilarious and I was right!I was a little bit nervous when I heard this was not going to be an in-universe thing and that Barbie would enter the real world, but that was a great story.The real-life story did give the art direction the purpose of making a \"BarbieLand\" with life size dream houses even I wanted to live in. The film just looks really good.Give praise to director Greta Gerwig because this movie is fun but there were a lot of deep life cuts and the balance between the two was perfect.It was good hands down.", | |
| "100": "BARBIE (2023)\nGreetings again from the darkness. A reasonable assumption could be made that a movie based on a doll so popular with pre-adolescent girls would be geared towards that audience. However, this is the era of comic book movies targeting \"grown-ups\", and since we know, based on her previous work (the exceptional LADY BIRD, 2017), Greta Gerwig is an intelligent filmmaker, a more reasonable assumption is that she purposefully aimed the movie at women who once played with Barbie dolls and now fill their days with work, family, and adulting. This strategy has proven to be box office gold, and the heavy dose of cosplay at screenings proves the lasting impact this plastic doll has had on many women who lined up for tickets.Ms. Gerwig co-wrote the screenplay with her real-life spouse and fellow filmmaker, Noah Baumbach (MARRIAGE STORY, 2019), and it's fascinating to see what they have produced. Whether you find the film entertaining is another matter altogether, yet we tip our cap to the strange, visually-stimulating, and thought-provoking end result. Many will go in-depth on analyzing the gender politics and feminist approach to the story; however, I'm just here to discuss this as a movie, not a movement.Two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie stuns in the opening sequence (a tribute to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) as the original 1959 Barbie. In fact, Ms. Robbie is terrific throughout in this more-challenging-than-expected role. She's so much more than a pretty face in high heels, as she's previously proven in a risk-taking career featuring memorable turns in such films as THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013), SUICIDE SQUAD (2016), I, TONYA (2017), as Sharon Tate in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019), and last year's underappreciated BABYLON (2022). This time she portrays 'Stereotypical' Barbie, whose everyday is perfect in Barbieland. It's here where we meet a diverse group of Barbies featuring Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Dua Lip, and others. We are also introduced to Ken (two-time Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling, terrific here), whose mood for the day is totally dependent on whether Barbie acknowledges him. An equally diverse group of Kens features Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, Ncuti Gatwa, and others.Barbie's paradise is rocked one day when she begins wondering about death. A trip to \"Weird Barbie\" (a kooky Kate McKinnon) lets her know that the only cure for this existential crisis is a visit to the human world, where a sad girl is playing with her doll. It's really an imaginative hook to allow the two worlds to collide. Unfortunately, only bits and pieces of the human world clicked for me (loved the rollerblading at Venice Beach). It makes sense that Barbie is shocked to discover the misogyny and patriarchy ruling the human world, but there are three other elements at play here: Ken discovering that men don't take a backseat to women in this world, and in fact, they dominate; the corporate office of Mattel plays like a slapstick cartoon with Will Ferrell as a nonsensical CEO; and the mother-daughter duo of America Ferrera as Gloria and Ariana Greenblat as Sasha. The big twist occurs in that latter sequence, and it's Ms. Ferrera who dishes out the gut punch soliloquy about what's expected of women and how they are viewed. This monologue is the lesson director Gerwig wants viewers to leave with.Barbie's return to a much-changed Barbieland finds Ken and other Kens treating the Dreamhouse like a Frat house. See, the boys have learned how to run things their way ... and at its core, that's my main issue with the movie's theme. Empowering women is a good thing, but why did Ms. Gerwig feel the need to make everything either a win for the women or a win for the men? I have always thought equality was the goal, not dominance. It's this approach that gives the film a serious and dark undertone in a quite heavy-handed manner. Sure women enjoy having power. So do men. That's no great mystery solved, and in fact makes these obvious points somehow more obvious.Let's talk about a few other less ominous topics. Helen Mirren delivers an admirable voiceover as the narrator, and a depressed Barbie and Ken's affinity for horses are nice touches. Two of my favorite segments are Barbie's first interaction in the human world ... a \"beautiful\" woman on a park bench played by Oscar winner Ann Roth (a renowned Costume Designer who did not handle the costumes for this film), and a conversation with Barbie inventor Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman), who named the doll after her daughter. While I hold firm on my belief that the film is not especially entertaining/fun, I'll also admit the song and dance around the \"I'm Just Ken\" number was a hoot. Other than performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the star here is the Production Design from six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood. The film looks amazing, even if you might get your fill of pink by the end. Barbieland is quite a sight - it's a shame the rest of the movie didn't deliver this much fun, and instead pitted men against women.", | |
| "101": "I realise that I am hardly the target audience of this movie, but even so, slogging trough the movie I am baffled as to what the appeal is? There must be something with all the money it made at the box office, right? I haven't read any other reviews yet so as not to spoil my own impression of the movie.I've waited for the home release and I will admit, I fell asleep a couple times and am not compelled at all to rewatch the movie any time soon.There are some visual gags and some good jokes but I felt like those kind of ran out in the first 20 minutes or so. Once you get pass the novelty of the movie, what else is there? Not much in my opinion. The only thing that could hold my interest was Ken and his subplot, but the things happening around and to Barbie I couldn't care less about. The movie didn't make me care at all about anything that happened and as such left me bored and looking at my watch. The ending scene I pretty much fast forwarded. If there was supposed to be any kind of emotional response, I detected none. Is I said, sure, I am not the target audience but the movie being so successful I expected at least something other than boredom. My only emotional response I guess is sadness, because of the inevitable copycats and sequels that will try and leech of the success of Barbie, which isn't any good in the first place.Edit: In hindsight I reviewed my rating and gave a bit more, because days later stuff like the Mojo Dojo Casa House, or I'm just Ken just stuck with me more than I like to admit so there are memorable things and as I said, the opening of the movie is indeed fun. I still think they ran out of ideas and weren't sure how to end things and as such would be weary of a sequel given that there weren't enough ideas for a single movie IMO.", | |
| "102": "This probably has been the biggest film of 2023.It was also the most shocking film of 2023 because really people didn't know what to expect.This certainly isn't the Barbie film I expected. It's not aimed at little girls, it takes massive swings at popular culture and society, and actually has a real sense of heart.Because of all these things you'll either love it or hate it. There's nobody really in the middle on this film, the reaction is so wide spread.I thought it was fine, I thought it was a nice broad comedy that we don't always have these days. Both the two leads were great, and there are lots of lovely moments.It is preachy, it does hit you over the head with its messages, but on the whole it remains bright and colourful.", | |
| "103": "Barbie (2023) -*I wrote this review about three times and I'm afraid it's still a bit of a ramble.I didn't go in to watching this expecting it to amaze me, but to only provide a few basic giggles. I suppose I'd thought that it would be too juvenile and aimed at teens and tweens, but actually it was very good and the more I recalled of it, the more I wanted to see it again.There was so much nostalgia throughout this film, even for me as a gay man, who as a child learned that he needed to catch his sister in a good mood if he wanted to play Barbie with her and ultimately ended up playing with his 'Star Wars' figures a lot instead.The little touches and the interesting special editions of the doll that popped up throughout were cleverly used and some of them easy to remember from trips to the toy shop and the times that I used to sneak in to my sisters room to play with her collection whilst she was out.Add to that a great deal of humour in various styles and it would be hard for even the most masculine, anti-feminist not to find something to laugh at in this film, despite the fact that it took the mick out of men in general.Yes it did make a point of empowering women of all backgrounds, which it was always going to do, but I felt that it did it without making such a harsh attack on men that the average male would feel threatened by it or take the jokes with anything but a pinch of salt and there is always the hope that some people would learn from it.Essentially it was just parodying the way that women have been treated over the years and showing that treatment up for the stupid behaviour that it was and sadly still is by exploring how a matriarchy might effect men and the ways that they might react.The general production of the film came across like a cross between 'Elf' (2003), 'The Lego Movie' (2014), 'Big' (1988) and so many others of that oeuvre.All of it, but specifically Barbieland was brilliantly designed and constructed, colourful and fun, with a great soundtrack and some real laugh out loud moments, a lot of which were quite adult. And while the majority of those jokes might go over the heads of a younger audience, I could see why it was given a 12 rating. The adventure had an emotional depth that might not grip younger kids.With regards to the cast, Margot Robbie was great in her role of stereotypical Barbie. I loved the scene where \"Ugly Betty\" (America Ferrera as Gloria) was applying Margot's make up as it seemed so ironic, but I'm afraid that Barb's leading man Ken really stole the limelight, especially with his song \"I'm Just Ken\", which has featured very heavily on my iTunes lately.Ryan Gosling was superb as the plasticised blonde and blue eyed man, although at times I wasn't sure whether his toned abs might not actually be a plastic prosthetic, because they weren't totally natural looking.However, I think that I've found a new appreciation for Ryan after the disaster that was 'La La Land' (2016), because he was just so good in this role. It was another irony that he stood out so much in a film about Barbie, which repeatedly referred to Ken as just an accessory.I also loved Rhea Perlman in her casting. The usually brassy little lady seemed perfect in her role and I thought that she could have performed Helen Mirren's Narrator part as well, because, for the amount Helen actually said, it didn't really need another celebrity and Rhea's character would have leant itself to the voiceover easily.\"Weird\" Barbie, the doll who was played with too much, performed by Kate McKinnon was fantastic and an absolutely great addition to the story.I also liked Michael Cera's character Allan, it wasn't anything very new for him, but delivered a different kind of comic relief with his subtlety and non presence.I did however feel that Will Ferrell had some typical Ferrell moments that were a bit daft and could have been left out, but in the end even he was appropriate in his part of the ditsy Mattel CEO as well.There really was an amalgamation of comedic stylings, which I felt would make it appealing to almost anyone.I'm not sure that I caught all of the cameos dotted throughout, but there were some definite surprises and I looked forward to trying to spot them all when I saw it again.I did notice that there was a lot of British actors among the cast though. At least three of them were from the TV series 'Sex Education' (2019-23).Not that I'm saying that all those Brits were a bad thing, but it was odd that they were mostly playing Americans. I would assume that a lot of it was filmed in the UK, making it easier to use them.Ultimately I enjoyed the inclusion of all of the British cast, 3 of whom that I've had the pleasure to work with myself.I specifically liked Connor Swindells as Aaron Dinkins. After his roles in 'Sex Education' and 'SAS: Rogue Heroes' (2022-) I felt that this was yet another example of his diversity.And on the topic of diversity, I really appreciated that people from all walks of life were represented in the film, but not made a fuss of or shoved in my face to prove a point that the film and Barbieland was an educated place. I spotted the Wheelchair Barbie amongst the rest, but they didn't include her in the story just to tick a box and I was glad of that, because I'm tired of films trying too hard to be politically correct and compromising the end result to achieve it. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have been happy to see her play a key role if it had been relevant to the story of course.On my second viewing of this one I felt that there was also a more subtle message about not taking people for granted and another about the fact that you can't stop things from changing. I think it was those ideas that mellowed out the overall strong female empowerment and equal rights message that rightly seemed to be the primary element of the film, because you couldn't help but feel for Ken, whilst also empathising with Barbie.I also remembered that I had thought the end montage to be somewhat lacking in power and I think that was due to the clarity and rush of the images that went by. I would have liked it to have been a bit brighter and certainly visually clearer.As a whole though it was a real pleasure to watch and left me with a smile on my face. I'm pretty sure that I will end up with it on DVD, because it was one of those films that will always make me feel a joy to watch, which I believe the world needs more of.838.49/1000.", | |
| "104": "The acting was amazing. Ryan Gosling should win an award for this. There was much laughter, tears, dancing, and conflict which all played out well. The acting resembled the characters as toys, down to every little detail. Phenomenal acting! The movie shows that Barbie and Ken, and the other characters have been completely thought out. The development was very deep and relates to the audience very well. The dialogue was great, too, as there was just enough of it, showing depth. Ties into the plot and theme thoroughly.Barbie has impacted girls for many years and the movie introduces the audience to a light hearted history of it. Barbie is supposed to be perfect and experience every day at its best. But the world of Barbie the audience sees is far from perfect, and it is separated from the real world of those who actually play with her. The plot development was amazing, as Barbie goes on a mission to discover herself and save her Barbie world. In the meantime like the slogan says, \"She's everything. He's just Ken.\" Ken is also having a crisis in being number two, and questions how he fits into the Barbie world. As both toys deal with their identity crises, the themes of empowerment, patriarchy, feminism, and being yourself comes into play. Other valuable life lessons are shown as well that makes this movie memorable for women and even men. The themes are powerful and heartwarming, yet raw and honest. The sound was bubbly and popping, the graphics impressed me the most. From the costumes, to the plasticity of objects, to the action everything was visually effective. The camera angles were also notable.This movie was very upbeat and much more hilarious than I orginally anticipated. The movie resonates with what its like as they tackle the real world. The movie brings so many elements from various generations of Barbie and the audience learns about the creator and what it means to be-Barbie. As she and Ken both question their existence, the heart of the movie centers on the impact that they make towards themselves and others. With fantastic graphics, dancing and song, humor, and life lessons this movie makes it a captivating film that everyone will surely enjoy!", | |
| "105": "I had great expectations for the Barbie movie, mainly because of the writers (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach) and the stellar cast with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling leading the way. Unfortunately I found myself disappointed, bored and shocked by some messages the movie tries to convey.Starting with what I liked, the performances were great and in particular Ryan Gosling was spectacular with a wide range of emotions and a lot of humor displayed. Also the design of the sets was inspired with a lot of references to the Barbie world and the style was unique and recognisable. Finally some jokes landed pretty well and the movie (in the first half) is pretty funny. And the positives end here.Unfortunately the negatives are much more important. Sorted in a order of increasing gravity:\n* some plot lines are bad and are closed so quickly that it would have been better not to include them in the first place. In particular I am referring to the mother/daughter one and the one about Mattel. Furthermore, the Mattel one is also a bit strange since it is useful to criticise however uses feminism to make money, while being a movie that does exactly that.* the film becomes boring in the second half. This is due to a systematic shift in tone and style since if in the first part the satire is sharp and elegant and leads to numerous bittersweet laughs, in the second half instead the movie becomes full of exposition. There are a lot of scenes where things are directly explained to the viewer (clearly considered a bit stupid) and there are some too long monologues that are both cringe and painfully written. This is a pity because some ideas explored in the second half are interesting, but due to this shift \"Barbie\" becomes so boring to enjoy them.* the messages: I found some messages the movie is trying to convey pretty baffling. First of all the film is not about parity, but rather about gender fight and I don't think this is the correct idea to give to younger viewers. I want that children/young adults get that as a society we want equal rights and opportunities, not to fight to be the dominant genere. This is also true because of the fact that there's no a single positive male figure throughout the movie because they are all treated like enemies or like total idiots. On the other side the Barbies are perfect entities. In a certain way it seemed \"Birds of Prey\" where the situation was exactly the same but in that case there weren't two of the biggest writer in Hollywood behind. Not to mention the totally worst thing that is how the Barbie solve the main conflict: instead of using intelligence they use seduction. This is so wrong because in a movie that wants to be empowering, women are depicted as better suited in seducing instead of thinking. All of these ruin other good ideas like for instance the inversion of the point of view that is useful to explain to men what women in our society has to live every day. That was pretty interesting but it gets lost between what mentioned before.In conclusion, I was very disappointed by the \"Barbie\" movie because I actually had high hopes knowing that it could have been a fun movie with positive messages, but it was the total opposite. I've seen it with both females and males and the reactions were generally mixed and no gender pattern was evidenced in terms of appreciating it or not. However the great merit that I have to give credit to the movie is that it triggers a discussion capable of actually enrich people through sharing of experiences. And so, even if I didn't like it I'd suggest you to watch \"Barbie\" and discuss of it with your families and friends!", | |
| "106": "What a film! I was ecstatic about seeing Barbie and it definitely exceeded my expectations by far. As much as I was excited, I was a bit scared that the stakes were too high; after all Barbie is an icon and a part of so many people's childhood. For a film like this it's very easy to create something corny, disappointing, or unappealing to viewers. I'm so glad that Gretta Gerwig stepped up to the plate and created an absolute masterpiece.The film starts with showing the origin of Barbie in 1959. It explains how little girls used to play with baby dolls and commonly acted as their mothers, but wanted a doll that they could really play with instead of taking care of. And that's how Barbie came about. Then we see the beautiful Barbie world where every Barbie is a part of something. We see Barbie doctors, Barbie novelists, Barbie astronauts, Barbie everything! And in Barbie's world every day is perfect. The star of the show Margot Robbie plays \"Stereotypical Barbie\" and she starts to notice strange things happening to her. She has to visit the real world to see who was playing with her to discover why these strange things are happening. The rest of the film is about Barbie trying to find herself and discovering scary aspects of the real world that she was blinded by before.There was so much love put into this film and you can really see that on screen. The comedy in this film is so on point that the whole theater was laughing when I went to see this film. Huge kudos to Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, writers of this incredible screenplay. The script is pure genius; I love how the film really honors Barbie and what she was made for. The cast of this film is exceptional. Margot Robbie was originally producing the film until she was cast as Barbie. Margot is the perfect Barbie; she plays this role so well she is like a real-life Barbie on screen. The way she embodies Barbie is just so perfect. I was really excited to see Ryan Gosling as Ken since he's one of my favorite actors. There's a lot of controversy as to why Ryan Gosling was cast as Ken but he makes perfect sense. He plays Ken so well he really nails what it means to be Ken in this film. America Ferrera plays a Mom named Gloria and she is such an interesting character. She plays a mom who's going through struggles of just being a woman and I'm sure her character will speak to so many mothers. It would be a crime to not talk about the insane set. Funny enough, Greta Gerwig used so much pink paint for this set that it actually drained an entire company's supply. The Barbie world is exactly as you'd expect it -- from Barbie dream-houses to Barbie beaches -- everything looks like it came right out of a toy store. Rodrigo Prieto shot this film and the cinematography is extraordinary. As someone who grew up with Barbie, this film really speaks to me. I am in love with the score of this film. Billie Eilish's \"What was I made for\" is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard. This film is packed with so many great artists like Tame Impalla, Lizzo, Dua Lipa and many others.The film is packed with so many messages. I was surprised with how many topics this film covers -- what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a mother, what it's like to grow up in today's society, what is love, and so much more. This film is a celebration of women and girlhood but I also love how it represents men. Ken is discovering how men are viewed in today's society in a similar way to how Barbie is discovering who she is.I give Barbie 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 18, plus adults. By Zoe C. KIDS FIRST!", | |
| "107": "Margot Robbie's performance is perfect, and no other actor could've embodied the character as well as she does. However, Ryan Gosling is the film-stealer. I often forget his comedic talent, and he's given a lot of room to flex it in this. A cleverly executed Matchbox Twenty joke is particularly memorable.While cynics and perhaps realists will argue that the film is primarily a marketing vehicle to sell Barbie dolls, it does attempt to carry a moral message. However, the commercial aspect of the movie undercuts the credibility of this message somewhat.The movie starts off well, being smartly self-aware and offering a tongue-in-cheek critique of itself with many winks to the audience. However, as it progresses, the commentary on feminism and the patriarchy becomes heavy-handed, especially in the dialogue-heavy third act, which weighs down the overall narrative.The set and wardrobe designs are a standout. I think kids will love this part alone, even if some of the humor and social commentary will go over their heads.Overall, it's a fun film but not without its flaws. It's likely to spark discussion due to its blunt societal commentary. If you're looking for a visually impressive movie to entertain the kids, and you're willing to enjoy it without analyzing its message too deeply, then it's an enjoyable watch.", | |
| "108": "The big summer blockbuster of 2023 is a wonderful visual spectacle with a great deal of creative physical comedy, centered in and around the universe of Barbie, Mattel's historic toy doll. Unfortunately, the film tries to be and do much more than what the filmmakers ultimately are able to control and reel in. That a movie about Barbie would be guilty of Americanization is no surprise, and in many ways more than befitting, but the Americanization here isn't just about the history of the toy itself and all its cultural impacts - Barbie also views everything through the eyes of Hollywood anno 2023 - which arguably is a very particular and perhaps not that representative outlook. Instead of utilizing the fine foundation laid in the film's first third, director and co-writer Greta Gervig (Lady Bird, Little Women) gets herself lost in a trite, divisive and most likely futile battle of the sexes, which will leave youths - and perhaps particularly Europeans - feeling confused and conflicted. The filmmakers' supposed toying with stereotypes ultimately becomes more of a playing into them, especially towards the end when Gerwig staggers along desperately looking for closure and something meaningful to say. Alas, Barbie has ended up as a rather sad symptom of our times, when it could have been the wonderfully funny piece of femininity-appraising escapism it started out as. There are nonetheless several highlights here, such as the delightfully absurd opening sequence (a fine nod to Kubrick's 2001), the initial introduction of Barbie and Ken's days in Barbieland, and - of course - their first encounter with the real world.", | |
| "109": "I think part of my brain rejects this for being a feature-length toy commercial, but it's a very small part of my brain (and that really wasn't where my mind was for the majority of the movie).Overall, it's probably about as good as an official live-action Barbie movie could ever be, with Greta Gerwig clearly given plenty of freedom to have fun with a property/movie like this. It's bigger in scale than her previous two films (Ladybird and Little Women, both of which I prefer to this by a little), and the scale and creativity of the film really kept the momentum going. It's very funny in parts, and though I guess it's sort of a kid-friendly movie, there are tons of jokes and references that'll go over the heads of younger kids. \"What's a fascist?\" is something I heard a four-year-old ask one of their parents halfway through the movie, and that in itself was kind of funny to hear.Margot Robbie is good as always, and is given a surprising amount to do emotionally. It is Barbie's movie, but Ryan Gosling's Ken often steals the film whenever he's on-screen (as the film's wrapping up, there's a fairly awkward pivot to \"oh yeah, this is Barbie's movie;\" it's even addressed in dialogue). I don't think that's a problem, because he's hilarious - it might be one of the best performances he's ever given. I also don't think his character is used \"just\" to attack men, the way I imagine some people will read into it. Barbie does the most learning and has the biggest character arc, sure, but Ken goes through one too, and I thought they wrapped up that side of things nicely.It's an enjoyable movie that deals with some hefty topics (namedropping plenty of words younger kids won't have even heard before) in a mostly consistent way. Some tonal shifts are jarring, and while the vast majority of jokes land, I don't think all did. It does also feel a bit too directly like a commercial at a couple of points, especially early on, but I did expect that. And it's a testament to the quality of the movie that me and all my anti-consumerist thoughts didn't overpower my mind throughout most of this.", | |
| "110": "Barbie is based on Mattel's iconic plastic dolls of the same name. Barbie(Margot Robbie) lives a very happy life in Barbie Land, along with her fellow Barbies, Ken(Ryan Gosling) & his fellow Kens. Suddenly, Barbie goes through an existential crisis that makes her question Barbie Land & the truth of her existence.Barbie is a phenomenal film. Director Greta Gerwig has given us a movie that is a tribute to everyone who used to play with Barbie dolls during their childhood, while also making fun of all the tropes of Barbie dolls & Ken dolls. This film is hilarious, with a few emotional scenes that will make you tear up & a beautiful message at the end. The production design by Sarah Greenwood is awe-inspiring. All the songs are foot-tappingly flawless. The choreography is faultless. Margot Robbie is outstanding as Barbie. Robbie's multi-layered portrayal of the titular character, proves that she's the perfect choice to play Barbie. Ryan Gosling is spectacular as Ken. Gosling portrays a wide range of emotions, effortlessly. Ryan Gosling's Ken is the highlight of the movie. America Ferrera is fantastic as Gloria. Ariana Greenblatt is awesome as Sasha. Will Ferrell is hysterical as the Mattel CEO. Michael Cera is perfect as Allan. Helen Mirren is epic as the Narrator. The supporting cast is superb. Barbie is a must watch for a burst of childhood nostalgia & fans of Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling. Wear a bright pink shirt, grab your friends, head to your nearest theatre, watch it on the big screen & have an absolute whale of a time!", | |
| "111": "Margot Robbie had a vision, and she was the driving force to get the Barbie movie produced by none other than world-class director Greta Gerwig.The beginning of the movie brings us back to the first trailers for the movie, when little girls discovered a new doll, the first Barbie. She was different than any other doll because she was not a baby-doll, no, she was a woman-doll; a doll which could inspire the imagination and aspiration of children.Margot Robbie plays the main character \"stereotypical Babie\" and brings her to life in every detail and introduces us to Barbieworld with all her friends. The perfect repeated \"best day every day\" gets disrupted by unknown circumstances and \"stereotypical Barbie\" accompanied by \"her\" Ken, portrayed by Ryan Gosling go on an adventure of their lifetime to the \"real world\". The discoveries and experiences that these two make have major impacts in both worlds.This movie is worthwhile watching for the costumes and displays as much as for the social criticism of our time. The words of Gloria's (America Ferrera) speech hit the nail on its head regarding the daily struggles of women in our modern world. This movie is a depiction of reality and a dream world. It shows the possibilities as much as the shortcomings of our times with humor and fun, a little bit of sarcasm, paired with the innocence of someone new to our reality!Highly recommended for everyone who is not too shy to face real world struggle in a pink coated Barbie world.", | |
| "112": "Firstly, let's start with what was good about Barbie and move forward from there. The colourful palette, the set designs and costumes were perfect to bring you into a world that doesn't take itself too seriously. Barbie wasn't meant to get all philosophical and it wasn't necessarily supposed to provide us with a point. What it gave little girls is happiness and entertainment value. In the early stages of the movie it undoubtedly had potential to be a lot of fun with a comedic effect.This silly satire soon finds itself covering too much ground about how the world of Barbie is female dominant, alongside how the real world is male dominant. It evolves into a feminist movement film that is a little dated, then slowly back peddles and suggests everyone should be who they want to be. That all you have to do is find out who you are and what your purpose is. It almost becomes lost within its own thought pattern without really conveying anything meaningful. It feels like a load of thoughts with no conclusion or that somebody has thrown a pad of post-it notes in the air. The musical tone and lighthearted comedy that seemed set to propel this movie into box office glory, felt neglected to some extent, when real world themes were contemplated. What was working at first will slowly devour with over dramatic speeches of everything that is wrong with a male dominated world. As well as other complaints about having so much on your plate and being too god damn tired.Barbie finds herself wanting to leave Barbieland to feel real emotions rather than go through day to day life like everything is perfect. The cross-over between worlds worked to some degree, to me it was showing the girl leaving behind her dolls and becoming a woman to join the sometimes scary, but real world. (Margot Robbie) portrays Barbie very simplistic, her approach works as that seems to be what Greta Gerwig aimed to show. Greta Gerwig differentiates the worlds developing both Barbie and Ken as they learn from their experience interacting with the real world. There appeared to be references to the Matrix to me as Barbie is given a choice between staying in Barbie world or going to the real world to discover what's causing her malfunctions. Also the owner Ruth Marianna Handler gives off an Oracle vibe in the scene where she offers Barbie tea. One little girl blames Barbie claiming she set women back decades making them stereotypical girly girls without a purpose except looking pretty putting clothes on and off and doing house chores.(Ryan Gosling) gives Ken a lot of charisma and is purposely obnoxious at times creating an antagonist for Barbie. The Ken's are portrayed as weak little love puppies in Barbie world without a purpose juxtaposed with how women are received in the real world. Gosling reminds me of a wrestling villain that the crowd are wanting to hate on, he is a little over the top as he is turned against his fellow Ken's by Barbie manipulation. The poor performance of Gosling attempting to cry towards the climax added to the later half of the movie losing it way. It all becomes a little too silly leaving the audience flabbergasted at what absurdity they just witnessed.", | |
| "113": "Ever since I saw Lady Bird, I knew that I will love Greta and her style. It was so human and it spoke to me. So when Barbie was released, there was no doubt I will like this film-but not this much. In 114 minutes, Greta serves everything that she intended sending a beautiful positive message about womanhood. What it means to be human, what it means to live in this broken patriarchal system. The message is clear: to be human is to feel. This movie is funny. And as someone who is not a fan of American humor, that's a big one. But I laughed through the entire movie. I also shared a tear. I loved America's monologue about womanhood. I loved Dame Helen Mirren as a narrator-great choice. Margot is a star. Her Barbie is so authentic. She portrays comedy, as well as the emotional part of the character so well. That last scene was so good. Now I can't skip the star of the film, and that is Ryan Gossling. Ken was hilarious and I will quote him for the rest of my life. But also shows that Greta is sweet to men offering them compassion by showing them that they are enough as it is, they don't have to be more than that. Greta (and Noah), really made a beautiful love letter to womanhood by showing all the parts of it-please the scene with the old lady had my heart. Overall it's already classic and the movie, that will probably be one of my comfort movies.", | |
| "114": "Oh my goodness, where do I even begin with \"Barbie\" (2023)? This film is an absolute delight and a true masterpiece that will leave you in awe. Directed by the incredibly talented Greta Gerwig and starring the stunning Margot Robbie as the iconic doll herself, \"Barbie\" is a cinematic experience like no other.From start to finish, \"Barbie\" captivates audiences with its seamless blend of adventure, comedy, fantasy, and romance. Gerwig's direction is nothing short of brilliant as she brings the world of Barbie to life with a perfect balance of humor and depth. The humor, in particular, is off the charts hilarious, with giant laugh-out-loud moments that had me clutching my sides. It's remarkable how the humor appeals to viewers of all ages, making it one of the funniest movies of the year.But what truly sets \"Barbie\" apart is its profound and thought-provoking narrative. The film revolves around Barbie's existential crisis and her quest to find meaning in her existence. This exploration of Barbie's identity as a feminist symbol is incredibly compelling and challenges societal norms and expectations surrounding femininity and girlhood. Can a doll with impossibly perfect features and a smile of perpetual happiness truly embody feminist ideals? This deep, existential question lingers long after the credits roll, prompting introspection and discussion.Margot Robbie's performance as Barbie is nothing short of extraordinary. She brings a charisma and depth to the character that is truly captivating. Watching her journey of self-discovery unfold on screen is an absolute joy. And let's not forget Ryan Gosling's portrayal of Ken, which complements Robbie's Barbie perfectly. Their on-screen chemistry is off the charts and adds another layer of excitement to the film.I should mention that \"Barbie\" has received widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences, and it's easy to see why. It strikes a perfect balance between appealing to longtime fans and captivating new audiences. The movie's mass appeal transcends age, gender, and previous Barbie doll opinions, making it a delightful and engaging experience for viewers of all backgrounds.Despite its PG-13 rating, \"Barbie\" remains family-friendly and suitable for teenagers and older kids. The clever marketing of the film ensures that it appeals to a wide range of audiences, making it a perfect choice for family movie nights.In conclusion, \"Barbie\" is an absolute triumph in every aspect of filmmaking. With its stellar cast, innovative approach, brilliant humor, and profound exploration of societal themes, it more than deserves a perfect 10/10 rating. This cinematic gem is a must-watch for anyone seeking an enchanting and thought-provoking experience that transcends the boundaries of age and nostalgia. Brace yourself to be dazzled and captivated by the delightful world of \"Barbie.\" Trust me, you won't be disappointed!", | |
| "115": "I wanted to like it. But I just didn't. The story wasn't very compelling to me because it seemed as if the entire point of much of the movie was to provide learning moments for viewers with some slapstick comedy and quick-delivery comedy. The story itself should nearly always be more important.All of the goofiness largely would have been excused to me if the comedic moments were really funny. And the way this film was hyped made me think it was going to be super funny. But I rarely laughed. And that's even more of a shame given the talent assembled for the cast. There also weren't many surprising reveals to the audience when maybe there could have been if things were presented differently.I also found it annoying to see Will Farrell play a similar part to what he played in the Lego Movie. Sure he's a CEO rather than a dad. But he was filling the same evil disciplinarian adult role for a movie about a kid's toy. It just felt lazy to not cast someone else for that part, and just made me wish the movie was able to provide the humor and intrigue that the first Lego movie provided to its audience.I'd rather this film felt like a comedy or dramatic experience which has some relevant takes on feminism and culture than thinly veiled sermon with occasional jokes that land amongst a ton that didn't land.I also felt like the movie had way too many characters and ideas thrown together. There was Barbie, Ken, many other Barbies, many other Kens, the crazy Barbie, the CEOs, the mother, the teen, the narrator and more. And it's not just that they had all of these characters. They also tried to have some learning moments delivered-by or delivered-to a majority of these characters. I felt like they would have been better off trying to deliver all these lessons over 3-5 movies rather than 1. And obviously you don't want it ever to seem like the lessons are being delivered but experiences through the story and the consequences of the actions and stakes created by the characters' decisions. Instead there didn't seem like any stakes because the Barbies didn't seem to fit in the real world and the real people didn't fit in the Barbie world.Honestly my favorite part of the movie was a lot of the Easter egg stuff about odd Barbie products over the years. And Easter eggs shouldn't be the best part of any movie. They should be a bonus to the overall experience of the story.", | |
| "116": "This movie was so unexpected.Completely opposite to what I thought it would be.The best movie I've seen in a long time.There were moments it had me laughing and moments in tears. It gently pushed me into self reflection and introspection which I never realised I needed to do for the longest of time.The movie dealt with so many issues, such as societal expectancies, emotional depence, perfectionism, stress, anxiety.. It brought forward self awareness, emotional intelligence, and so many insights into ones self.This movie is a must see for all women and men who are open to growth and developing their mindsets.As a millenial this movie resonated on another level, it reminded me of the self I was at a younger age, before falling into societal norms.Will definitely watch it again and again.", | |
| "117": "I suspect this is a personal thing. Who you are defines what you may get from this.Me - I'm well into my mid life (had my crisis already thank you). I have daughters and both have watched this. I'm also pretty laid back to life. I encourage my children to be whatever the heck they wanna be and help them as much as I can.Now to the movie.For an afternoon showing, it was 2/3 full and mostly women and girls. Just an observation. But it was.The film is fun. It's tootles along with lots of off beat moments, a great monologue near the end (got teary there), silliness and self awareness (lots of self referential humour).My girls enjoyed it. I did too but not sure it's like 9/10 good. It's definitely enjoyable but 7/10 good.A Barbie movie could have been really bad. Really it could have been. But as has been shown by Lego movie, Detective Pickachu and few others....you can take something predominantly aimed at children and make it into something that both adults and children can engage with.The core message is great.I must say, I have heard a lot about Ryan Gosling being funny. He's ok. At least to me, he wasn't laugh out loud funny. There are much funnier things in this.But it is funny and enjoyable enough.Will Barbie dramatically change the landscape for dialogue? No, I don't think it will. It will though give pause for thought to all those who do go view it.A good, fun movie worth paying for the entertainment.", | |
| "118": "The movie is surprisingly well written. Yes it is a fluff piece, it's called Barbie after all, but for what it was a lot of thought went into all the little details.Fun both in barbieland and the real world, the jokes were surprising as quite a few of them were at Mattel's expense.It tackles real world issues but in a fun and light hearted way. It is however 100% targeted at women, I'd say middle aged since that was the majority of the theater and the topics not really suitable for young girls.I do wonder if it was a bit harsh on men as it did lean way too much into He vs She debate in the second half.Margot Robbie was amazing as Barbie but Ryan Gosling very much stole the show. He owned every second of his screen time.", | |
| "119": "Movies are odd sometimes. In this case, I feel like the review I would have written the second the credits rolled would've been more positive than the one I'm watching now, a couple of hours later. But, as I've had time to sit with this one, I can't help but feel my opinion on it... Diminishing.Let's start on the positive though. This movie is fun. A lot of fun. It's funny, clever and it's trying to get a message across. The actors are all doing a fine job and while I might not have personally thought them to be perfectly cast, that doesn't take away from the fine job that they all did.Beyond the superficial though, I think this movie starts to suffer the more and more I dig into it. I think the pacing is just a bit off. It's either going too slow or too fast, most of the time, not necessarily to a tremendous degree, but certainly a noticeable one. Then there's the whole message of the movie, which is certainly important but is something that feels like it just came too late. I don't know that we need this particular take on sex and gender roles right now. Again, not because it's not relevant, but because other things have beat this to the finish line and frankly, done it better. This is like swinging through a McDonalds to get a Barbie pink strawberry shake after having had a delicious meal already. Sure it's fun, but it's largely pointless. It's the fluff following the real deal. That's not exactly a dealbreaker, but for a film that spends so much of its time and energy on certain things, it definitely felt diminished by the fact that its really just retreading ground already walked, albeit in a shinier package. Between that and the runaway hype train on this, all the controversy and coverage it's gotten, it's hard to not walk away from this and feeling a bit disappointed.Again, fun movie. Enjoyable movie for the most part even. It feels very much like something with superficial popularity though. Yes, it's being talked about, it's in the conversation and people are paying attention to it now but I have a very hard time imagining this having the same kind of lasting impact as other films might. And maybe that's not what it's trying to do, maybe I'm prescribing too much meaning to it, that could very well be true. But, for a movie so focused on certain things, it's hard not to draw those conclusions.", | |
| "120": "This is.... Was.... Admirably!I'm absolutely delighted!I don't want to write, it's a huge review of Barbie, therefore:\n\"Barbie\" is a great philosophical film to think about and laugh about.I think that this tape will appeal to everyone, from collectors of Barbie dolls and those who rummage around in the Barbie universe (like me, for example) and ending with those people who do not know anything about it at all.Margot Robbie is the perfect Barbie; Ryan Gosling is silly, but chic and perfect Ken. Their tandem is gorgeous, every time they were, together; I was very pleased to see them.Also, I was very pleased to see John Cena, Dua Lipa and Kate McKinnon. They're gorgeous.The jokes in Barbie are orious, and in the finale I roared.The plot is excellent, interesting, easy and, as I wrote above, philosophical.I haven't watched Oppenheimer yet, but I already think that Barbie is a more serious film against it!The soundtrack of \"Barbie\" is wonderful; I listen to it every day now.In general, I did not notice the disadvantages of Barbie, but noticed some advantages.As a result, \"Barbie\" is an ideal, wonderful film to laugh and be sad and think.I put the tape 10 out of 10 and if you have it in cinemas, then run and watch it!IT'S WORTH WATCHING ON THE BIG SCREEN!!REVISION IN CINEMA!!Well, let me remind you for those who have forgotten or for those who have not read my last review of «Barbie» that in July of this year I watched it in a soapy but normal screen.After watching it, I was delighted and decided that I had to go to the cinema and watch this film again.And finally, today (September 9), the unofficial show of «Barbie» officially began, and just today I went to it!Even the price of 500 rubles did not stop me, because when I watched the screen, I understood that it is better to see such a movie on the big screen!In short, my opinion has not changed!«Barbie» - is still a great philosophical film to think about and laugh at.I think this is the end of it, because I don't want to write the same thing as in July!I will add that I am still delighted with this film and I again give it 10 out of 10 and again I want to recommend it for viewing, especially in the cinema!Because, if you compare viewing in the cinema and in the screens, then these are completely different things and in the cinema I got even more emotions and delight from this film!P. S: Well, now I'm waiting for «Oppenheimer», but I don't know when I'm going to see it, haha.", | |
| "121": "Director Greta Gerwig takes us on a fun ride in the life of stereotypical Barbie ( Margot Robbie) as she navigates through various aspects of her life. She is joined by Ken ( Ryan Gosling) in this fantasy of pink decor, colourful costumes and the kitsch sets in a dream like atmosphere . The movie has exquisite cinematography ,melodious songs and attractive dances. There is an innocent quirkiness in the characters and the intermittent light humour keeps one amused. There is fun and fantasy all the way in all colourful scenes. The rainbows in the background add to the beauty. The cinematography has carefully framed fabulous visuals which will appeal to all audiences. The highlight of course is the superb acting of Margot Robbie who excells in exuding the innocent charm of the much loved character. She is definitely a refined artist who gets under the skin of the character. Ryan Gosling also does well as Ken showing his versatility. His one liners are said with his typical charm which will please his fans. The special effects help to create the dream like ambience and are pleasing to watch. I forsee the movie getting nominated for best actress ( Margot Robbie ) and for production design, costume design , make up and cinematography.", | |
| "122": "I appreciated it but wasn't a huge fan of Greta Gerwig's first two films. I knew absolutely nothing about Barbie except that it was a doll. The trailers didn't impress me. I slept less than an hour last night. I watched the movie alone surrounded by teenagers who cheered when the WB logo appeared in pink.The conditions were set for this to go wrong, but Gerwig's vision for Barbie won me over. The film starts in the perfect, goofy, and funny Barbie Land, but it doesn't take long to move to the real world. Curiously, while most of the action in the real world works well, it's also where I felt some issues, mainly with the Mattel executives' characters. Let's say it was the only time I felt that the silliness of the film (and it's indeed very silly) went too far. The third act wraps everything up perfectly, with some fantastic speeches and a strong conclusion. Margot Robbie is great in the role of Barbie, but there's a big surprise in America Ferrera, and Ryan Gosling steals all the attention whenever he's on screen. All the supporting cast is hilarious.Younger audiences will love the colours, the incredible production design, and the light tone. However, this is a very adult film in the themes it addresses, managing to be highly relevant without ever ceasing to entertain. The feminist traits are well-defined, and it's an homage to women, but not only that. It's primarily about self-discovery, finding our own path, and being true to ourselves.", | |
| "123": "I had no idea what to expect going into Barbie. I had no interest in seeing a movie about Barbie but was immediately sold on the highly talented Margot Robbie and the awesome Ryan Gosling. But I was still nervous that the comedy would be aimed strictly at women and would be difficult for a guy to enjoy.To my surprise, I didn't feel that at all. This movie is hilarious. It's the kind of stupid-funny I love, the kind usually reserved for \"dude movies.\" Something you're more likely to see in a Will Ferrell movie. I was not aware Ryan Gosling could be so funny.Even though the majority of the movie is silly and fun, Margot Robbie still gives a great performance, as usual. She continues to prove she's a star. And most of the supporting cast are welcomed additions.I found Barbie highly entertaining. I think most will enjoy it, except maybe guys who are sensitive to anything empowering women or making fun of men. That's not me. The parts that made me laugh the most are the jokes about the guys.(1 viewing, early fan screening UltraScreen 7/19/2023)", | |
| "124": "It took me quite some time to decipher this movie. I felt like I was missing something, that there was more to it than first apparent. The acting, the dialogue, the sets, the costume: technically it is polished and purposeful; yet I was utterly unable to engage with it. And finally it hit me: that is because it is actually a commercial.Moreover it is nothing else than a commercial. It doesn't deliver anything more than promote a product. Take the product away and there is nothing. Take away Barbie the brand, and the film is devoid of any substance. It's empty. Unlike the Lego movie for instance, similarly an unapologetic ad for children's toys, that managed to be a decent adventure film that celebrated the creativity that toys enable.Barbie functions as a film but only on the most superficial ways.It has a story, characters and lines of dialogue. And while some of the dialogue is clever and funny, and some of the characterization opens the door to some interesting character study, overall it is weighted down by the absolute obtuseness of the plot. The worst flaw is that it doesnt give anything of substance to do to Barbie, the protagonist. Almost every other character is moving the plot forward by either taking action or moving the story forward by emotional growth. Barbie herself is just a side character that goes from A to B and back to A. Physically, as well as emotionally. Ken has a far more interesting journey and arc. Gloria has a more important role in the story. Arguably even Sasha and Allen work better as characters with whom you relate and empathise.The worst thing is that the movie is not even a commercial for the dolls. Rather it is a commercial for the idea of the doll. I don't know if we can get more post-modern than that. Barbie is not an actual doll in the movie, but she is literally the thing you think of when you describe someone as a \"Barbie\" Yet the film is very much so a commercial for Mattel's Barbie and the intellectual property it represents. I think it is crass and pedestrian. The movie is purely a corporate maneuver to pivot from one business to another, from manufacturing toys to manufacturing content.That is why this film throws so much at the wall to see what sticks; that is why when Barbie leaves fake plastic Barbie-land, she escapes to fake plastic Los Angeles and nobody picks up on the irony. That's why they have garbage collector Barbies in a world where there is no garbage. That's why they have women Barbie doctors that aren't actual doctors and when later Ken meets a real doctor in the real world, you're waiting for a call-back that never happens.This movie is the absolute opposite of art. To call it a film is an insult to everything we hold sacred.", | |
| "125": "Wow!!! Barbie really brought my attention in the cinemas! It made me laugh and cry at the same time. I was literally enjoying the best moments in the film, and it really is a beautiful movie, and Barbie was made for kids, but there are also not meant for kids.Margot Robbie is brilliant for this role as Barbie, and she's the right girl for the job to portray the character, and her performance was so beautiful, and Ryan Gosling steals the show! Barbie promises one thing, and that one thing that it promises to be, is a personification, of a Barbie doll that little girls have been playing with sense she was made 80 years ago.The movie also learns about female experience, it's also about feminism, and men needs to understand how woman feel, and truly needs to know how they feel. And I gotta say, this movie learns so well, and tells a very good story, and how well it performs in the movie.Greta Gerwig did a fabulous job directing, and making this movie, and she earns the spotlight in filmmaking history, along with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and the rest of the Cast and Crew!If you like Barbie, or if you don't like Barbie, then this is the movie for you to watch in the cinemas!10/10.", | |
| "126": "Oh, where do I even begin? Barbie 2023 is a tour de force that has left me utterly captivated, enchanted, and spellbound. Every moment of this cinematic marvel was nothing short of pure excellence, deserving nothing less than a perfect 10 out of 10 rating!From the very first frame, Barbie 2023 instantly transports you into a world of wonder and imagination. The stunning visuals and breathtaking cinematography create a visually vibrant landscape that is impossible to resist. The attention to detail in the set design, costumes, and visual effects is truly remarkable, making every scene a feast for the eyes.The stellar cast effortlessly breathes life into their respective characters, adding depth, charm, and charisma to the already flawless screenplay. The talent on display is simply extraordinary! Each actor brings their A-game, delivering nuanced performances that perfectly blend humor, emotion, and excitement. It's a testament to their skill and commitment that I found myself wholly invested in their journey from start to finish.Oh, the storyline! It takes you on an unforgettable adventure filled with unexpected twists, heartwarming moments, and valuable life lessons. Barbie 2023 seamlessly balances elements of fantasy, comedy, and emotion, creating a multifaceted narrative that appeals to audiences of all ages. This film speaks to the child in all of us while also addressing significant themes such as self-discovery, friendship, and embracing one's true identity.The musical score is a true auditory delight, enhancing each scene with its uplifting melodies and catchy tunes. It beautifully complements the storytelling, capturing the essence of every emotion conveyed on screen, leaving a lasting impact on your heart and soul.What sets Barbie 2023 apart is its ability to transcend the boundaries of an animated film and become a source of inspiration and empowerment. It effortlessly showcases strong, fearless female characters who break stereotypes and defy expectations. The messages of self-acceptance, confidence, and the power of dreaming big resonate deeply, instilling a sense of empowerment within the audience.Furthermore, the film's impeccable pacing keeps you engaged and invested throughout its entirety. There was never a dull or predictable moment, which is a testament to the brilliant direction and editing. The humor is spot-on, providing genuine laughs while also seamlessly meshing with the more emotional and poignant moments.In summary, Barbie 2023 is a true masterpiece that surpasses all expectations. It is a film that will make you believe in magic, ignite your imagination, and remind you of the sheer beauty and power of the human spirit. Every aspect, from the stellar acting performances to the awe-inspiring visuals and the unforgettable soundtrack, is flawlessly executed, making it an instant classic for generations to come.In my humble opinion, Barbie 2023 deserves nothing less than a resounding 10 out of 10 rating. It is a timeless gem that will continue to inspire, entertain, and uplift audiences for years to come. Do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in this enchanting world - you won't regret it!", | |
| "127": "Even though I'm not the target audience for this movie, I thought Barbie might impress me due to Greta Gerwig's previous works but I'm disappointed.The main problem is that the overall message isn't clear. This doesn't go to say that the movie is frivolous. What happens is that it gets lost trying to explore multiple meaningful topics and never reaches the punchline. It addresses relevant themes like patriarchy, sexism, gender roles, existencialism, imperfection, individuality and identity but always on a shallow level. Every scene in this script tries to convince you that it's saying something profound when in reality it sacrifices depth and character development in favor of cheap humor, which results in an immature and non-compelling production.In contrast, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were perfectly casted and their performances are as good as the screenplay allows them to be. The production and costume design from Barbie Land are noteworthy too.Hopefully Greta Gerwig will release other movies in the future as brilliant as Lady Bird, which I genuinely think deserves 5 stars.", | |
| "128": "Without consumerism, without belief, without plastic accessory and hope for a perfect day, where would Barbie find herself?And more importantly where would we find ourselves?In a plot that seems stitched together like an old pair of vintage jeans (that you just can't let go of), Greta Gerwig serves us a platter of modern satire and deep analysis of the condition that we find ourselves in today.Barbie is perfect. Until she's not. And she's becomes accustomed to our culture. The perspective of an otherwise perfect doll born from a matriarchy is wholly interesting and captivating as we laugh, hate and cry throughout the movie. Barbie must find out what is wrong with her owner but in doing so she discovers imperfect humanity and falls in love with it. This is the story and it is told brilliantly.There is no need to mention the phenomenal performances by each and every actor in this film. The set design, the costumes, the cinematography are all a testament to Greta Gerwigs skill as a director.To view this film as merely a feminist blockbuster is to ignore the fact that feminism is not just woman's problem but a humanity's problem. This is what the movie displays. Go into it with an open mind and you will see that it does not preach for women to rule men but for men and women to discover themselves without being pressured by the culture around them. A message which needs to be broadcast across the world in a time of such needless division.We are all forced to live like dolls in this world and we must escape from this and discover ourselves. It is amazing to see Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach tackle such daring themes and pull it off. The comedy throughout provided by celebrity cameos and hilarious satire is spot on.The soundtrack is astounding and in particular Billie Eilish's song \"What was I made for?\" is a fantastic close to the journey of discovery that Barbie and Ken have been through.A brilliant achievement in modern film making that makes me hopeful for the future as we tackle more and more complex issues head on - rather than watch boring old men debate uselessness on YouTube.", | |
| "129": "Yes, we have a socially relevant film, perhaps with topics already touched on in other works, but we must recognize that it was necessary to do it from the perspective, the seal and the criticism of and towards the figure of Barbie. The subjects touched on are explicitly verbalized in the film, it doesn't allow for such a deep analysis without being redundant with the message delivered.If we get into the technical fibers of the film, the script and the performance of Ryan Gosling is the highlight of the film. Unlike my fellow critics and cinephiles, I don't think Margot Robbie gave an awards-worthy performance. It's a good performance that meets the range that the script demands, but it's not particularly outstanding, as it was, for example, in Babylon.The direction work is conformist and the editing has a couple of visible errors. I'm not a fan of musicals, so in the end I ended up a little bored.Relevant film, to see once and look for something else.", | |
| "130": "I say this without a shred of irony; Greta Gerwig's Barbie is undoubtedly the film we so desperately need right now. This is the movie of our time - a film that shows us what life and society are like now, as well as shows us how we can do better. Plus, the movie is pure joy! It's a perfect mix of existentialism, heartfelt and important social-commentary and unapologetic silliness. This is the most fun I've had at a movie in a long time - and yet thanks to Gerwig's incredible script it also manages to be very a profound exploration of feminism, existentialism, the patriarchy, and masculinity all packaged in a satirical musical comedy homage to the fabric of cinema.This movie is so hard for me to review... because it's just SO GOOD! Like oh my god go see it right now, it's incredible, important, and so much fun! Genuinely, it's the most fun I've had at a movie in a long time - it's filled with pure joy and hope! Barbie exceeded all my expectations and completely lives up to the hype surrounding it! Honestly, it's pretty much a perfect film! I had a freaking blast with the movie - I loved everything it did! It's pretty much the funnest movie ever!As I write this review and reflect on the film, I had the sudden urge to revisit Greta Gerwig's breakout directorial effort; Lady Bird, and was struck by how strong and unique a voice Gerwig has as a filmmaker. Having seen her take on Little Women and now Barbie, I can easily say she is one of the most interesting and talented filmmakers working today! I'm super impressed with Gerwig as a filmmaker - all her movies are completely different and she has avoided being placed in a box. The film industry wants you to do what they know you can do very well - it wants to place filmmakers in a box, labeling someone as only a horror filmmaker, another who only does comedies, etc. Because of her ability to do LOTS of different things very well, she has been able to avoid being labeled as only one thing, making her one of the most interesting filmmakers working today. She has shown herself to be very versatile - truly on the level of Spielberg. She's easily one of the greatest of her generation. I also really love how she isn't afraid to tackle complex social issues in her films, and she somehow always manages to find really profound and interesting ways to communicate her messages. She blends social commentary with story to the point that a scene can be both emotional and profound while also hilarious and entertaining at the same time! Gerwig is also a very economical, smart storyteller - every shot, action, and line of dialogue tells us something about character or story, nothing is wasted! Plus, Gerwig seems to be endlessly creative and really commits to her visions. I've become a huge fan of Gerwig's work and Barbie has just solidified my love for her as a filmmaker!Greta Gerwig's work in Barbie is the literal definition of innovative and insightful direction with an actual authentic voice and vision to back it up. If the movie is honoured, she better come along with it. It all starts with her, and in anyone else's hands, it all falls flat. What could've been a soulless, superficial cash grab becomes something so singular, subversive, and stirring. No one could make this movie like her. She IS the movie.The secret weapon of Barbie is that magic ability Gerwig has as a writer and director to strike such a perfect balance between message and entertainment, which is something that is incredibly hard to do! Don't expect this film to be just another toy brand adaptation like the Transformers films, this is not forgettable, mindless entertainment. Barbie is trying to teach us something and has lessons that people need to hear. The commentary isn't heavy-handed or forced at all, it feels natural and, in fact, the way they comment on gender roles, masculinity and femininity, and the stereotypes of those is a lot of fun while also making you think! Like the best comedies, it is able to layer in commentary to all of the humour - the film has a really healthy sense of humour for all the themes it is exploring! I just absolutely love that in a given scene I could be laughing so hard, and yet also really engaging with the thematic and emotional material in that same scene to the extent that I did. Scenes would be both really funny and yet deep and insightful at the same time; it's very rare a film with this strong a message is this entertaining! My god Greta Gerwig is a master! Even the humour was so well done - it was so unexpected and willing to do anything! I loved it! It was a combination of both high and low-brow humour; I loved the goofiness and the slapstick elements to it, but also really loved that it managed to balance this over-the-top humour with really clever wordplay and more subtle, dryly delivered dialogue! And the fact it never took away from the seriousness or importance of a scene was just stunning to me! You can really tell Gerwig and Noah Baumbach had a lot of fun writing this one - and I'm amazed Mattel and Warner Bros allowed them to get away with some of the things they did!Though Barbie is largely silly and satirical (and yes, a \"studio movie\"), there are so many moments where Greta Gerwig's singular style shines and it takes your breath away - one of the most unforgettable moments in the film is Barbie on the bench, experiencing every human emotion for the first time. (You'll know it when you see it.) I think scenes like this show that, while Barbie does have a lot to say about womanhood and coming-of-age as a woman in a complicated and contradictory world, it's ultimately just as much about what it means to be alive and be a human in general. And no one is excluded from that. (Men, I'm looking at you.)I know a lot of guys might not think they are part of the target audience for the film. But trust me, I'm a guy, and I LOVED it. I connected with so many of the themes and loved getting to see my girlfriend connect with even more of them. This movie is for everyone. Sure, women will identify with it in some areas a lot more than others will, but there is much to offer for everyone else. This movie is a film everyone needs to see, and everyone would enjoy it if they gave it a chance! Trust me, go in with an open mind and I promise you won't be disappointed.The film tells a really moving story about what it means to be a woman in today's world, and you really don't have to be a woman to be moved by it! The screenplay and themes are so well done and get better and better as the film goes on as the deeper layers begin to reveal themselves. It's truly beautiful and so heartfelt - there is so much love in this movie for women and mothers! And really when it comes down to it, this is pretty much a story about finding yourself. It's about gender roles in society and the societal construct and expression of those roles. It's about how we cope and exist with models, role models, and other influences in society. It's a breakdown of Barbie (the doll) - what she did for the world that was both good and bad, and how she could possibly help it moving forward. Gerwig wasn't afraid to rip apart the way in which Barbie is an outdated concept and represents the worst of what we think gender means, such as how it has negatively influenced body image standards for women. Gerwig also ponders the extent that the legacy of Barbie has contributed to or detracted from feminist movements - has Barbie empowered women or instead created outdated stereotypes? Greta Gerwig almost did too good of a job for Mattel! I can't believe Mattel agreed to this, it very much critiques them and Barbie at times. It's just such a smart movie and manages to cover all these topics and themes in such a natural and entertaining way without ever feeling forced!And oh my god! America Ferrera has such a powerful monologue in the film about how women have to try to navigate society and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I saw the film. It's one of the most profound pieces of writing I've seen in quite a while and it's delivered beautifully. Probably the part of the movie that's stuck with me the most since watching it. It's sending an important message to the audience while also allowing the film's narrative to move forward smoothly and efficiently. And I can't even imagine how much it will mean to all the women and girls who see the film - I know it really meant a lot to my girlfriend and has allowed many women to feel seen! America Ferrera is the film's beating heart and luminous soul, she gives such a genuinely moving performance and a show-stopping monologue that had the audience applauding. No one can write a monologue like Greta Gerwig!As I said, the film meant a lot to my girlfriend, and I wanted to include these thoughts she had after we saw it, as I think it really shows how truly important the message of this film is:\"Barbie is a movie about growing up and realizing womanhood isn't all pink, pleasure, and possibility. Realizing that much of the world will hate you - always - no matter what you do, simply because of who you are. Realizing that there comes a point when you either have to accept complacency within the patriarchy, or ostracization and vilification outside of it.Or, maybe there's another way. Maybe womanhood isn't all the fun and freedom dreamed up in youth, but maybe we don't have to abandon it entirely either. Maybe, just maybe, once we accept and begrudgingly embrace the often brutal reality of our everyday existence - while still retaining our inner strength at the same time - we can better reconcile all these cultural complications and contradictions and find a way to move through the world cautiously, but authentically. Revelling in our - and the world's - flaws instead of willfully overlooking them in favour of the fantasy.", | |
| "131": "I am not surprised in the least that the Barbie movie is trash and a truly deplorable career choice by Margot Robbie who will probably be type cast forever in Barbie-type roles.To begin with, there is just too much pink and superficiality for this movie to inspire anything more than groans and watching your watch waiting for the whole travesty to be over. The plot is completely by the numbers as Barbie has the perfect life in Barbie World. Then suddenly she yearns to see the \"real world.\" Where did we see that storyline before? Let's see... I know... The Little Mermaid and a hundred other movies ripping off the same plot.But if that's not bad enough, we have to sit through dreary dialogue such as Ken wanting to sleep over with Barbie while being totally innocent of sex and the fairy god mother pressuring Barbie to reject the high heels in order to seek enlightenment, as if Barbie should not make the choice on her own without somebody prodding her in a particular direction.Even the people who like it can't point to anything original in it. Where that 77% comes from is beyond me.", | |
| "132": "Wow. WOW!!!!My favorite movie of all time is Aliens. It's been my favorite movie since I was 5-years-old. I'm 38 now. That has NEVER changed.Until THIS.And I bet you are thinking this review is satire. It's NOT.I'm BLOWN away. Barbie is now my favorite movie of all time - successfully unseating Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. I never thought I would see the day.The movie makes you think it's going to be just a fun, silly movie to mock. NO. It's not. It's brilliantly written. It's written so well that all the adult messaging goes right over the little kids heads but still gives them plenty of enjoyment.The movie sparked really great discussion with my daughter who is 8-years-old. We discussed why it's so important to value ourselves and what the patriarchy is. It's just... mind blowingly good.And also - a good reminder to all women. WE ARE ENOUGH. We are good enough. And we need to raise our daughters to be confident and leaders if that's the path they choose.", | |
| "133": "I'm a man in his 40's and I know I'm clearly not their target demographic. I went with my girlfriend and her two daughters and they enjoyed it.The sets were all very very well done. They put a lot of time into them. The acting was awful, but awful on purpose? I'm not sure. The plot was confusing at times. I wasn't sure what that big battle was for. Why were they fighting? No reason or lead up to it was there.I really enjoyed the scenes when they were in the real world. They did good with the 'fish out of water' thing. I laughed a couple times.The sexual innuendos were there and I thought they were funny but thankfully my girlfriends daughters did not understand them.I would say a 11-13 year old girl would enjoy this.", | |
| "134": "Barbie, the doll that destroyed stereotypes and taboos to later generate new ones and destroy them again, arrives at the cinema for the first time and does so masterfully. \"Barbie\" is a film that portrays misogyny from the perspective of the famous doll, the script is a biting criticism of patriarchy, internal problems within feminism, family and social relationships, consumerism and existentialism, all full of humor, in some scenes with a lot of black humor and the result is excellent, capturing what it wants to convey to the public. The cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto is magnificent and together with the production design they bring a fictional country full of fantastic and pink plastics. The soundtrack is tremendous, with a list of songs wisely chosen (with some exceptions). The cast is tremendous, Margot Robbie's performance is realistic and sentimental, proving to be the perfect Barbie in all aspects. Ryan Gosling plays Ken with humor and also gives him perfect dramatic nuances. America Ferrara as a working mother achieves a performance to remember, especially for her powerful monologue. Kate McKinnon gives a highly comic performance and an endearing character of a very unusual Barbie. Rhea Perlman pulls off an incredible performance wittily balancing comedy and drama. Ann Roth in a special participation of a single dialogue and a smile achieved a sublime and unforgettable performance. Helen Mirren with a voice acting as The Narrator describes everything with feeling and passion taking advantage of her imposing voice. Greta Gerwig's work as a director is genius, she manages to capture the ideas of the script, gives it her own style and pays homage to movie classics. \"Barbie\" is the movie event of the year, a rightfully earned title for this current classic.", | |
| "135": "I went into the film having high expectations, the marketing for Barbie has been really effective, I have to give them that. I had also heard good things about the movie from friends and co-workers. So I went to the cinema with my friend, dressed in pink.I was expecting a funny, girly movie with some clever commentary on patriarchy and existentialism. Instead, I found it to be campy and over the top. Campy can be fun, and there were one or two chuckle-worthy moments. But I wouldn't describe it as a funny comedy. Maybe it's because we're from Northern Europe, but the audience certainly wasn't laughing at many moments. I recall Ryan Gosling causing a few chuckles here and there though, he's got great comedic timing.The social commentary wasn't very subtle, the message was overly clear. It was so exaggerated that I found myself cringing at the lines and scenes. It could've been done much more elegantly, but it's clear that they didn't have high expectations of their audiences' intelligence.But there were some highlights too, of course: Barbieland looked amazing and I loved the costume design. Ryan Gosling was lovable and funny, even as a loser Ken. Margot Robbie was convincing as Barbie. The music fit well.Lastly, I wish I had gone into the movie without any expectations. I probably would've enjoyed it more then. It was relatively entertaining but I don't think that I'll be rewatching it. As a feminist I was disappointed in how on the nose the social commentary was. It could've been done with so much more grace and respect for the audience's intelligence. I also didn't like the way the dialogue was written over all, it was very \"wannabe-intellectual\" which I didn't find to be very funny at all. Maybe it's just the American humor that doesn't suit me.", | |
| "136": "BarbieWhat a confusing mess, firstly to be a comedy it must pass the minimum bar of 6 out loud laughs per movie, I laughed twice. The humour employed was largely slapstick and situational irony, it had roughly the same feel as the surreality of a Wes Anderson movie, but without his touch.The whole thing lacked a strong story and any sort of narrative impetus. It really was very tedious, with much the same scene content played over and over again.The styling was good as was some of the dance routines and stylised doll movements from the cast, but even this got tiresome.The cast tried their best with the material, but to my mind Margot Robbie has done two duff movies in a row, this and Babylon. I am being to think she lacks good judgement and any acting heft.In terms of other reviewers on here, they were watching a different movie and judging the vague thematic material as a plus because it looked at the power dynamic between men and women, forgetting the exploration undertaken in this movie was a historical perspective from the 1960's, when Barbie was invented and really had little application in 2023.In summation it was style over substance, it lacked humour and story and indeed anything memorable. At best this is a 3 outta 10 for the dance sequences.", | |
| "137": "Weeks ago I heard that there was going to be a Barbie movie coming out and my immediate first thought was \"Oh, God.\" I then forgot about it and then saw the trailer for it when we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. I always enjoy seeing Margot Robbie when I can and Ryan Gosling looked like he was going to bring some humor to the movie, so when my wife asked if I wanted to see it, I said SURE! I'm glad I did.The movie was as amusing as I hoped, and it didn't overly rely on tired story lines to make it entertaining. What it also had was a lot of heart. Margot Robbie is an actress that has a ton of sex appeal, but she doesn't use it. She uses her great skill as an actress to convey the story and does it very well.What was really fun about this movie was listening to the kids in the theater responding to it and it was pretty hilarious. My daughter and I were laughing more at that than anything. It was actually a delightful surprise that added to the whole vibe of the movie.Ryan Gosling played a goofball Ken, but he does so in a very controlled and amusing way, and you actually feel for Ken bigtime as the story moves along. He did a great job as well as the rest of the cast that made up all the Barbies and Kens.The only thing I will say takes away from this movie is Will Ferrell. I normally find him amusing in most movies he is in, but in this one, he was completely superfluous. He added not a single laugh nor important aspect to the story line. He just was not needed in this movie.So, if you have a daughter of any age, go see it with her and laugh. It's truly a good time.", | |
| "138": "\"I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll...\"Bro I was so excited just to look at the beautiful painted sets and watch the beautiful Barbies and Kens wear goofy clothes...but this was a deep movie.The seemingly perfect matriarchal world of Barbie has has a sudden setback when the perfectly Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie)'s heels land flatly on the ground.Barbie has to leave Barbieland through a surreal theatrical series of vehicles to wind up in California, where she meets her creators at Mattel and others.Of course Mattel, one of the producers, wanted to paint themselves in a positive light. They probably over-emphasize their importance in the playroom (They assert Barbie was the first doll to not be a baby doll, the first opportunity little girls had to play at being something other than a mother, which I find hard to believe). But there is definitely some honest criticism in the movie of who Barbie is and what she represents. Does Barbie make women feel bad about their bodies? Maybe.There are also a couple very playful moments where it feels almost like it feels when one plays with toys. Made me think of the Lego Movie (Which also had Will Ferrell in it).Then there's the characters. There is humor. There is music. There are of, course, gorgeous people and sets. But most of all, there is self-actualization and growth.I love every line in this film. I keep thinking about it. I've seen the movie twice now and I hope to see it again. Please watch it. Prepare to cry.", | |
| "139": "I feel... Confused? I guess?The old Barbies were part of my generation. I was skeptical but curious about the hype around that movie. Sooooo much advertisement everywhere that it made me nauseous.The movie starts and I'm like... This is gonna be long... And then it gets even longer and more and more political!I get it... They wanted to make a political movie about what women could be if we took down the patriarchy and the men can just be who they want to be with feelings and all.The execution is colorful and you feel the sarcasm in every choice the movie maker made.I would have given it a lower score but I gotta admire the research and execution.It seems I must have missed a lot of jokes because some people were laughing when I was not.What's up with having so many cast members of Sex Education?Also?! Was that Gosling singing?! He gotta sing more! However, why him as Ken? Don't get me wrong, I love the guy but he didn't really fit as sand blond Ken.", | |
| "140": "The Margot Robbie/Ryan Gosling curiosity BARBIE is a subversive film. This Greta Gerwig directed move lures you in by presenting a farcical/satirical look at the pastel colored \"Barbieland\" and the myriad of outfits and \"golly-gosh\" goodness of the world of this iconic Mattel doll (and her boyfriend, Ken). Once you are comfortably settled into this world, you are transformed to the \"real world\" and the much deeper themes of a women's place in a patriarchal world.As another toy's slogan puts it, \"there's more than meets the eye\" to this film.And one should have expected something more than just a \"surfacey-fun\" film from the Writer/Director of such fare as LADYBIRD and FRANCES HA. Gerwing uses the stereotypes of Barbie and Ken to take a look at our society and the inherent hierarchy of the sexes while peeling back the layers of the key players to make them more than the plastic dolls they portray.And...it works surprisingly well for adults - not so much for kids.Margot Robbie, of course, is perfectly cast as the titular Barbie. She has the looks and the vacuous devil-may-care attitude of \"Stereotype Barbie\" and is a comfortable, pleasing entity to share this adventure with. But, with Gerwig's direction, Robbie's performance reveals, subtly, layer after layer until - at the end - we end up with a full fledged character and not just a living doll.Ryan Gosling is just as strong as Barbie's counterpart, Ken. He morphs from a Barbie worshipping boyfriend to something else once he encounters the real, male-dominated world. The BankofMarquis wondered why Gosling would agree to do a film that, on it's surface, appears to be a one-note joke-fest, but once the film really drives to it's point, one can see why Gosling agreed to be in this.Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Michael Cerra, Helen Mirren (as the narrator) and America Ferrara all spark - at times - during this film while it was good to see Rhea Perlman (Carla on CHEERS) have a role that she could sink her teeth into.Only Will Ferrell - as the money hungry CEO of Mattel - falls short of interesting. His character - one of the only \"real world\" characters in this film - stays stereotypical throughout the movie. He is the only complete caricature in this film...and perhaps that is on purpose.Credit for the surprising depth of this film goes to Gerwig who brings her sensibilities to this film to make a comment on our society. It's a bold move by Gerwig and works well...unless you are a Mom that is bringing your 5 or 6 year old child to this film.And, that is the caution to this movie. It's not, necessarily, made for the youngsters that play with Barbies. The kids will love the early going of this film, but the more adult themes in the middle of the movie will probably make a good deal of them squirm in their seats, since these moments of depth will go over their heads.A surprisingly fun...and deeper than it appears to be....film, this Barbie is a multi-level dreamhouse.Letter Grade: A-8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the BankofMarquis.", | |
| "141": "So I headed to the cinema to watch Barbie, the new live-action adaptation of the beloved doll franchise. I had high hopes. Unfortunately, it fell short. Barbie takes us on a journey, with Margot Robbie portraying \"Stereotypical\" Barbie as she leaves her world of Barbieland and enters the Real World. She encounters friends, overcomes challenges, and discovers important lessons about herself and others. Barbie doesn't always hit the mark while attempting to blend comedy, drama and fantasy elements. The plot feels predictable and filled with clichés, and the theme and tone are sometimes inconsistent and confusing. The acting and characters come across as stereotypes (something expected in Barbieland but not in the Real World).Nevertheless, Greta Gerwig's direction is skilful and imaginative; Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt's music is catchy and uplifting; Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is vibrant with a burst of colours. The movie also incorporates intriguing symbolism and production design by contrasting Barbie's sparkly world with the realism of the Real World. The animation breathes life into Barbie's world on screen. Amidst it all are some moments accompanied by clever dialogue-particularly from Ken (played by Ryan Gosling), who, as you would expect, serves as Barbie's trusty sidekick, desperately wanting to be noticed and appreciated by Barbie.I had some issues with the movie because it only scratched the surface when exploring its themes. Throughout the story, Barbie touched on topics like death, unattainable perfection, gender roles, body image and self-esteem. However, it merely skimmed over these issues superficially, like snacking on junk food instead of having a substantial meal.Barbie isn't a masterpiece. It's not a disaster, either. It's an entertaining film for kids and adults. The movie attempts to convey a message about embracing oneself and accepting others. It doesn't do so convincingly or in an original way. It left me feeling amused and bored.Cute but shallow.", | |
| "142": "I was largely disappointed with Barbie and only sat through it in the hope that it would finally live up to its hype. When the final credits rolled the only thing that came to mind was \"So that was it?\".The Barbie Land set design is sometimes incredible and worth a star alone, but the plot and execution of the movie were a huge let down. After a promising start with a few chuckles, it becomes bogged down with negativity and cynicism trying to pass as humor in the completely messy and manic second and third acts. The obnoxious whiny dialogue really lets it down.I'm usually a fan of these fantasy meet reality movies based on iconic characters from popular culture and found the more child friendly Peter Rabbit, Paddington and Smurfs movies to be more mature, coherent, very funny and touching for all ages. Expectations were the same for Barbie, but none of those feelings really surfaced. I do understand on reflection that Barbie was aimed mostly at older viewers (which was probably unfair on the many cinema going younger children), however the attempts at emotion it was trying to achieve for that demographic towards the end felt far too forced, syrupy and unconvincing.Two movies which came to mind while watching Barbie that have some parallels - especially during the LA escapade scenes - were The Brady Bunch movie and Very Brady Sequel from the 1990s. These are more than 25 years older, but are funnier, do a more effective job with the \"real world\" satire and unlike Barbie are worthy of a rewatch. I think it's time to dig those out again and be entertained.", | |
| "143": "As a guy who never played with Barbie dolls, I was surprised to be caught up in the enthusiasm to see this movie; I purchased tickets well in advance when they first went on sale.It's amazing to think that, a few years back, Amy Schumer was going to star in the title role. Though after seeing Margot Robbie, it's hard to imagine anyone else in that spot.Anyway ... like most moviegoers - I enjoyed this movie. It's a lot like The Lego Movie with its high energy, colorful world-building, meta jokes, self-aware characters and variety of insider (fan) humor. The \"2001 A Space Odyssey\" beginning, (clearly aimed at adult viewers) was priceless.However unlike The Lego Movie I can definitely say that the first half was enormously more entertaining compared to the second. The first half was energized by all the Barbie accessories, character introductions, high-energy music and a very cool plot reveal involving the \"real world\".But unlike The Lego Movie, the second half (while not bad) wasn't able to keep the momentum going. While there was a lot of action and drama ... it felt more hit-and-miss.The message was good: you don't have to be perfect to be happy ... just be true to yourself. However, its delivery felt a bit too complex for kids - and maybe even for some adults.The empowering commentary about womanhood was eloquent ... but it seemed like the writers had trouble getting from that point to a strong and uplifting ending. It almost felt a bit melancholy for whatever reason.But - don';t let that stop you from enjoying this movie! There's a lot to like and it's kind of a cultural moment and opportunity to connect with all the Barbie-love that spans generations. Enjoy this experience with a big audience and you'll be glad you did.", | |
| "144": "I loved the first part of this movie. There is a a lot of excitement, wonder, meaning and humor. The main actors are very good and it all seems to be going so well. Barbie is looking for the girl who owned her in the real world. Ken hides in the back seat and comes along. At a certain point the movie becomes a story about the patriarchy suppressing women. There are some long speeches that really do not have a lot of emotional impact. At the start of the movie Ken is a puppet in Barbie world where Barbie controls everything, then it seems like they try to make the point that men and women don't need eachother and I don't think that is right. I think the movie should have been more fair to how men and women can be a great team in stead of being individuals and at odds. All in all I liked the movie, but it could have been better. If I'm saying that because I am a man and just don't get the plights of womanhood, then I'm sorry, but my experience in my own life is that it's not easy to be a man in this world of hours, I don't believe it's the case that men have all the advantages. Ken constantly confess his love to Barbie, but the movie says that his love is not real because he doesn't own Barbie. This to me does not represent men well. When I look around in the society I live in, I don't see men who own their women. I see men and women who love eachother and want to live together and I don't see what's wrong with that. I guess it would just be too traditional if that was the conclusion in this movie.", | |
| "145": "Barbie is a fun summery movie for all ages.It tells the story of the doll Barbie who has to go into the real world to find her girl owner after she starts behaving oddly for a Barbie doll. That is the main prompt of the movie, which quickly takes a new turn all together, focusing on Ken and turning the tables on gender and how men and women are presented in films and in art in general (not to mention how their are treated in real world). That social commentary was spot on, under the light of more comical lences that makes it more appetizing and easily digestable. However, the movie does get close to being over preachy, loosing its initial main idea. That could have been solved by making the movie a little longer, giving the plot space to smoothly develop and have all those features handled in a better way. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't have that, thus, the result is an overstuffy, half baked plot.On the other hand, the performances were enjoyable, with Gosling trully shining in this one. The mood and costumes were also spot on.", | |
| "146": "I wanted to love this movie but it just wasn't it :(It was nothing that hasn't been done before. It didn't really say anything. I hate using the word woke, but hearing the same talking points is tiring. We understand, the patriarchy is bad. But I didn't go to this movie to be preached to.I was hoping it would be a bit more camp. I was expecting it to be like the Barbie animated films you get, which ngl, are usually good. This was far from that.The ending was also a bit dragged out. It was trying very hard to be profound and it wasn't working.I didn't care for any of the characters much either and was a little sad to not see Raquelle or any of Barbie's sisters apart from Skipper.Apart from the criticism, I thought the costume design was really well executed. Margot Robbie looked fabulous at all times.", | |
| "147": "For me, Barbie came very, very close to an 8/10 rating. The only reason it didn't quite get there was that it contains a few scenes that are too long and a bit too weak.On the plus side, there are several more things to mention. First and foremost, Barbie has attracted a very strong cast, with well respected names also in several supporting roles, and they all perform well. Margot Robbie was almost an obvious casting choice. With her skills and her appearance, she really IS Barbie (with a brain) for almost two hours.Director Greta Gerwig and her crew created perfect Barbieland sets, which made me smile in spite of the fact that I never owned a Barbie doll myself.The film had me laughing many times, and it also brought me to tears a few times. Quite impressive for a movie about a doll, I thought.And, last but not least, the message of the movie. Already when I heard that Greta Gerwig was going to make a Barbie movie, I knew we were in for a culture clash. The fact that she went all-in was not surprising to me, but that she managed to convince Mattel to go along with her was. Kudos not only to Greta Gerwig for that, but also to Mattel. This may turn out to prove enormously profitable for them in the end, and they undoubtedly hope to make Barbie relevant for a few more generations. Nevertheless, this took guts on their part. Well played.", | |
| "148": "BarbieDid you grow up playing with Barbie's? If so, you probably know that not everyone likes the idea of Barbie. Some people think Barbie's are harmful to children. Other people love Barbie. This new movie called, Barbie, explores why Barbie could be problematic. Greta Gerwig is the director, previously she directed Little Women. It stars Margot Robbie from Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad, Ryan Gosling from The Notebook and La La Land, Michael Cera from Arrested Development, Helen Mirren, and Rhea Perlman.In 1959, Ruth Handler, the co-founder of the Mattel toy company, created Barbie. She wanted this doll to inspire little girls to dream and know they can be whatever they want. This thought process seems sexist, it leaves out little boys, who also can be whatever they want. The movie will show you that Handler's idea that Barbie will make society better, hasn't worked out as she probably wanted. Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) live in Barbie land, where women are in charge. Barbie needs to travel to the real world, where she discovers men are in charge and she isn't the inspiration she thought she was.Robbie plays two sides of the same character, at first Barbie is very carefree in Barbie land, and oblivious to all societies' problems. When she gets to the real world however, she discovers things seem to be the opposite from where she came from. Not only is Gosling nice to look at but he also will make the audience laugh. Ken has always felt left out of Barbie land, until he travels to the real world with Barbie. Unfortunately, he learns the wrong lesson from capitalism. He finds out men are in charge, and wants that for Barbie land. What his take away should have been however, is that men and women can both hold equal power. Alan (Michael Cera) doesn't have a duplicate, therefore he knew who he was from the beginning. He has good morals and values, which gives him confidence to be the best version of himself. Meanwhile, Ken and Barbie are struggling to figure out who they are, and want to be.The dancing, choreography, and facial expressions were all done spectacularly well. The cast, including the supporting characters did a wonderful job. Gosling does an excellent job, portraying a more submissive Ken in the beginning, then more dominant, when he wants to take charge of Barbie land. Robbie's role as Barbie was much different than when she played Harley Quinn. Barbie is nice, kind, and not evil, while Harley Quinn is a criminal, who could be good from time to time. These roles show she is good at playing different parts, which will help her in the future.Not only does this movie have some funny moments, but it also has themes that are relevant to what's happening in life today. Capitalism, equality for all, female empowerment, and self-acceptance, are all things people need to know about.There is a lot of pressure on women to be perfect. Women have to go to work, which usually means getting payed less than men, taking care of the house and kids, all while looking their best, which is difficult to do all the time. Mattel hoped that Barbie would be an inspiration for women. Unfortunately, she doesn't even look like most people, Barbie is extremely skinny, which is an unrealistic standard for anyone to live up to. Along with that, the company, Mattel, and its founders aren't exactly honest people. Years after Barbie was made, Handler was found guilty of tax evasion.Barbie shows one of the reasons the WGA (Writers Guild of America) and SAG (Screen Actors Guild) are striking. They all want better pay, meanwhile the top CEO's of company's make millions a year. However, the way it should be is more equal, meet somewhere in the middle. Don't pay people so little they need multiple jobs to support their family, but also no one is asking to become a millionaire. Barbie is a good movie that happened to come out at the perfect time. I would encourage everyone to go see this movie. It was well cast and has multiple messages surrounding issues our society faces today.", | |
| "149": "This movie is specially for those who loves the character of barbie specially in childhood. This film is a treat for Barbie lovers because the way director has told the storyline by introducing a whole barbie world and their characters is interesting to watch. Specially MARGOT ROBBIE what and actress she is her looks, style, acting performances, dresses of barbie all are top notch. Margot Robbie is perfectly suited for this role because she is the only one carrying the whole movie throughout the end. From start to end the main highlight of the this film is Margot Robbie. I've only watched this film for her and she has proved that currently she is one of the best actress in Hollywood. When I talk about supporting cast RYAN GOSLING is the only one who has done justice to the character of Ken rest are just average. Story is the main disappointment of the film, Film starts on a good note with laughs and riot of chaos when Barbie enters into the real world but after a bit of time story get exaggerated and only focuses on the central character which is the drawback of the film and from that case movie doesn't get the chance to give space to the other important characters. Background score and songs are good that wil give you a fresh vibe while watching this film. All n all this movie is a treat for Barbie fans and rest of the audience may consider as an average content...." | |
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