Barbie & Oppenheimer Reviews, Comic-Con 2023

The ComicBook Nation Crew Goes DEEP on "Barbieheimer" weekend, with reviews of both Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie! PLUS, we recap what's going down at Comic-Con 2023, breakdown The Marvels Trailer and Secret Invasion Episode 5, and discuss this week's comics!  

Barbie Review

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In her official review of Barbie, ComicBook.com's Nicole Drum had the following to say:

Even for these tiny things, Barbie is quite possibly Gerwig's best film to date. It is insightful, hilarious, and packed with thoughtful commentary as well as an incredible amount of Easter eggs and one-liners that will reward audiences of every age and opinion on Barbie, not just on the first watch, but on multiple rewatches. Barbie pulls off the near-impossible task of taking what could have been merely a capitalist IP-driven cash grab and turned it into a celebration of and commentary on culture that gives the audience permission and encouragement to challenge not only everything they think Barbie represents but what the world asks of us mere humans as well so that we never go back into the box again.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Oppenheimer Review

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(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Critic Patrick Cavanaugh had this to say in his official Oppenheimer review

After a long string of crowd-pleasers that also manage to inject ambitious philosophical and existential components, Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan's most intellectual and internal experience in years. It showcases the universality of humanistic struggles without hingeing upon them entirely, while also subtly yet exponentially layering in explicit critiques of global war machines. Despite chronicling events that unfolded 70 years ago, exploring an arms race or being given conflicting information by government authorities and being expected to honor ever-changing ideologies feels immensely contemporary. With Oppenheimer, Nolan orchestrates a talented symphony of performers at the top of their game to explore an overlooked corner of history, treating it with nuance and respect while lesser hands would lean into melodrama. The movie is a tribute not only to the true-life figures who pushed the limits of science forward, but also to those who suffered the consequences of those forward-thinkers' quest for fire.

Rating: 4 out of 5

BONUS ROUND: Be Sure to Listen to our FULL SPOILERS DISCUSSION of OPPENHEIMER

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