Review by Jordy
VIP8Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2
This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.
Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.
5.5/10
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did you watch oppenheimer on a bad day or something?!
I dunno, seen 2 episodes but it looks like a show for kids, I hope it'll become more like the actual game.
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@thunas Aren't we all kids at heart?
I dunno, seen 2 episodes but it looks like a show for kids, I hope it'll become more like the actual game.
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It could be me but I’m pretty sure it’s rated TV-Y7 for a reason. I could be crazy but maybe the show is actually made for kids
I dunno, seen 2 episodes but it looks like a show for kids, I hope it'll become more like the actual game.
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@thunas I feel the same way... I'm watching it because of the game, I've seen 3 episodes and it was very childish and not funny.
The artstyle is incredible though! The show looks absolutely beautiful!
released some time in 2020
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@queensroe Maybe in some other multiverse.
Eternals really changed the whole MCU. This is a new take on a whole new mcu film without the same old formula. And I kinda like how divisive and deep, dark they went for this. There's so much complexity in each character that I know people can identify with, it's everything the other mcu films could've been. Fuck rotten tomatoes.
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@zapblingsx Nine? Lol This movie is terrible
In an otherwise fantastic series, this episode is hamstrung by the clumsy narrative and hamfisted direction, pointedly marked by the jarring shift to voice over commenting that will remain an annoying element of the rest of the series. As it is also essentially redundant to its predecessor, I recommend skipping straight from the hauntingly superb episode 6 to episode 8.
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@kopischke Complete nonsense, this episode was fantastic.
In an otherwise fantastic series, this episode is hamstrung by the clumsy narrative and hamfisted direction, pointedly marked by the jarring shift to voice over commenting that will remain an annoying element of the rest of the series. As it is also essentially redundant to its predecessor, I recommend skipping straight from the hauntingly superb episode 6 to episode 8.
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@kopischke not sure we watched the same thing. this was an absolutely haunting episode. a must-watch.
In an otherwise fantastic series, this episode is hamstrung by the clumsy narrative and hamfisted direction, pointedly marked by the jarring shift to voice over commenting that will remain an annoying element of the rest of the series. As it is also essentially redundant to its predecessor, I recommend skipping straight from the hauntingly superb episode 6 to episode 8.
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Really? You recommend skipping one of the most brutal, important episodes.
