Katharine O'Ehley
Currently, Barbie vs Oppenheimer is on everyone’s lips. You cannot scroll past a single post on Instagram without seeing a mention of the two biggest blockbuster films of 2023. But what about Barbara and Robert’s distant Scientology cousin, Ethan Hunt? Let’s talk about the Kens and Allan’s of current Hollywood a battle between Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
Warning: spoilers, turn back now, you have been warned.
The 2023 Oppenheimer movie directed by Christopher Nolan prides itself on not using CGI. You are probably wondering, how did they film the explosion scene in a movie all about the Manhattan Project? Nolan used an old Hollywood trick called forced perspective. This trick uses the space between the subjects to manipulate the viewer’s perception of the two objects to create an optical illusion.
What about the bright flashes of light? Andrew Jackson, the film’s effects supervisor, told SYFY that it consisted of gasoline, propane, black powder, aluminium powder, and magnesium flares that create the insane flashes of the bomb. Nolan and his dedicated team went above and beyond to produce an epic film about man’s most feared and deadly weapon, the atomic bomb.
It is recommended that Oppenheimer be watched in an Imax cinema, as it was intended. This movie was the bomb.
Now, what about the forgotten third wheel of the Blockbuster July? While Oppenheimer and Barbie were fighting it out in the cinema, everyone seemingly forgot about the beginning of the end, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Mission Impossible 7 did the impossible: the legendary jump scene. This epic scene that showcases what a great stunt team can achieve. The scene consists of Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt riding off a mountain and skydiving over the edge of a cliff. While Cruise didn’t actually ride off a cliff, he did drive over a long ramp which eventually was edited to be part of the mountain. Cruise did not settle for one shot but rather attempted the scene a total of six times to get the most breathtaking shot of the film. It took over 500 skydives and 13 000 motocross jumps for Cruise to perfect such a scene.
While the two movies drastically differ, with star-studded casts they both accomplished amazing cinematic feats. Whether it is going back to the classics or embracing danger, there is truly something great to be said about these films.