This Barbie is (almost) perfect.

Oh, how far we’ve come. It feels like only yesterday we were all questioning the wisdom of pumping cash into a live-action Barbie movie.

That was then and this is now, however, so fast forward several years (and one of the most successful movie marketing campaigns in recent memory) and here we are, staring down the barrel of one of the biggest box office hauls this side of Endgame.

No one’s doubting a big screen Barbie now, are they?

Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are having the time of their lives in the colourful, playful, and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when odd things start happening to Barbie and they must journey to the real world to fix them, the duo soon discover the many joys and perils of living among humans.

Thinking about it, there really are so many ways this could’ve gone wrong. The very idea of Mattel teaming up with Warner Bros for a live-action big screen adaptation of their biggest product just sounds like the worst kind of cynical Hollywood cash-grab and a recipe for disaster.

Well, if these were your concerns going into Barbie then have no fear, because what we’ve got here is a different beast entirely. Echoing the successful leftfield approach of The Lego Movie, Barbie takes potentially the worst consumerist, product-led film idea in the world and spins it into something that’s far, far better than it has any right to be.

Considering the car crash it could’ve been, Barbie is a true triumph on all counts. Pleasingly subversive and as meta as it gets, the film is positively stuffed with satirical self-awareness, coming at the idea of what Barbie is and what the toy represents from a refreshingly unique angle.

Whatever you initially thought a Barbie movie would end up looking like, there’s a very good chance what Greta Gerwig has delivered bears little resemblance to it. And if there were any fears that Gerwig - being the mumblecore indie darling that she is - would be swallowed whole by the corporate Barbie machine, they can be well and truly put to rest.

So, fear not. This is very much Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and not the other way round. Everything about this movie comes directly from her one-of-a-kind filmmaking mind, and while it’s hard to argue against Barbie being the one with the more powerful name-brand recognition, it’s very much Gerwig’s name that’s made this Barbie the success it is.

From Frances Ha to Little Women via Lady Bird, Gerwig’s unique filmmaking fingerprints are all over Barbie, as echoes of the director’s entire filmography can be felt throughout. For anyone with even a passing knowledge of the writer-director and her filmmaking affectations, it might be rather difficult to picture just what a Greta Gerwig Barbie movie looks like, however, it’s quickly apparent that this was a match made in hot pink heaven.

With clear affection for this project from the very beginning, Gerwig gives everything she’s got for a film that truly benefits from having a filmmaker behind it unwilling to cash an easy paycheque and fold to the demands of studio execs. Oh and it helps to have Gerwig’s patented brand of naturalistic, female-led quirkiness along for the ride too.

At first glance, Gerwig’s signature low-key style sits a little awkwardly alongside the larger-than-life shenanigans of Barbie and pals, however, it’s obvious from the off that these two diametrically opposed styles were made for one another. In many ways, Gerwig’s lo-fi indie stylings give Barbie an edge that just wouldn’t be there under any other director, while Barbie itself has brought out an as-yet unseen side to the director, proving that she’s happy to step outside her comfort zone when necessary.

It truly is a heady cocktail of styles that fuel Barbie to up its game significantly, creating a far better film than it has any real right to be. Blending the kind of dialogue that wouldn’t have felt out of place in Lady Bird or Little Women with the heightened pink hedonism that you’d expect from a Barbie outing, Gerwig becomes Barbie and Barbie becomes Greta Gerwig.

That said, the film isn’t perfect, but that’s totally fine. Embracing imperfections is all part of this Barbie’s mission after all.

As the film bobs along, there are certainly plot wobbles here and there, while some of Barbie’s gender messaging suffers a little from being laid on too thick at times, however, any potential negatives are very much outnumbered by the positives.

The imperfections are put out there and you are very much invited to embrace them and to hold onto them, a factor that makes Barbie all the more endearing and, importantly, all the more human. This is a film of beautiful contrasts, of light and dark, of pink and black, one that subverts as much as it astounds.

While on the surface, the whole Barbenheimer phenomenon works because of its stark contrasts, this Barbie actually has far more in common with its box office buddy Oppenheimer than one might think.

Yes, it’s funny (incredibly so, in fact), yes it’s colourful, yes it’s goofy, and yes it’s as wonderfully wholesome as you’d want. Yet, buried under all the hot pink and lovable irreverence is a biting social commentary and an insightful dissection of gender norms, topped off by a big old dollop of existential crisis.

As heart-warming as it is heart-breaking, Gerwig’s writing hits the spot with staggering accuracy. Landing somewhere between The Lego Movie, Toy Story, and The Truman Show, with a liberal spicing of her own back catalogue for good measure, Barbie touches on everything from gender politics to the nature of existence to give some much-needed weight to its fluffier side.

It’s a tonal balancing act that could quite easily go awry, however, Gerwig’s (and Noah Baumbach’s) clever writing and nimble direction, together with the terrifically game performances from the entire cast, ensure that Barbie really hits that sweet spot.

With a stacked cast consisting of everyone that seemingly didn’t end up in Oppenheimer, Barbie is very much an ensemble piece, however, it’s in its leads that the film truly comes alive. With fun cameos that range from the sublime (Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir) to the ridiculous (Dua Lipa and John Cena) to Allan (Michael Cera), Barbie’s extended cast is an absolute riot, yet it’s the film’s two stars that really make it tick.

With her name up there on the poster emblazoned in hot pink, this is of course very much Barbie’s party, with Margot Robbie absolutely owning the legendary moniker. Although the early castings of Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway would’ve been intriguing to see in action, Margot Robbie really is the only actor who could’ve crushed Barbie quite like this.

All bubbles and smiles as the movie begins, Robbie is every inch the ‘Stereotypical Barbie’ her name suggests, and she absolutely owns it. Like the wider narrative, however, this Barbie is a character of contrasts, and as she rapidly becomes all too aware of her own existence and her purpose in the wider world.

With a beautifully balanced blend of humour and emotion, Robbie is absolutely perfect in the role (maybe even a little too perfect at times, as Helen Mirren’s über-meta narration lets us know at one point). She knows precisely how to pitch her character throughout, and while her act works brilliantly on its own, her chemistry with co-star Ryan Gosling is an absolute revelation.

With his comedy chops scandalously overlooked on a regular basis, Ryan Gosling shows precisely what he can do with good comedic material. Bleach blonde, beach-bound, and delightfully air-headed, Gosling’s performance is more than (K)enough to allow Barbie to be the best Barbie she can be.

Undoubtedly the most comedic character of the two leads, Ken may well be the butt of many of the film’s jokes and may not have as many revelatory moments as Barbie, but there is undoubtedly growth there, as he goes through his very own journey of self-awareness and self-acceptance. Like Robbie, Gosling just gets it and fully embraces the character to such an extent that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

Together, Robbie’s Barbie and Gosling’s Ken make for an instantly iconic on-screen couple, as they take the already high-quality material Greta Gerwig gives them and run (or should that be rollerblade?) with it.

Dazzling and surprisingly daring, Barbie is perfect. Well, perhaps not perfect perfect but that’s ok. With a heady blend of meta humour, subversive storytelling, and irresistible wholesomeness, this Barbie is a funny, colourful, goofy, loveable, insightful, biting, heart-breaking existential crisis of a movie that just keeps giving.

Barbie is in cinemas now.