"we are plunged back into the mundane, not to say inane world, of the spy thriller with a dreary overlay of futuristic science-fiction" and it "just lies there, with all its psychedelic plastic settings". Barbarella script and humor were criticized; a reviewer in Variety described the writing as "flat" with only "a few silly-funny lines of dialog" for a "cast that is not particularly adept at comedy". Dan Bates wrote in Film Quarterly that "sharp satiric moments ... are welcome and refreshing but are rather infrequent", and Renata Adler of The New York Times noted that "there is the assumption that just mentioning a thing (sex, politics, religion) makes it funny". Critics praised the film's design and cinematography. Variety mainly negative review noted "a certain amount of production dash and polish" and, according to Derek Malcolm of The Guardian, "Claude Renoir's limpid colour photography and August Lohman's eye-catching special effects are what save the movie time and again". A Monthly Film Bulletin reviewer wrote that Barbarella decor is "remarkably faithful to Jean-Claude Forest's originals", noting a "major contribution of Claude Renoir as director of photography" and "Jacques Fonterary's and Paco Rabanne's fantastic costumes". James Price (Sight & Sound) agreed, citing "the inventiveness of the decors and the richness of Claude Renoir's photography". Malcolm and Lohman criticized Barbarella nature, themes and tone, with Malcolm calling it a "nasty kind of film", "modish to the core" and "essentially just a shrewd piece of exploitation". Lohman suggested the film's humor was "not jokes, but hard-breathing, sadistic thrashings." Bates called it "pure sub-adolescent junk" and "bereft of redeeming social or artistic importance". Michener praised Barbarella as part of "the first female sci-fi". Its shaggy gold rugs, impressionist paintings and spaceship were "unquestionably female in design compared with any of today's projectiles"; Barbarella is "no man-challenging superwoman, but a sweet soft creature who's always willing to please a man who's kind to her". According to Price, "There is a real fascination in its basic idea, which is a happy belief in the survival of sexuality... The idea fascinates, but the execution somehow disappoints (how often one has to say that about Vadim)." Bates' review concluded, "In the year that Stanley Kubrick and Franklin Schaffner finally elevated the science-fiction movie beyond the abyss of the kiddie show, Roger Vadim has knocked it right back down." Retrospective Numerous retrospective reviews have discussed Barbarella plot and design. While