"Bridge of Spies" finally made its world premiere at the New York Film Festival and reception was split.

While some people called it a masterpiece and a fine Spielberg film, others found it understated and underwhelming with many comparing it to "War Horse" as opposed to "Lincoln" and "Munich." The reception for the film seemed just like most had predicted especially since Oscar buzz was low coming in and many Oscar forecasters did not have it on the top of their lists.

The question for most people will be whether or not this film becomes an Oscar contender or if it just sits back to watch. It's not an easy question to answer because the Academy is unpredictable and Spielberg is beloved within the industry.

His last three dramas were nominated for the Best Picture category, with "Lincoln" being a huge hit among critics and guild organizations. Meanwhile, "War Horse" received mixed reception and was not beloved by critics. Only the Academy really fell for the director's sentimentality and the shear technical achievements. "Munich" went under the radar for the most part but was also a very controversial film and probably one of his most divisive. However, many critics believed it to be the best film of 2005.

Out of these three films only "Munich" and "Lincoln" were nominated for Best Director while "War Horse" only had technical nominations accompanying its Best Picture nomination. Not all of Spielberg's films have been nominated for Best Picture and, before "Munich," it took eight years for him to get back into the category after winning in 1997 for "Saving Private Ryan."

"Bridge of Spies" looks very unlikely to get nominated for Best Director because the film is so understated and it does not include the grandiose statements one expects from Spielberg. The script from the Coen brothers and Matt Charman is also something is up in the air as the adapted screenplay category already looks extremely competitive with better received candidates.

Best Picture will definitely be up in the air, especially based on how many films the Academy decides to choose and how the chosen film performs at the box office. It will also depend on how other films that have yet to premiere are received. For example "Joy," "By the Sea" and "The Revenant" have not premiered and those films are seen as big threats.

Another factor will definitely be Disney as it has not been successful with Oscar campaigns, and that was most apparent a few years ago with "Saving Mr. Banks," which failed to even get Emma Thompson the nomination she campaigned so enthusiastically for.

However, expect technical nominations most importantly for Janusz Kaminski, whose cinematography is wonderfully crafted, and Adam Stockhausen, whose set designs are intricate. Stockhausen manages to recreate the Berlin Wall with such perfection and gets the overall tone of the era. Thomas Newman's score, however, will be divisive as many have already noted that the composer tries to sound very much like John Williams but he lacks the instrumentation and the sound of the legendary composer.

Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance will definitely get praise for their work. Rylance in particular will get attention, especially because the supporting category is not that crowded and he may get the better push.

"Bridge of Spies" will undoubtedly be praised by many and will likely have many critics underwhelmed. However, the film's ultimate awards fate will be the critics groups and the Academy.