When I saw the trailer for new Netflix film “Don’t Look Up," I was confused to say the least. Starring award-winning actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, and Meryl Streep all in a Netflix film confused me enough. The trailer was chaotic too, so I thought it would at least be an interesting movie to watch.
Now, a few days after the movie has come out, it's the number one on Netflix charts and has been nominated for several awards. All of that combined had me very intrigued to watch this film. Now with all my reviews, there will be some major plot points discussed, so reader beware. Buckle up and get ready to examine "Don't Look Up."
Synopsis
In this satirical film, two astronomers go on a media tour to warn the world of their impending doom as a comet heads towards Earth. Will the world step up and do something before it's too late?
What I loved
The main plot of the movie was great. Finding a comet that is big enough to wipe out the whole planet came with a whirlwind of emotions from many characters, all executed very well. Obviously, with an event like that, emotions run high, which the first 10 minutes of the movie really draws you into, and it's super interesting.
To play off of my previous point, the message the film was trying to highlight was good. The movie itself is satire, but it shows us the truth of what can happen when we don't pay attention to the scientists.
Many of the characters or situations throughout this film were clearly slightly based on real life, meant to poke fun at the current political climate. The phrase “Don’t Look Up,“ was a conservative counter to when the scientists told the world to “just look up,“ and they could see the comet for themselves. The President however, told her supporters that the scientists just want to scare them and they all followed her lead without question, wearing red hats with the saying on them and all.
Another great part of the film were the interesting and dynamic characters. Jennifere Lawrence played a PhD candidate from Michigan State University, who was the first to discover the comet. I loved that her character was so relatable. Leonardo DiCaprio was an MSU professor, who initially did the calculations that confirmed the size of the comet, and when exactly it would strike. I honestly had a love-hate relationship with his character, but he was so realistic and interesting nonetheless. A good film will have you relate to or hate the characters (based on the story they're trying to tell), and I think this film did a good job of that.
What I didn't love
The media tour aspect of the movie felt off. I totally understand what they were trying to go for, showing that people only pay attention to celebrities (not the important issues), but I just think it was really muddy. I felt confused every time they went on a new show, and most of the side characters on those shows were very weird and off-putting.
There were some really random things thrown in throughout the film too. There would be a serious scene and then someone would do something weird. I don't even know how to explain the confusion I felt at some parts of this movie. Especially at the end, it felt so out of pocket, I legit did a double-take.
Now while I did like some of the characters, others played heavily on the satire and some just felt poorly written. I disliked Meryl Streep's character a lot, and I supposed you're not supposed to like her (as a comment on politics), but she was just over the top for no reason. The rich tech guy character who just wanted to get money from the comets minerals was also not my favorite. Basically, anyone very high in command in this movie felt so weird (and it was a good chunk of the movie so it was hard to like).
Verdict
This movie was very interesting to say the least. It definitely walked the line of being a great film, but it was really good in some parts, then really bad in others (and the good in my opinion can't completely outshine the bad).
I give "Don't Look Up" a 3 out of 5.
