"At this very moment, I say we sit tight and assess."
An astronomy grad student, and her professor make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system on a direct collision course with Earth. However, no one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up? Don't Look Up is acclaimed writer and director Adam McKay's newest feature film. He's a critical darling and master at satire and comedy. His last feature Vice proved to be divisive among critics and audiences but still got the recognition and awards hype after that battle. Don't Look Up is even more divisive and faces that same battle. Even with its mixed scores and reactions, it still has managed to appear on many best picture lists and other categories. I, for one, am all for that love. This is such a hilarious, angering, and scary film. Everything about this story is entirely possible and even reflects on modern day life. There's a large ensemble with many stars, each portraying a different type of person we'd see in a situation like this. The biggest standouts for me are DiCaprio, Streep, and Lawrence. DiCaprio plays a nervous scientist struggling with anxiety. He's really good and for me one of his best performances. At one point, he has this long monologue like the freak out scene in Network, which he nails out of the park. Obviously, he'll be everyone's favorite out of this. Streep plays the controversial president of the United States who doesn't care much and fails to look at science. Right now we know many politicians like that so it'll be easy to relate to the anger towards her. Streep has so much fun with the role and it's hard not to enjoy to some degree. Much like DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence is struggling with the anxiety of this, but is also full of rage for how the situation is handled. She's the closest to what the audience will be feeling and is easiest to relate to. Some of her character needed work on, but a great performance by her.
McKay is known for his distinctive style of editing which is prominent here. It may not be his best edit yet, but it still works on a comedic level. He knows when to cut to the next scene and when to do a freeze frame in the middle of a frustrating and hilarious scene. The one thing the edit fails to do is shorten the film. This is a pretty long one. It flies by quickly, but it's longer than it needs to be. There's even a mid-credit scene which answers a question posed in the film, but honestly it wasn't needed. As much as I liked it, I was ready to be done once the credits started rolling. There's so much to take in with a topic like this. At times it feels overwhelming, and it is a scary topic to think about. It's like McKay did it too well placing all this stress on us. I'm a big fan of the conclusion. They could've handled it differently or done something safer, but they go for it. With all the fun the film has, it's not scared to be honest and show things how they are. And there is some beauty to be found. I really enjoyed Don't Look Up. There's many achievements to be found. McKay's writing is great. Nicholas Britell's score shines through. The performances stand out. It's a fun time even when it's not. It'll take a certain person to appreciate something like this. Honestly, I doubt many audiences will take a liking to it. Once you see it, you'll be able to tell. Don't Look Up drops on Netflix this Friday, so if you want to get your family together this holiday weekend to watch a film about the end of the world, go for it!
An astronomy grad student, and her professor make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system on a direct collision course with Earth. However, no one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up? Don't Look Up is acclaimed writer and director Adam McKay's newest feature film. He's a critical darling and master at satire and comedy. His last feature Vice proved to be divisive among critics and audiences but still got the recognition and awards hype after that battle. Don't Look Up is even more divisive and faces that same battle. Even with its mixed scores and reactions, it still has managed to appear on many best picture lists and other categories. I, for one, am all for that love. This is such a hilarious, angering, and scary film. Everything about this story is entirely possible and even reflects on modern day life. There's a large ensemble with many stars, each portraying a different type of person we'd see in a situation like this. The biggest standouts for me are DiCaprio, Streep, and Lawrence. DiCaprio plays a nervous scientist struggling with anxiety. He's really good and for me one of his best performances. At one point, he has this long monologue like the freak out scene in Network, which he nails out of the park. Obviously, he'll be everyone's favorite out of this. Streep plays the controversial president of the United States who doesn't care much and fails to look at science. Right now we know many politicians like that so it'll be easy to relate to the anger towards her. Streep has so much fun with the role and it's hard not to enjoy to some degree. Much like DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence is struggling with the anxiety of this, but is also full of rage for how the situation is handled. She's the closest to what the audience will be feeling and is easiest to relate to. Some of her character needed work on, but a great performance by her.
McKay is known for his distinctive style of editing which is prominent here. It may not be his best edit yet, but it still works on a comedic level. He knows when to cut to the next scene and when to do a freeze frame in the middle of a frustrating and hilarious scene. The one thing the edit fails to do is shorten the film. This is a pretty long one. It flies by quickly, but it's longer than it needs to be. There's even a mid-credit scene which answers a question posed in the film, but honestly it wasn't needed. As much as I liked it, I was ready to be done once the credits started rolling. There's so much to take in with a topic like this. At times it feels overwhelming, and it is a scary topic to think about. It's like McKay did it too well placing all this stress on us. I'm a big fan of the conclusion. They could've handled it differently or done something safer, but they go for it. With all the fun the film has, it's not scared to be honest and show things how they are. And there is some beauty to be found. I really enjoyed Don't Look Up. There's many achievements to be found. McKay's writing is great. Nicholas Britell's score shines through. The performances stand out. It's a fun time even when it's not. It'll take a certain person to appreciate something like this. Honestly, I doubt many audiences will take a liking to it. Once you see it, you'll be able to tell. Don't Look Up drops on Netflix this Friday, so if you want to get your family together this holiday weekend to watch a film about the end of the world, go for it!