Movie Review - Don't Look Up

Director: Adam McKay
Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 138 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Melanie Lynskey, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Mark Rylance, Ariane Grande, Michael Chiklis, Himesh Patel

I WATCHED THIS FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 52: A MOVIE RELEASED THIS YEAR
 
Description: Two low-level astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence) must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.

Review: What if a comet is heading toward Earth that endangers the lives of all humans? Will humanity be able to work together to prevent this disaster? In this new satire by Adam McKay, this still proves to be quite difficult. “Don’t Look Up” offers a strong metaphor about how media, politics and big business can’t or won’t see the danger of the climate crisis. It is a political satire that mocks society and I loved it!
Student Kate Dibiasky accidentally discovers a new comet. To celebrate this unique find, she calls her professor Dr. Randall Mindy. After some calculations they find out that the comet the size of Mount Everest is heading straight to Earth, which could cause a huge disaster. To make the world aware of the danger of this comet, Dibiasky and Mindy try to make the urgency clear through the president and various talk shows. However, the love life of a pop star turns out to be more interesting than the end of humanity.
Adam McKay already showed the failure of the economic sector with “The Big Short” and in “Vice” the director took politics to task. “Don’t Look Up” takes the same form of satire and constantly alternates dark humor and drama. Once again, politics, corporations and the media have to take the rap. The humor sometimes takes on almost absurd forms, because why doesn’t anyone so something about a comet that is going to hit within sex months? Yet that seems to be exactly the situation humanity finds itself in now.
“Don’t Look Up” deliberately seeks out the absurdity of human shortcomings in the face of future disasters. Certain characters are overly exaggerated and normally it would bother me. But with the tone of this film, it somehow works.
The cast of “Don’t Look Up” is great. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play the two astronomer that try to tell the world of the upcoming danger. The frustration it gets them and how both of them deal with everything differently is great to see. Meryl Streep plays president Orlean and she is very funny in her role. Her son, played by Jonah Hill, is chief of staff and one of the most annoying and obnoxious characters of the year.
Adam McKay manages to find a good metaphor for the times we live in. A time when a wait-and-see attitude and the possibility of economic growth seem more important than an impending disaster.

Rating: 4,5/ 5