‘Don’t Look Up’ — Spoiler Free Review

How will society collapse according to Adam McKay?

Courtesy of Netflix

Netflix has a brilliant new comedy that is a must-watch. It’s called ‘Don’t Look Up’ and comes from the legendary mind of Adam McKay. If you don’t recognize him, just know that he is responsible for gems such as ‘Anchorman’, ‘The Other Guys’, and ‘Step Brothers’. Quite the filmography right?

“There are some jokes that people may not agree with, but most everyone can understand its extreme diagnosis of society.”

‘Don’t Look Up’ is about two low-level astronomers, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Dicaprio, who discover a fast-approaching comet that will destroy mankind. So they embark on a media tour to warn everyone except there's one problem, everyone from the president to citizens is too stupid to listen.

In this light, the movie is a cultural and political satire. The characters are constantly poking fun at the peculiarities of modern society when dialed up to the extreme, and do so in both an enthralling as well as hilarious way. The story does an impeccable job of pulling you into its world and making you feel like you’re there with the characters. One of the reason’s this movie is so effective is because of its satirical nature not despite it. There are some jokes that people may not agree with, but most everyone can understand its extreme diagnosis of society.

Courtesy of Netflix

Also, the dialogue incorporates some small bits that are similar to SNL skits. There’s one exchange in particular that Lawrence’s character, Kate Dibiasky, keeps bringing up throughout the movie at random times and it had me laughing every time. Not to mention, the bits from the various cameos.

Side note, it’s been since ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ in 2019 that we’ve seen Jennifer Lawrence on the big screen. It’s nice to have her back as she brings an interesting character to life in this movie.

There are so many great characters that it’s hard to touch on all of them. Some are just there for one-liners or for a moment in time, and others are with us throughout the entire story. But every actor in this movie functioned in sync with their given character. There was never a scene where someone played their character off-key or made you lose interest. Everything seemed to click perfectly with this cast, and I’m gonna go out on a limb to say this was probably the most fun set to be a part of. Between Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Leonardo, Lawerence, and Rob Morgan there was most likely never a dull moment.

(L-R) Tyler Perry, Scott Stuber, Jennifer Lawrence, Tomer Sisley, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Himesh Patel, Kid Cudi, Adam McKay, Ron Perlman, Kira Goldberg, Kevin Messick, and Paul Guilfoyle attend the “Don’t Look Up” World Premiere/ Getty Images for Netflix

Another thing you’ll notice throughout the movie is the number of cameos that crop up. This movie is littered with them and they’re all placed perfectly within the story. They’re not only there for the wow factor but to further the movie's message and sprinkle in some fantastic humor. Every person plays their cameo in an excellent way and it never felt over the top.

Now this movie might be polarizing for some but if you come from a neutral view and don’t take it too seriously then you’ll enjoy its satirical message. There are some parts of this story that you can actually see happening in today’s society. And I think that’s the obvious point that Adam McKay is hitting on the nose. He’s simultaneously chastising and mocking society in his own original way.

The story in ‘Don’t Look Up’ was really well laid out along with having an adequate pace despite the 2 hours and 25 minutes run time. I rewinded a lot to rewatch a certain scene or quick bit that a character did. I liked that it was a fresh take. on a predictable storyline, we’ve seen in other movies From the start of the crisis to the resolution, this movie had me hooked throughout.

My score for this movie is an 8.8/10 because I think it does a wonderful job using original stories and characters to satirically diagnose society overlaying a topic we’ve seen in another movie, an impending comet, and I highly recommend that you see it.

*This article was originally published in the Film Cut