Dont Look Up (2021) Review

I normally start these reviews with the logline for the movie but I thought I’d try by introducing the cast and crew first because my god is this a political movie and I don’t want to bombard the world with politics. There is enough of that s***.

Writer/Director/Producer: Adam McKay (Herein lies the problem!)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Sci-Fi

Two astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.

Now, I don’t want to start off this review completely negative and especially towards Adam McKay as I have a massive soft spot for because he has made one of my top 5 favourite movies of all time, The Big Short (2015), but come on. This is nothing of the sort.

But in the movies attempt to carry out a crucial message it bombarded me with politics and it was very in your face about it. Now, when I write this is the logic I use. But You mould a story around it. You don’t just cram it in the audience’s face. I wasn’t a massive fan of this and it left me rolling my eyes too many times in this movie. This movie does feel very much ripped out of Adam Mckays heart and I fully get it. Climate change, in which this movie is a metaphor for, should be a number one priority for the people that make our decisions. We only have one home and it might come sooner than our naivety and ignorance will ever imagine. But creating a movie like this will not make audiences pay attention.

The editing of this movie was edited by Hank Corwin (The Tree of Life, 2011) and was actually pretty good and probably doesn’t get as much attention as it should. It wasn’t eye popping editing like we’ve seen in 2001: A space Odyssey but the editing was used in the right way to fulfil the movies comedic effect. A prime example of this is when the line is delivered “He’s got this!” before Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) is set to make his first television performance. CUT: He’s having a panic attack in the bathroom.

The acting was actually phenomenal in this movie. Jonah Hill was great and did a perfect job at p***ing me off every time his character was on screen. Timothee Chalamet was a great stoner; the man is so diverse its ridiculous. Cate Blanchett was a great news anchor and her character was great, so American it was so believable. DiCaprio is as great as ever and Jennifer Lawrence was great on her return. The cast as a whole did an excellent job of playing their characters.

This movie did make me laugh to be fair and was enjoyable enough to make it through the whole movie without thinking "this is dragging a bit". I did enjoy it but it is very mediocre. Not Best Picture nominee worthy.

Overall, I rate it: 2.5/5.

Where to watch: Netflix