2 minute read
Don’t Look Up
The Globe reviews the newest Netflix original with a star-filled cast.
ANA MITREVA | SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR ISRA KAYANI | PAGE EDITOR
We all know Hollywood has a pretty big obsession with the idea of “doomsday,” we’ve seen hundreds of flicks entertaining the idea of Earth’s last days, whether it be caused by a zombie apocalypse, alien invasion or natural disaster. So what makes Don’t Look Up different (other than the ridiculously large number of A-list celebrities). Let’s dive into it!
The movie follows two astronomers, played by Leonardo DeCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who go on a media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet set to destroy Earth. Very early on, we find out that earth is not necessarily doomed because of the comet but because of misinformation, politics and corporate greed.
Director Adam McKay heavily uses humor as a way to cushion the films serious and dark themes, using techniques such as satire to poke fun at politicians and more so at society.
McKay uses other metaphors (some more obvious than others) like the movie’s name to represent society being unable to lift their heads up from their phones to see the life-threatening comet. Showing how we’re blinded by social media and political agendas to see what’s right above our head (in the case of the movie the comet quite above their heads). McKay also demonstrates in a comical light how we ignore dangerous situations like COVID-19 and climate change to instead follow pop culture like the fictional celebrity relationship in the film depicted by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi.
The movie is 2 hours and 25 minutes long.
With celebrity cameos like Timothee Chalamet as a twitch streamer and Chris Evans as a political activist actor, you can definitely start to feel like runtime. Personally, I believe all the people in this movie dancing around near-death adds to the situational irony, but I can understand how it could take away from the plot and make the watching experience overall frustrating.
The movie has a disordered, unsatisfying, and frantic feel mirroring not only the state of politics but how the issues in our lives are unjustly influenced by social media, corporations and politics. This movie was obviously made with a lot of commentary on the state of our nation and finishing it felt like a cathartic release… until you realize that this is the world we all still live in. Without any solutions offered in the movie, viewers are left disappointed and hopeless about our country and human nature.
If you watch this movie expecting situational irony and dark humor you’ll very much enjoy it, but if you expect a feel-good comedy you’ll be left dissatisfied.
The Don’t Look Up movie poster featuring the extensive popular cast.
