Don't Look Up

I might be a heretic for it, but I will not join the large fan club of this film. I have, let's say, a reserved relationship towards Adam McKay's work, we don't understand each other, and Don't Look Up is unfortunately no exception. In my eyes, satire should be smart and sophisticated above all. However, this film is kneaded from the same material that it wants to make fun of. It is a pop culture comedy for viewers who are satisfied with little effort in character development, who want to have things served nicely, and, above all, who want to reinforce their view of the world. The film has such a strong cast that I was almost certain I would give it at least three stars, but in the last third, it really annoyed me. If there are comments comparing Don't Look Up to Wag the Dog, with the claim that Don't Look Up is superior, I see it the other way around. Wag the Dog defeats McKay's film not by one or two horse lengths, but at least by a whole stadium. Overall impression: 45%. (03/10/2022)

Adam Mckay and political comedy satire at it's best! The timing for this film couldn't be better. I'll admit I had low expectations, it's not exactly my cup of tea and I'm definitely shocked that it ended up being one of the best films with the most stellar cast this year. The film benefits the most with an attractive (read topical) plot where two low level astronomers discover an approaching comet that is hurtling straight towards our planet and it's funny that no one actually cares about it properly. DiCaprio is traditionally excellent (the scene where his nerves snap is a clear acting highlight), but for me the film was pulled mostly by Jennifer Lawrence, who stole most of the scenes to herself and made it clear that she is a strong rival to Sandra Bullock in the battle for the Oscars. The dramatic and tense moments worked well, giving me goosebumps several times. The film has so many amazing and memorable scenes where I said to myself many times “this is powerful!”, and I definitely don't say that often with conversational films. The humor wasn't the strongest point, but that didn't bother me that much. I also liked Ariana Grande's performance and the epic sci-fi finale of Emmerich proportions with a downright top notch post-credit scene. Stylish, apt, funny, disturbing, entertaining and very chilling. Netflix got their shit together and once again made one of the films of the year. A filmmaking and acting treat that I will happily repeat. Story 5/5, Action 2/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10. (28/12/2021)

A well-fed DiCaprio strides in for another Oscar. A rather shaky, but occasionally unexpectedly realistic picture with a powerful message which shows where we have got to and how bad things are. We could just laugh, but McKay really wanted to terrify us. A modern horror wrapped in cynical humor and dispassion. Showing us prime examples of bad decisions that are constantly being made today on a regular basis. This is filmed for dumb people too. (25/12/2021)

It's easy to see why Leonardo DiCaprio, an environmental activist who chooses his films carefully, gave his nod to this one – substitute a deadly comet for current and worsening climate change in the coming years and you get the picture. On the one hand his character, Dr Randall Mindy, and on the other – in real life – deniers like Klaus, Trump and similar idiots who, despite clear scientific and factual evidence, deny the human effect on climate change, just as McKay's film shows. And the people who, just like in this story, generally don't give a shit, they'd rather superficially like an article about how some pseudo-celebrity broke up with her boyfriend and completely ignore something that will be in a few years, or is slowly coming, because celebrities and other such superficialities in commercial media (and now, unfortunately, in public media as well), which focus primarily on entertainment, are pulling their weight these days. You can't be surprised, then, that Ariana Grande's breakup is hilariously taking precedence on TV over information about impending danger from outer space. Unfortunately, after an energetic first half, when McKay, in addition to the aforementioned, aptly addresses the unfortunate influence of social networks, the superficial and short-term thinking of politicians and the herd mentality of the population, the film loses its grip and its momentum and reaches the end at an idle. It just goes from a biting satire to an overly activist thing with no insight. But overall, the 4 stars are well deserved for the message that we're sitting on a barrel of dynamite while laughing like idiots. (29/12/2021)

The worst thing is that in a world where populists rule politically, where even infotainment is no longer enough for the media but pure entertainment, where much of the real power is held by unaccountable tech giants headed by eccentric megalomaniac billionaires, where social media trends set the agenda, where likable bullshit carries more weight than fact-based opinion, a doom-comet could very well end up exactly like this. Scary, true, and funny at the same time. (25/12/2021)