THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Some disasters are hilarious to witness, yet I never expect one to be as hilarious yet shocking as this.
PLOT
Don’t Look Up follows astronomers Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky who uncover that a giant comet will hit planet Earth within 6 months and 14 days, which will result in all life becoming extinct. They first share this discovery with Teddy Oglethorpe, head of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. And when he hears of what they uncovered, he agrees that they must inform the White House. However, President Janie Orlean and her son Chief of Staff, Jason, do not take this situation seriously and prefer not to do anything about it. The astronomers then decide to leak it to the media. When they address the situation on the daily rip, not even hosts Brie Evantee and Jack Bremmer take it serious. This results in Kate having a breakdown that no one believes her of the apocalypse. She then breaks up with her boyfriend Phillip (Himesh Patel) when he publicly denounces her. Jena then decides to publicly announce a plan to strike & divert the comet only to divert attention from a public scandal. On the day of the launch, Colonel Benedict Drask (Ron Perlman) has a successful launch but is abruptly ordered by Jena to abort. This happens because BASH CEO Peter Isherwell discovers that the comet has rare minerals worth trillions of dollars. Despite the irritation of government’s selfishness, Mindy advocates the comet’s commercial opportunities, resulting in an affair with Brie. Kate is unable to mobilize public opposition to the president when her administration threatens her. As time progresses, the world feels openly divided on either destroying the comet or think of the opportunities if mining it. As Kate spends the rest of her life in her home state of Illinois, she ends up forming a relationship with a shoplifter named Yule. Mindy eventually caves and has a rant on the daily rip, calling out Jena for downplaying the impending doom that is coming their way. This results in him ending his relationships with both Brie and the administration. He and Kate then form a protest campaign against BASH and the White House when the comet becomes visible from Earth. When Jena makes the decision to cut Russia, China & India from the mining deal, the said countries prepared a joint effort to deflect the comet, only for its spacecraft to explode on the launchpad. Hours away from impact, Peter’s mining plan goes awry and fails to prevent destruction. This results in him and Jena fleeing the planet in a sleeper spaceship with other privileged humans to find another planet, unintentionally leaving Jason behind. Randall makes amends with his wife June (Melanie Lynskey) for his infidelity and has dinner with their two adult sons, including the likes of Kate, Teddy & Yule. They all enjoy each other’s company before the comet hits them. Thousands of years later, Peter and Jena find a new planet, but the latter is quickly eaten by an unknown creature upon arrival. The film ends in a shocking post credits scene revealing Jason to be the only one to survive the apocalypse.
THOUGHTS
This was one of the many films of 2021 I had some kind of excitement for because a part of me knew deep down that there was gonna be nothing like this. When I got the chance to see this one Netflix before the year had ended, I gotta admit that I generally enjoyed what I got. Director Adam McKay provides another comedy that makes me laugh, but he and co writer David Sirota are providing something more than that. They seem to be straight forward on pointing out how our society is far from the brightest. We may be more diverse than before, but it does not excuse how we always prefer distracting ourselves from the truth that the world is struggling. This couldn't be any more true because like anyone else, I do my best to distract myself from the terror of the COVID-19 pandemic because I don't want to be scared for the rest of my life. If we choose to ignore our issues, then we're never gonna overcome them. I respect that the film ended with the world ending because it shows the consequences of not acting on situations quickly. It goes without saying that the message wouldn't be anymore clear without Feige's most unique ensemble since Anchorman. Leonardo DiCaprio gives another great performance in his resume as Randall Mindy. He is the most earnest of characters in this film because he has to play both sides to spread the most important message ever: He has to give the world a chance, but has to suck up selfish people to get the attention needed. Of course it is easy to laugh at his panic attacks because of how relatable he makes it look, but then you admire him calling out the president on live television because he knew it just wasn't working like he hoped. The said scene is the best acted of the whole, one that should be studied because you feel all of the weight he's dropping. I also adore how he got to spend the last minutes of his life with people he loved because that is the way it should be when you know you're gonna die. Jennifer Lawrence returns and gives her best performance since Joy when playing Kate Dibiasky. She is memorable here because of how she presents her character to be the most steadfast, hoping to save the world from impending doom. She's brave to not play the media game because she knows that ain't more important than the apocalypse. The breakdown she gives before Mindy is also sad and funny because that is relatable as well. With such a shocking discovery, emotions are gonna get the best of us and the emotions she went through made sense. I appreciate that she stayed with Mindy when the end came their way because it warmed my heart that he technically considered her family after what they were going through. Rob Morgan is an actor that has been overlooked so much that it's ridiculous. I loved him as Teddy because he's the only one who naturally cares about what's going on aside from the two leads. He became another relatable character in this film because of how he did his best to be cautious with every decision he made with the astronomers. And again, it was nice to see that he was considered family as well when dining with Randall's family. Seeing Timothée Chalamet as Yule was a delight because you respect the upbeat attitude he expresses as he is prepared for the worst to come. He ends up clicking with Kate not because of the 'why not' excuse, but because they both relate to being outsiders in their respected perspectives. Seeing him join Randall for dinner is where 'why not' actually applies because he never wronged him and was a true believer of the discovery. Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill were a pair I never thought would ever exist and they honestly amazing as the opportunistic pricks that were Jena and Jason Orlean respectively. Streep shows off Jena as one who is only concerned for what is for her than anyone else, while Hill presents Jason as the overly supportive son. While it is funny for Jena to die so randomly in an another world, it was even funnier how Jason survived it all despite being left behind. That post credit scene made me laugh the most when he uses his phone for social media because it makes sense. While he is only thinking of the clout, he is unintentionally calling for help. And in movies like this, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds other survivors. Mark Rylance also made Peter Isherwell a memorable character for being the slimiest of people who do not take the apocalypse serious. I don't know how he figured out the comets had expensive material, but it comes to show how he's all about himself than others despite that his advanced technology can be looked as beneficial pre-apocalypse. Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry were another interesting par as Brie and Jack respectively because they were spot on portraying individuals who are obsessed with being liked and don't care if the world is ending. I don't know which particular celebrities are like this for real, but this was a clever thing to call out as well. Lastly, I was laughing at the relationship of Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) & DJ Chollow (Scott Mescudi/Kid Cudi) because it points out again how we distract ourselves with people who demand to be liked. And their song 'Just Look Up' is hilarious because of how the artists are trying to play it both ways. Lucky for them, it worked. I don't know which particular celebrities are like this for real, but this was a clever thing to call out as well. While I understand what this movie is trying to explain, there were many things that prevent it from being great. The first of which had to be how there is no consistency with the time lapse. Like it starts with addressing that we only 6 months and 14 days, only to have the third act address that they now have 25 days. If there was an update on how much time was left like every other scene, it would’ve been more suspenseful. Going into the story, I didn’t think it was a good idea for Kate to call out Jena for trying to deal with the comet only if she has something to gain. I respect speaking up but I feel like had she not done that, maybe the president wouldn’t think about mining the comet. I also wish she did the full presentation of the comet instead of Mindy because he was obviously too nervous to go through with it. Another part of me feels where if she took it from the top, maybe the Orleans would listen. I even thought it was dumb for her to tell Phillip about it in a public street. Yeah one woman dismisses it, but it could’ve been a terrible way for the word to have been spread. Moving on, how did Brie & Jack not know what Mindy & Kate were presenting? This may be part of the joke of how they don’t care either but if they have time to focus on a celeb’s relationship status, they could remember this in advance as well. And how did the FBI get in Randall’s house so quietly? You could say they were stealth about it, but that was a bunch of them that surrounded the front door compared to the group that confronted Kate. Another peeve that got to me was how Randall asked Kate if she was okay, just when she is driven away by the police during the riot she started. I appreciate his sympathy, but it doesn’t matter no one hears you. And lastly, the ending really bothered me the most of all things. For one, I find it ridiculous how Peter didn’t have a back up plan for the mining expedition because I don’t think retreating is a back up plan. That’s just giving up, which does suit the character. And why were the survivors naked in their cryo chambers? I’m not trying to come off like I’m against nudity because I know it can find a way to be artistic. This isn’t the case here because it was just pointless. It distracted me from a hilarious death scene. I don’t think we needed something so irrelevant when I’m trying to laugh to something else that drives the plot. If you can ignore all of these issues, then I wish you the best of luck. To wrap up, Don’t Look Up is a standout for 2021 by being a clever satire that was necessary at the time of its release, which explains its worth as a Best Picture nominee. If you have Netflix and dig movies with satire, check this out.
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