Don't Look Up (2021)

Don't Look Up is a sharp, darkly comic satire about two low-level astronomers — Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an impassioned grad student, and her mild-mannered professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) — who discover a comet the size of Mount Everest on a direct collision course with Earth. With only months to go before impact, they set off on a frantic media and political tour to warn the world, only to find indifference, denial, and distraction at every turn: an eager-for-approval President Orlean (Meryl Streep), a self-serving son and chief of staff (Jonah Hill), sensational morning show hosts, and a populace numbed by social media noise. Watching the film you’ll move between broad, satirical set pieces and quieter, earnest moments. The tone shifts from caustic humor — poking fun at celebrity culture, partisan politics, and the 24-hour news cycle — to mounting dread as the reality of the comet becomes inescapable. The ensemble performances are energetic and frequently outrageous, but the movie also delivers sincere emotional beats as the two protagonists wrestle with the moral urgency of telling the truth when no one wants to hear it. Visually and narratively, the film alternates fast-paced media searing and intimate conversations, creating a sense of escalating absurdity and frustration. Expect laugh-out-loud lines and scenes of grotesque satire alongside moments that feel raw and unsettling; the humor is often a vehicle for a darker message about collective denial and how societies respond to existential threats. Overall, Don’t Look Up is a provocative, entertainingly angry piece of social commentary: equal parts comedy and drama, it invites viewers to laugh at the absurdities of modern life while confronting the terrifying consequences of willful ignorance. If you watch it, be prepared to feel amused, uncomfortable, and ultimately unsettled — and to leave thinking about how we choose what to notice and what to ignore.

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep

Director: Adam McKay

Runtime: 145 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

6.6 /10 49 /100 7.2 /10 6.2 /10