Don’t Look Up is a satirical science fiction film about an astronomy professor, Randall Mindy, and a Ph.D. candidate, Kate Dibiasky, who finds a fatal comet that is headed to earth. They attempt to warn the public about the comet, but to their dismay, at first, the president of the United States, President Janie Orlean, does not attempt to help them redirect the comet because they are not from a prestigious university and Orlean needs to focus on getting her Supreme Court nominee confirmed. When her nominee gets involved in a scandal, she finally helps the two astronomers, as she finds it in her best interest to save the planet to increase her approval rating. However, when the billionaire CEO of a technology company, Peter Isherwell,  finds out there are rare-earth resources on the comet, they stop the plan to redirect the comet and try to farm the resources to make more money for the United States and his technology company. Unfortunately, Isherwll refuses to go through the peer-review project, and their plan ultimately fails. The film ends with a heartbreaking scene of Mindy, Dibiasky, and their family and friends having dinner together for the last time as the comet destroys Earth.

Although it had a star-studded cast, consisting of actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Jonah Hill, and Timothée Chalamet, and an award-winning director and writer, Adam McKay, the film received mixed critical reception. With a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, critics either believe the film is either spectacular or horrible, and because of the film’s strong political messaging and distinct writing and comedic style, the film divided fans. 

At Yorba Linda High School, the film also has mixed reviews. Jacqueline Sumaya (12) believed “the plot wasn’t that good and it wasn’t that funny. She comes to the conclusion that the director “just got a bunch of famous people and didn’t really try.” However, Joyce Lin (12) thought “it was good” and found “some parts interesting since it reflects some current issues in a sarcastic way.

The blunt environmental undertones and potential correlation with the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States could potentially rub watchers the wrong way since, during multiple moments of the film, the writing blatantly calls out society for its lack of interest in alarming scientific discoveries.

The entire film is an obvious metaphor for climate change, which is the main reason DiCaprio along with some of the other actors joined this movie. In the video “Leonardo Dicaprio Explains Don’t Look Up | Netflix” by Netflix Film Club, DiCaprio describes this film as “an analogy of modern-day culture and our inability to hear and listen to scientific truth.” Throughout the film, they make sure to emphasize the importance of listening to science to prevent catastrophic outcomes, and with the dark and depressing ending, it displays how critical it is to combat the climate crisis. 

In my opinion, I thought the film had a very interesting concept and many good moments. The acting was undoubtedly solid with the caliber of the cast, and DiCaprio and Lawrence did extremely well as the leads of the movie. While some parts of the film were over-the-top with its political messaging, for the most part, I found the film entertaining and a wake-up call to the unfortunate trajectory of our planet if we do not focus on the climate crisis. The film is on Netflix if you would like to see the movie.