there were definitely things to like about the film. the cast is great, they wanted to be in it, they certainly had fun with it. there are some big laughs in it for sure.
but it drags on way too long, including having a mid-credits *and* post-credits scene (thankfully unlike seeing it in a theater, you can fast forward to these scenes). one is ridiculous and its payoff from an earlier joke is only mildly amusing. the second one is a complete waste of time. and this also touches on something that's driven me away from the marvel universe: setting a precedent that there always must be not only a post-credits scene but a mid-credits scene. so that now we're programmed to expect these things. when you go back to really judge the importance of these scenes, you realize most of them are a waste of time. you can eliminate them and still understand the next movie you see. unless you have a really short attention span and have short-term memory loss.
but back to "don't look up".
there are some obvious issues with the premise: first, it's not credible to me that people wouldn't take an asteroid hitting the earth seriously. we've had a few events in the past 10 years (including the end of the mayan calendar) that proved we collectively would be willing to do whatever we could to stop an apocalypse. using this as a thinly veiled allegory of climate change is disingenuous. and besides that, the movie pounds you over and over again with its sermon by showing countless shots of nature juxtaposed with shots of destruction or aloofness to the inevitable destruction of the planet. quick shots, too. you barely have time to really take in and reflect before you're pummeled with more visual commentary.
but even when the film is mocking celebrity, it still manages to give arianna grande an entire 8-minute segment to show off her "song" so that i'm assuming this will be released as a major single. in a film that's supposed to be self-aware, as GD pointed out about grande above, there seems to be a complete whoosh on how that joke should land. grande sucks as an actress to begin with (going back to "victorious", probably the most obnoxious acting you'll see). it isn't funny or successful satire when you're openly advertising the person you're supposed to be mocking.
and if you're going to get tough with your satire, go for broke. don't have light-hearted or heartwarming moments mucking up your message. was anyone shedding any tears for general ripper in "dr. strangelove"? put that movie up against this, and it's not even close to how sharp satire used to be compared to today.
that movie had a singular purpose, and it also had a hopeless ending. it also lands every punch, while this movie languishes in contradictory messages and leans on star power to carry its muddled message.
the criticisms of this film are not all coming from the people that would have been depicted as the "don't look up" brigade in the film (another too on-the-nose joke that is more ridiculous than it is funny). there was an article i read from MSNBC that does a very good job of breaking down the film and pointing out its weaknesses while still giving the film credit where it's due.
overstuffed, underdeveloped and punches at easy targets too often. it's a shame, but as we live in a culture that's more inclined to "spike the football" than actually take a hard, reflective look at ourselves, this is the only kind of social commentary we get now.
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