Don't Look Up review round-up: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence comedy receives mixed reactions from critics

The early reviews of Don't Look Up are finally here and critics have given mixed responses to the much-awaited movie. Helmed by writer and director Adam McKay, who is best-known for movies like Anchorman and Step Brothers, the film focusses on a goofy satire about a comet destroying the planet.

The movie features Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in the lead, while Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman are also in pivotal roles. Furthermore, Ariana Grande is also seen portraying a pop singer.

Don't Look Up is McKay’s latest politically-themed satire where two low-level astronomers, played by DiCaprio and Lawrence, discover a massive comet hurtling towards Earth. The duo finds out that this comet has the potential to destroy the planet. After warning the US government, the two embark on a journey to warn the world of the impending apocalypse. The movie is all set to hit theatres on 10 December across the world.

Check out some of the early reviews here:

Variety: “This starry comedy is McKay’s way of raising the alarm on global warming, an issue that DiCaprio and no less a figure than ex-veep Al Gore have struggled to turn into compelling cinema. Since the ice caps aren’t melting fast enough (for eco-thriller purposes, at least), McKay invents a threat with a six-month deadline to impact, the assumption being that collapsing the time frame for survival would surely light a fire under people’s butts”.

The Hollywood Reporter: “This new feature takes those negatives to extremes that made me hostile to Don’t Look Up almost from the outset. The squandering of a dizzying assembly of marquee talent alone is aggravation enough. McKay drops in the famous joke by humorist Jack Handey near the start: “I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like his passengers.” Would that this tiresome doomsday whoopee cushion contained something even half as witty.”

Entertainment Weekly: “Which isn't to say it's no fun: The film gets enough mileage out of Cate Blanchett's bioluminescent teeth alone to nearly justify the ride. But McKay seems hamstrung perhaps by the sheer absurdity of what he's supposed to be lampooning; how do you parodize a parody? You start, maybe, by putting two of the world's most famous actors in normal-people drag: Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are, respectively, Dr. Randall Mindy and Ph.D. candidate Kate Dibiasky, both astrophysicists at Michigan State. He's a nice, anxious dad with an overgrown goatee and a comfy sweater bod; she's got two nose rings and looks like an angry bird cutting her bangs with kitchen shears.”

Screen Rant: “Adam McKay knows how to balance comedy with a good dose of drama. Don’t Look Up sees McKay settling into the world of satire with great ease. The film is the ultimate disaster movie, timely in its subject matter and ambitious in its execution."

The Verge: “For a goofy satire about a comet destroying the planet, Don’t Look Up sure takes you on an emotional journey. But over its lengthy runtime, it slowly morphs into something else. Laughs give way to anger, frustration, and ultimately a kind of desperate hope. It’s a trajectory that serves as an eerie mirror to the last two years of pandemic life — just don’t go in expecting lighthearted fun.”