--- title: "Don't Look Up: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dont-look-up/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dont-look-up" critics_score: 53 critics_reviews: 28 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Don't Look Up (2021): what the critics said Critics' score 53 from 28 reviews: 9 positive, 6 mixed, 13 negative. The reviews lean negative, with more critics against the film than for it. Where there is praise, it clusters on the cast: Jennifer Lawrence is singled out again and again as the grounded centre of the chaos, and Streep, Rylance, Blanchett and DiCaprio draw admiring notices even from critics who dislike the film around them. Those who like it call it a broad, funny satire that turns anger over climate inaction into rollicking comedy, and several note that the final stretch carries more feeling than the preceding two hours suggest it will. The reservations are about the satire itself. Close to half the critics find it smug, obvious and heavy-handed, going after easy targets and lecturing the audience rather than persuading it, and many also fault the pacing, saying the best material is spent early. The spread is wide, from four-star notices at The Times and NME to a failing grade from Collider, and the split does not follow national lines. ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2021. The critic praises the starry cast and McKay’s updating of classic satires like Dr. Strangelove, highlighting strong turns from Streep, Rylance, Blanchett and Chalamet in a film that ultimately makes a deep impact despite a slow start. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dont-look-up-movie-review-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-lawrence-timothee-chalamet-b970507.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating 4/5. 10 December 2021. DiCaprio and Lawrence shine in this rollicking political satire that draws attention to fake news and objective truths, with the final fable-like turn providing genuine power despite running out of steam. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/dont-look-up-review-dicaprio-and-lawrence-shine-in-this-doomsday-delight-with-a-cynical-edge-dtbqgf59n) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 December 2021. The critic describes a broad, brash satire that channels fury at inaction on climate change into rollicking comedy, praising the performances and McKay’s processing of political absurdities while noting it remains entertaining throughout. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/dont-look-up-review-netflix/) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 December 2021. The critic calls it a frequently funny, ambitious satire that skewers modern life, politics and media with a stacked cast, noting it bites off more than it can chew but lands enough to be a sharp, bold treat. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dont-look-up/) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2021. The critic describes the film as a broad, crass, scattergun comedy that works by reflecting the age of distraction and the grim reality of impending climate catastrophe through its celebrity-stuffed satire. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/dont-look-crass-scattergun-comedy-that-somehow-works) ## The AV Club — Jesse Hassenger Rating C+. 8 December 2021. The film is a despairing, blunt satire that feels very much of the pandemic moment but is exhausting and overly angry, blunting its own impact with heavy-handed jabs. While some performances and moments land, it is ultimately too weary and hectoring to consistently entertain or persuade. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/leonardo-dicaprio-and-jennifer-lawrence-cope-with-disas-1848171832) ## The Independent Rating 2.5/4. 8 December 2021. The critic finds McKay’s star-studded satire exceedingly watchable and funny as a comet stands in for climate change and political dysfunction, but notes chaotic tonal shifts and a script that underuses its cast. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/leonardo-dicaprio-adam-mckay-mark-rylance-earth-vice-b1972562.html) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 2/3/3. 8 December 2021. The critic views it as an uneven, star-studded dramedy that captures the lunacy of recent times and political divides but feels toothless overall, offering no easy answers on the climate crisis. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/dont-look-up) ## Radio Times — Emma Simmonds Rating 3/5. 8 December 2021. The critic finds the apocalypse allegory amusing and enjoyable thanks to game performances from the starry cast, but notes it is heavy-handed and overly broad in its satire. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/dont-look-up-review/) ## Slant Magazine Rating 2/4. 8 December 2021. The satire too often uses broad strokes and castigation rather than nuance, feeling bland, bloated, and self-satisfied like McKay's prior work. Lawrence stands out as compelling amid the film's granular comedy, but overall it lacks the incisiveness to truly take on the status quo. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dont-look-up-review-adam-mckay-leonardo-dicaprio/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 2/5. 8 December 2021. The critic finds Adam McKay’s satire laboured, self-conscious and unrelaxed, likening it to an extended SNL sketch that fails to deliver on comedy or seriousness. The opening act’s spectacle and some sharp political points are singled out as effective. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/08/dont-look-up-review-slapstick-apocalypse-according-to-dicaprio-and-lawrence) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 2021. The star-studded satire plays its best cards early but then drags, with the critic often wishing the comet would arrive sooner amid its hit-and-miss showcase of actors and basic thesis. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dont-look-review-wish-killer-comet-would-get-move/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2021. The critic finds the satire smug and self-righteous in its easy-target political jabs, though it succeeds in spotlighting apathy and self-interest around a global threat. The film is faulted for spastic pacing and an unwieldy mix of acting styles. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/dont-look-up-review-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-lawrence-1235127627/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2021. The critic calls it a toothless satire that fails to explore its premise deeply, going after easy targets like science-deniers rather than delivering a chilling or insightful parable on climate change and media inaction. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dont-look-up-review/5165377.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2021. The critic finds the star-studded satire cynical and smug, trivializing the climate crisis it aims to address rather than offering depth or nuance. McKay's approach is seen as self-satisfied and overly broad, with the bottom line urging viewers to 'just look away.' [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/dont-look-up-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-lawrence-1235057450/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2021. McKay's rage at climate inaction results in a misanthropic harangue that hates entertaining its audience and fails to engage meaningfully with the issues beyond declaring humanity sucks. The film improves slightly in its final act by allowing some tenderness but remains an arrogant, U.S.-centric metaphor that misses the mark. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-netflix-and-adam-mckays-dont-look-up.html) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 6 January 2022. The film is called clever but short on wit, functioning as crude demagogy that adds to the media blight it depicts while offering a cynically apolitical view of politics. It is praised for some sharp asides and riffs on the mediasphere but criticized for its simplistic anger and omissions. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-crude-demagogy-of-dont-look-up) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2021. McKay's climate satire is hilarious and frighteningly plausible, with an inspired comet metaphor and strong performances from the all-star cast, especially DiCaprio, Streep, and Hill. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/video/dont-look-up-review-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-lawrence-adam-mckay-netflix/) ## Den of Geek — Rosie Fletcher Rating 4/5. 24 December 2021. The critic finds McKay's end-of-days satire sharp and funny with a talented cast, but notes it may be the most depressing comedy ever due to its bleak portrayal of society's inaction and self-interest in the face of catastrophe. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dont-look-up-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Sarah Cook Rating 4/5. 10 December 2021. The film is smart and brilliant satire with a stacked cast and excellent performances, particularly from Jennifer Lawrence as the grounded voice of reason amid the chaos. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/dont-look-up-review/) ## NME — Nick Levine Rating 4/5. 7 December 2021. The critic calls it a sharp, thought-provoking black comedy that succeeds as both raucous entertainment and a grim cautionary tale, praising the all-star cast's performances while noting it loses some momentum near the end. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/dont-look-up-review-netflix-3113097) ## Film Stories — Simon Brew Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2021. The critic finds the satire straightforward but not particularly ambitious, with some good jokes and a strong cast but ultimately frustrating and safe rather than impactful. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/dont-look-up-review-netflixs-star-studded-end-of-the-year-saga/) ## The Playlist Rating D+. 7 December 2021. The satire is smug and glib, exhausting and ineffective, undercutting its cast with a sneering script that fails as both comedy and commentary. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/430225) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 3/10. 8 December 2021. The film is a smug, shrill, obvious satire that has nothing new to say beyond pointing out humanity's flaws, wasting its talented cast and premise. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/679771/dont-look-up-review-this-smug-shrill-disaster-movie-satire-is-just-a-disaster/) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 4.5. 10 December 2021. The critic says the film works better as a doomsday story with a poignant third act than as political satire, but faults it for being boring, overly long, and filled with unfunny jabs. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/netflix/dont-look-up-review) ## Polygon — Joshua Rivera Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2021. The critic calls the satire hellishly unfunny and exhausting, repeating familiar media and political discourse without new insight or effective jokes while wasting a strong cast. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22850873/dont-look-up-netflix-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 2021. The satire is toothless and plodding despite its timely message about climate change, with cartoonish characters, little humor beyond one running gag, and an all-star cast wasted in a lumbering two-and-a-half-hour slog. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/dont-look-up-film-review-leonardo-di-caprio-meryl-streep-netflix/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating F. 7 December 2021. The critic finds the satire lazy and obvious, lecturing the audience on known issues without new insights or humor. It complains about the film's condescension, smugness, and lack of empathy or laughs. [Read the review](https://collider.com/dont-look-up-review-netflix-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-lawrence/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dont-look-up.md