The mixed reviews for new Netflix film Don’t Look Up have spoiled Leonardo DiCaprio’s untarnished reputation on Rotten Tomatoes, having ended a streak of nearly 10 years’ worth of ‘fresh’ acting credits.
DiCaprio stars in the movie as Dr Randall Mindy, an astronomy professor who – along with an astronomy grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) - discovers there is a comet headed towards Earth.
Together they embark on a media tour to warn the world, despite the fact the world doesn’t really seem to give two hoots.
While the movie has been widely praised for its not-so-subtle message about the dangers of ignoring climate change, as a piece of cinema things have been a little more divided.
On Rotten Tomatoes, which aggregates reviews to give viewers a bit of an overall consensus, the film has a fairly mediocre critics’ score of 56 percent – based on a total of 232 reviews.
As ComicBook.com reports, this marks the first ‘rotten’ film that DiCaprio has starred in since Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby back in 2013, which had a 48 percent rating.
The years in between have seen some of DiCaprio’s best work, with 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street (79 percent), 2015 flick The Revenant (78 percent), and Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood in 2019 (85 percent) - all certified ‘fresh’ by the site.
That eight-year winning streak only really equates to three films, but there’s no denying that they’re all big’uns.
Don’t Look Up, meanwhile, hasn’t been met with such critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone reviewer David Frear concluding: “Don't Look Up is a blunt instrument in lieu of a sharp razor, and while McKay may believe that we're long past subtlety, it doesn't mean that one man's wake-up-sheeple howl into the abyss is funny, or insightful, or even watchable.”
James Berardinelli from ReelViews wrote: “Despite a to-die-for cast and a seemingly can't-miss premise, Don't Look Up is a failure on too many levels and, although the viewing numbers may satisfy Netflix, it's a shock to see such a high-profile film self-destruct.”
That said, not all the critic reviews were negative, with Us Weekly’s Mara Reinstein referring to the film as ‘so-sharp-it-hurts satire that skewers our current state of politics, technology and celebrity culture within the context of an asteroid headed to Earth’.
Anton Bitel from Sight & Sound also said the ‘broad, crass, scattergun comedy’ is one that ‘fairly reflects the age of distraction being so grimly targeted’, while Film Inquiry’s Stephanie Archer wrote: “Don't Look Up finds deeper meaning and a grander aesthetic that not only challenges the conversation but demands action - before it's too late. There is no mistaking that this is one of the best films of the year.”
I guess you'll just have to decide for yourself by watching the film on Netflix now.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV and Film, Leonardo DiCaprio
Jess Hardiman