don't look up

Adam McKay’s devastatingly searing Vice took on the life and times of one Dick Cheney. Before that, McKay put the world on notice of his new leaf as a satirist auteur and a brutally effective one at that with The Big Short, focusing on the few that profited off of knowing the 2008 housing market crash was going to happen.

So much science has pointed out how clearly climate change is being caused by man made choices and the world as a whole, at this point, seems to be doing very little other than lip service. That’s where McKay is positing his lens on this go around with Don’t Look Up, a cautionary tale about ignoring all the signs of trouble that are very clear to see, but just so much easier to ignore and go on living life as you were (hence the film’s title).

Just from the trailer, you can see this might even be more biting than either Vice or The Big Short to the point that having a gigantic cast that features the big and brightest stars in Hollywood seems secondary to the message at stake when the nations and countries of the world aren’t addressing very clear and present danger.

Odds are you’ve probably seen this trailer already (DiCaprio and Lawrence are the stars of it after all and Meryl Streep plays POTUS), but for the sake of the point Adam McKay is trying to make, watch it again here, then watch it on Dec. 10th in theaters or Dec. 24th on Netflix.

In the time that Adam McKay has left Gary Sanchez on to more hard hitting, satirical pastures with The Big Short and Vice, it’s clear that McKay has carved out an auteur niche and is very likely going to continue to put out high profile satires that go to the very core of our worst demons (McKay is also at work on a project about the profiteering coming from COVID-19).

The latest work he’s offering up is Don’t Look Up, which is a timely look at people disregarding scientists in lieu of comforting ignorance. Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio lead off an ensemble cast as scientists desperately trying to warn the powers that be about an incoming asteroid. If you love that razor sharp style of McKay’s last two films and were wanting to see a, perhaps, funnier version of Melancholia, this will very likely be the movie for you this year.

Best of all, we’re getting this cautionary tale as a gift as it will stream on Netflix on Christmas Eve this year. Get a look for what we’re in for with Don’t Look Up in this teaser here.