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  • Accidental Aesop:
    • "People should take the threat of an apocalyptic comet collision more seriously". The film treats the comet as a straightforward Climate Change Allegory, but the fear of a comet hitting Earth and causing widespread destruction is a genuine one held by a number of scientists and astronomers. And unlike climate change, which does have plenty of funding dedicated to the issue as well as general buy-in from elites that it’s worth taking seriously, comet tracking programs are chronically underfunded when they exist at all, with the actual risk of a comet collision being viewed by the general populace as minuscule to the point where a popular film can use the idea as a fantastical metaphor for an issue seen as more pressing.
    • Given how forgone a conclusion can be when celestial bodies get involved, one could be forgiven for thinking that the film was about facing the end—whatever that end might be—rather than about climate change specifically.
    • Always field test your devices before you use them, especially when incredibly high stakes are involved, and listen to other people’s opinions. In Peter Ishwell's case, he didn’t bother to test his drones and even removed anyone from the project who raised questions or concerns about the legitimacy of the plan, due to his own ego and hubris, which resulted in the BASH drones failing to destroy the comet.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Does Orlean offer Mindy (who has publicly denounced her) two seats on the Sleeper Ship because she wants to exploit him (given the general uselessness of the ship's passengers) or as a Pet the Dog moment? Her general personality suggests the former, but her lack of frustration when he refuses could indicate the latter.
    • Given how nonchalant Isherwell was at the failure of the mission, and having a high-tech backup plan, is it possible he intended for it to fail and have the comet wipe out the Earth just so he could be the savior of a select handful? Additionally, the failure of the joint China-Russia-India deflection mission may not have been a testament to those countries not being as capable as the US, but may have been deliberate US intervention at Isherwell's behest to secure resources and remove an obstacle to his goals, which is Truth in Television.
  • Anvilicious: The film's own director and writer, Adam McKay, called the movie "the most thinly disguised metaphor in the history of metaphors" in how it compares the in-universe response to the comet to the real-world response to Global Warming. As one might guess from that quote, it was absolutely intentional.
  • Applicability: In-between the movie being announced (2019) and released (2021), there was the emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and audiences could recognize many of the global warming-related criticisms (denialism, greed, questionable government response) as also relating to the virus.
  • Audience-Alienating Ending: Several critics thought this about the movie's ending where everyone on Earth dies due to human greed made it completely pointless to watch, resulting in its mixed reviews and many who found out about the ending not bothering to watch it.
  • Award Snub:
    • While the film itself has some accolades along with 4 oscar nominations including Best Picture, Adam McKay didn't get a Best Director nod nor were any of the All-Star Cast nominated in the acting categories despite well-received performances all around.
    • "Just Look Up" by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, as their respective characters Riley Bana and DJ Chello, also got snubbed for Best Original Song.
  • Awesome Music:
    • "Just Look Up" by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, thanks to the hilarious lyrics sung as a sweeping ballad.
    • "Second Nature" by Bon Iver. Which serves as an equivalent to Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again" for Dr. Strangelove.
    • Nicholas Britell's score is generally great, but every variation of its main theme is legitimately awesome, with the jazzy and energetic nature of the the main version clashing with the doom-laden tone of the four note descending scale being unsettling yet catchy at the same time. Likewise, "Memento Mori", the cue that plays over the final scene, is beautifully depressing and moving, and manages to hold the same amount of emotion on its own as it does in the film, even down to its abrupt ending.
    • Thanksgiving (Overture To Logic And Knowledge). This music makes at least half of the scene it accompanies.
  • Broken Base: The ending. All life on Earth is killed by the meteor. Some people find the ending powerful in how melancholy and tragic it is knowing that every living thing still on the planet died because of human greed. Other people are not fond of how cynical it is and feel the ending is cruel just for the sake of it, especially after all the protagonists have been through trying to warn the world. They also criticize that there is no point in watching a movie where things just get worse and worse to a point where you are just waiting for the characters to die by the ending.
  • Catharsis Factor: The mid-credits scene. Given that the rich elites on board (especially Isherwell and Orlean) were directly responsible for ending all life on Earth, seeing them completely fail to properly survive on the alien planet they attempted to escape to feels like a Karmic Death. While the ending is unquestionably bleak and depressing, viewers can at least take some solace in the fact that the rich ghouls didn't get the last laugh.
  • Critical Dissonance: Critics were mixed, seeing the film as well-made and well-intentioned, but also heavy-handed and mean-spirited, garnering the film a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. It still managed to debut at #1 on Netflix, and the audience score on the same site was a more respectable 77%. One group that unanimously adored it were climate scientists, who felt that some of the criticisms of the movie revealed more about the people making them than about the film itself. It's to the point that "critics vs. scientists" became a common narrative after it debuted, ironically mirroring the in-universe frustration that the main characters come to have with the media themselves. One science contributor for The Guardian pointed out that many of the criticisms of the movie sound like dialogue from the movie. On the other hand, many of the movie's detractors dismissed it as being obnoxiously self-important and with an unwarranted confidence in the effectiveness of its message, and expressed frustration over their view of the cast as being wealthy, privileged Hollywood fixtures lecturing the masses on issues they rarely assist with themselves. The divide deepened after the film received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, with many critics decrying the nomination and Jimmy Kimmel accusing those who voted for it of elitism on his show, claiming they should have voted for Spider-Man: No Way Home instead, and even during the Academy Award ceremony, where co-host Amy Schumer made a joke about the nomination, saying that the reason the film was nominated was because the Academy apparently "don't look up reviews"; the dramatic reactions drew notable blowback from supporters of the film.
  • Don't Shoot the Message: While they agree with the message of the film, more than a few critics and audiences were not amused by the movie's incredibly blunt and over-the-top take on human avarice and willful ignorance.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Yule. Played by Timothée Chalamet? Check. Is a slacker with Hidden Depths and one of the only likeable characters in the movie? Check. Has one of the most poignant scenes in the film? Check.
  • Friendly Fandoms: Because of the movie's leftist messaging, many of its fans also enjoy similar works that provide similarly leaning social and political commentary via sci-fi metaphors, such as Get Out, Sorry to Bother You, Parasite and Squid Game. This was enhanced in Parasite's case when Bong Joon-ho listed Don't Look Up among his favorite films of the year.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: An odd example of this happening during late production; the climate change metaphor turned out to double as an eerily spot-on metaphor for the struggle to get people to make even the most basic efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and the absurd vilification of the experts desperately trying to save people from their own stupidity.
  • He's Just Hiding: Jason surviving the initial strike has some fans hoping other, more sympathetic characters, may have also survived. Even Kate, Yule, Teddy, and the Mindy family invite some of this despite how a wall of fire hits their home.
  • Love to Hate: Sir Peter Isherwell endangers the entire planet with his greedy plan, but his utterly bizarre nature makes him one of the film's funniest and easily its creepiest character, with Mark Rylance's sheer commitment to the baffling strange role getting a good deal of praise.
  • Misaimed Fandom: Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) praised the movie and showed interest in it, despite the fact that the film was made from a leftist perspective and intended to criticize corporate-aligned politicians such as herself regardless of party affiliation. Some even directly compared Sinema to President Orlean herself in the replies.
  • Moral Event Horizon:
    • Isherwell crosses it when he fires Dr. Mindy's colleagues from his BEAD project for asking too many questions and lets the project go on without adequate review, dooming the entire planet to destruction. While his prior decision to abort the mission was already incredibly unconscionable, Peter could have potentially avoided crossing the MEH if his plan to safely destroy the comet was reliable enough to work. However, his treatment of the scientists on the team as well as the existence of his Sleeper Ship show that he knew that his plan could fail, and any concern he had for humanity's survival took a backseat to his delusions of grandeur and the chance to possibly make money.
    • President Orlean crosses it when she completely ignores the comet even though she knows the impact is a certainty, just because she doesn't think acting benefits her. And right after she actually does try to destroy the comet (for purely selfish reasons) she cements her awfulness by going along with Isherwell's plan, effectively dooming the planet.
    • Kate's parents crossed it when they disowned her leaving her homeless and all by herself for her anti-comet stance as they believe in Isherwell's reckless and greedy plan to mine the comet.
  • Questionable Casting: While a lot of big names have minor roles in this film, Michael Chiklis' casting stands out as distracting given the well known actor plays a completely nonessential character who's onscreen for less than a minute. And unlike a cameo like Chris Evans, he actually pops up several times, meaning he most likely had a larger role that was left on the cutting room floor.
  • Padding: A common complaint is that the movie goes on for too long. Some have argued a good number of characters in the very large cast having their roles reduced or cut would've helped this issue and kept the movie more streamlined.
  • Superfluous Solo: Riley Bina and DJ Chello are minor characters who have no effect on the plot, but perform a whole musical number anyway. While the scene showcases the growing support for Randall and Kate's campaign, that was already displayed in the montage leading up to said scene, and the extended song does nothing to really alter or add to this. Ultimately, "Just Look Up" appears to just happen because when you have Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi in the same movie, you might as well have them do a song.
  • Spiritual Successor:
    • Some people jokingly note that this movie is "the Netflix adaptation of Remina". Exclusion of Cosmic Horror Story aspect of Junji Ito's manga aside, Don't Look Up shares some similar plot points: an incoming planet-killer named after the main heroine, a human populace behaving irrationally after learning about it, pointed satire of celebrity culture, and the rich elites successfully escaping the destruction of Earth only to meet a more painful demise on what turns out to be a Death World. Though oddly enough, it had a happier ending.
    • Several critics have noted that the film is very much in the vein of Dr. Strangelove, being a Black Comedy about a disaster threatening to end the world that would have been relatively easily to put a stop to, but manages to spin utterly out of control due to human incompetence and short-sightedness, and a big helping of moments of supreme narcissism and even outright insanity on behalf of the cast. The two films even have a pretty similar ending, as the respective disasters end up succeeding in destroying the world. Even Bon Iver's ending song "Second Nature" has the line "We will see you next time", which is like Vera Lynn's song for Dr. Strangelove, "We'll Meet Again".
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Yule only pops up partway through the film and once he's quickly gotten together with Kate, he and their romance then spend the rest of the story largely Out of Focus.
    • Riley Bina and DJ Chello wind up supporting Kate and Randall, but their effort comes and goes without any kind of meaningful impact before they're never seen again. The former at least reoccurs a few times, but the latter only has two brief appearances.
    • General Drask is made up to be a key player in stopping the comet only to exit the movie very shortly after entering it, popping up just one more time afterwards.
    • A few viewers have noted that Kate feels sidelined in favor of Randall, who has much more of an arc and an impact on the plot while she remains secondary to him and non-changing. Some have even said it might've made more sense if the movie had just one lead because of this.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The performance of "Just Look Up" occurs after support for Randall and Kate's movement has grown exponentially, which makes the number feel like it's going on too long since it had no actual effect on the plot. This could've been downplayed if it was used to be a huge initial boost to their cause instead of just one small additional. It would even line up with Riley Bana's prior characterization given she was already worried about the comet and did earlier charity work, so it would make sense if she tried to give Randall and Kate this platform.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: It's a movie about smart people mostly being ignored by greedy and unsympathetic authority figures and a moronic populace that is ignorant to the doomsday closing in on them. Not helping matters is that it dropped on Christmas Eve. Notably, even its trailer caused this, as it did not beat around the bush regarding its tone and story, leading many people to correctly predict the ending months in advance.
  • The Woobie: Kate Dibiasky - after discovering the comet, she finds herself frustrated by the apathy of her fellow people. She is ruthlessly mocked and memed after her breakdown on live TV, with her own boyfriend jumping on the bandwagon and breaking up with her. She is later forced to go off the grid and drop out of college. By the start of the third act, she has basically given up on humanity, ultimately coming to the conclusion that Humans Are Morons or the Real Monsters and that the world is beyond saving.

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