Four years after the release of First Man, filmmaker Damien Chazelle returned to the cinematic scene with Babylon, which explored the transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s. However, unlike the aforementioned Ryan Gosling-led movie and Chazelle’s other previous movies, Whiplash and La La Land, Babylon, which included Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt in its star-studded cast, was met with polarizing reviews. More than half a year since its release though, it’s gained a new supporter in author Stephen King, who thinks this flick will become a cult classic.
King often goes on social media to share his thoughts on movies and TV shows he’s seen, including giving From his stamp of approval back in June. Having now seen Babylon, whether he streamed it with a Paramount+ subscription or purchased/rented it, the writer of acclaimed works like IT, The Stand and Cujo went on Twitter to heap the following praise onto the late 2022 release:
Maybe this says more about me than the film, but I thought BABYLON was utterly brilliant--extravagant, over the top, hilarious, thought-provoking. Might be one of those movies that reviews badly and is acclaimed as a classic in 20 years.
That’s high praise coming from Stephen King, and to be fair, he’s certainly not alone in this camp. Rather than being an outright critical dud, Babylon has its fair share of supporters and detractors, ranking at 57% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and boasting a 52% Audience Score. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars in his review, saying that it was “destined to be divisive.” King, on the other hand, was quite impressed by Babylon, though it’ll be many years before we’ll learn if his prediction of it becoming a cult classic comes true.
If Babylon is indeed received more warmly in the decades to come, it would be in good company with movies like The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China and even 2001: A Space Odyssey. Still, even though it didn’t strike a chord with everyone, Babylon managed to collect a decent amount of accolades on top of its numerous positive reviews, including winning the Golden Globe for Best Original Score and being nominated in four other categories. Conversely, it failed to perform successfully at the box office, making only $63.3 million off a budget reportedly in the $78-80 million range.
If you’re in the mood for more Babylon-related content, read our thoughts on Tobey Maguire’s wild plotline or learn about how Damien Chazelle shot a two-hour version of the movie on his iPhone. Of you’d rather direct your gaze to the future, our 2023 release schedule lays out what movies are left to come out this year.
