The end of the world can be a filmmaker’s dream canvas, as stories of intense hope or biting satire can come to life with great clarity. Co-writer/director Adam McKay is taking full advantage of that latter stage, as his latest film Don’t Look Up is a dark comedy with planetary stakes. It only seems fitting that a movie about a threat from the stars would include an A+ cast, including Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, Tyler Perry, and Timothée Chalamet.
Teasing a film “based on real events that haven’t happened yet,” Netflix released its second trailer for this all-star apocalypse. Possessing just as much biting wit as the previous look, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence still act as the logical center to a cast of performers really hyping up the craziness of this world. What’s more, we get a better look at how this universe operates, and it’s as crazy as you’d expect from an Adam McKay picture.
Just how weird is this universe of lunacy? Consider this: when Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) discover this “planet killer” of a comet, it gives the authorities six months to try and do something. In any other disaster movie, like Deep Impact or even the Gerard Butler drama Greenland, this would be the time for the government to put together a plan and look solemnly out the Oval Office windows. That’s the polar opposite of what Meryl Streep’s President Orlean does, as she and her son/chief-of-staff (Jonah Hill) aren’t exactly feeling any urgency.
Blowing up the scale of Don’t Look Now’s global crisis, we see DiCaprio and Lawrence’s characters try morning news meltdowns, appeals to worldwide celebrities, and any other method they can think of to leak their discovery. Somehow, the world is just as meh about the entire thing as its governments. The audience for the film will probably feel a bit different, especially when everyone from Cate Blanchett and the ever busy Tyler Perry to Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, and Timothée Chalamet pops in to lend a hand in some way.
However, let’s talk about the massive hero in both this latest trailer, and the previously released footage: Ron Perlman. We've seen that the man is going to get blasted off into space, and now he's even resorted to shooting a handgun in his frustration against the massive planet killer. While it remains to be seen how either potential solution works out, at least the man who was once Hellboy is still trying to save our skins.
All-star craziness will break out when Don’t Look Up makes impact in limited theatrical release on December 10th, with its Netflix streaming debut set for December 24th. While you’re waiting, the official rundown of Netflix original films from this past year is also available to help plan your movie watching schedule accordingly. You can take your time though, as it's not like it's the end of the world.
