I just watched “Don’t Look Up”. I’m glad I heard the mixed reviews because I went into it knowing that it’s not a comedy per se. It’s a humorous movie but ultimately a tragedy. I highly recommend it.
I read a review from Dave Winer a couple of days ago that convinced me to watch it despite the bad reviews. He said:
I didn’t watch a lot of movies this year, but my favorite, hands-down, was (of course) Don’t Look Up. It’s more than a movie, it’s an anthem, identifying the conclusion of our civilization one way or the other. We either overcome our need to be told simple bedtime stories and thus transform into something else, or we self-destruct. Either way, the past is not a template for the future. And they deliver the message in such an entertaining way! Maybe it’s the last fun movie our species will ever create? People who judge the movie on its ability to entertain alone are totally missing the point. We have not only hit the wall, but it destroyed us. Now it’s time to pick up the pieces, the best we can. As Dr Mindy says at the end, “We really did have everything.” Note the past tense, and it’s very true, in the movie and in our lives. The times of having everything is over. Now what can we salvage from the wreckage of our civilization?
When I came to bed afterward I was just reeling from the movie. It’s not about a meteor at all, and I think we’re already past the point of recovery, but some people most people don’t want to know.