Directed by Adam McKay
Written by Adam McKay, David Sirota. 

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Melanie Lynskey, Ron Perlman,  Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel, Michael Chiklis, Paul Guilfolye, Robert Joy, Hettienne Park. 

Two astronauts in a low budget astronomy centre find a comet that is headed for Earth, and it is going to hit in a little over 6 months. When they try to get the world to take it seriously, no one including President Streep take it seriously, or believe them – with many people insisting it is a hoax.

Ultra political take on what would happen if such an event occurred, and the world was run by people who shouldn’t be running. This is obviously some tongue in cheek metaphors at the real world of politics, especially taking aim at what has transpired over the past few years – and who has been in charge.

DiCaprio shines here in a different role he has ever done before, and where he almost plays to his age. There were numerous jokes at his dispense at the fact that he could actually have children this age himself. There are some storylines that feel out of place, and a suspension of disbelief in some of the actions made.

Lawrence is brilliant as Kate, the PhD candidate that finds the comet, and her disbelief at the world that doesn’t see the seriousness of the situation. Her arc from a wide eyed scientist, to where she goes to in the movie, is heart-breaking at times.

Most of the supporting cast are obviously caricatures of some real life individuals. Rylance as the eccentric billionaire who funds the save mankind mission is one of the highlights of the film. While these characters are for comedic purposes only, if you don’t think too hard on it – it is an entertaining piece of filmmaking.

A little long at almost 2.5hrs, could have done with some editing as there are some pacing issues. This was one of the biggest films to be released on Netflix in 2021, and scored four Oscar nominations.

This was fine, but not amazing.

3.5/5