Positive early reactions to "Don't Look Up"

After a pair of screenings in Los Angeles just before the weekend, we've gotten the first "social media sentiments" about Don't Look Up. There are a lot of tweets I could post, and I don't want to be biased, so I'll just toss out a few that I feel generally represent the reactions from film pundits:

Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up is a dead serious and hilarious end of the world comedy, a Melancholia meets Dr. Strangelove —with a top ensemble in fine form, led by DiCaprio, Lawrence, and Streep. DiCaprio had been seeking a film to address the climate crisis in just the right way.

— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) November 19, 2021

Don’t Look Up is really REALLY good. It’s sporadically silly as well as serious, and while it can be little on the nose the big laughs, emotion and humanity blend together to keep it fresh. The whole cast completely crushes too. Without a doubt one of the best films of the year. pic.twitter.com/BhUndsU22n

— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) November 19, 2021

We’ve seen how the U.S. reacts to an impending apocalyptic disaster in other movies, but how would we REALLY react? #DontLookUp is a hilarious & horrifying satire about how painstakingly hard it is for us to actually save the day. It’s what you expect, but it’s super entertaining pic.twitter.com/MmjDztw5nX

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) November 19, 2021

Streep is excellent and has a great scene partner in Jonah Hill while Cate Blanchett gets to cut loose as a gossip reporter paired with the wonderful Tyler Perry. Jennifer Lawrence absolutely nails a woman screaming truth into the abyss to a world that shrugs.

— Jenelle Riley (@jenelleriley) November 19, 2021

Don’t Look Up has some smart ideas and some obvious ones, but despite its length and meandering nature it’s certainly compelling? Not sure it’s as funny as it wants to be. The drama is much more interesting. Doesn’t balance the tones well. Ariana Grande has a fun song in it.

— Gregory Ellwood - The Playlist 🎬 (@TheGregoryE) November 19, 2021

DON’T LOOK UP has some sharp capitalist and political satire if inconsistent humor. Leonardo DiCaprio is incredibly great here and gets an explosive Peter Finch in Network moment. Streep, Lawrence and Rylance are all good. Ariana Grande’s song is fucking hilarious. #DontLookUp pic.twitter.com/7VIhj0NAwV

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) November 19, 2021

Of course there are a few out there that basically insist that the film is complete trash, but like I said, I think the above handful of reactions is a fair representation of what's out there. Leonardo DiCaprio has the greatest praise as far as the cast. He'll likely be a strong (if somewhat unexpected) contender in Best Actor race. Jennifer Lawrence doesn't get as many positive mentions, but nothing bad. Meryl is getting generally good notices, but nothing earth-shattering. She's got a "decent" chance in this I think for an Oscar nomination. She's certainly going to be in the conversation, especially if once full reviews come out the film is lauded and her performance gets some more specific praise.

I can picture the film landing somewhere in the low 80s on Rotten Tomatoes and low to mid 70s on Metacritic, which should indicate generally positive reviews. If memory serves, the embargo ends on December 7.