Margot Robbie's new movie Babylon has received its first reactions, and they're very mixed, to say the least.
The anticipated film from La La Land's Damien Chazelle charts the rise and fall of several characters during early Hollywood, with decadence and debauchery aplenty.
Also starring the likes of Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart and Olivia Wilde, the trailer alone has promised a wild ride, and following a first screening last night (November 14), a number of critics have had their say – both positive and negative.
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On the positive side of things, Variety's Jazz Tangcay said Babylon was "extravagant, decadent and all together delightfully delicious," calling it "phenomenal filmmaking". "This is Damien Chazelle's love letter to movie making, and Margot Robbie's best performance to date. The score is outstanding," she added.
Writer Courtney Howard was also praising, calling it "a dazzling, dizzying cacophony of demented depravity". "[Love]d! A rebellious, outrageous portrait of golden-era hedonistic Hollywood. Margot Robbie is a live wire. Diego Calva is sensational. Awe-inducing costume and production design."
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"[Babylon] is a daring Hollywood epic that utterly shocks the senses," added Cheat Sheet's Jeff Nelson. "Margot Robbie and Diego Calva give huge performances. Damien Chazelle incorporates his signature musicality and movement throughout. Justin Hurwitz's score is one hell of a wall of sound."
TheWrap's Drew Taylor said: "Babylon is both a sensational celebration of cinema as an art form and a deeply probing condemnation of the mechanics behind said art form. Overflowing with razzamatazz – gorgeous cinematography, costumes, design and full of killer performances. Pairs well with Nope. Loved it."
However, on the other side of the coin, Scott Menzel labelled it "an ambitious mess of a film", tweeting: "I don't even know where to begin with this one but the tone is all over the place. Margot Robbie tries but the script fails her. A love letter to cinema that made me hate cinema."
Entertainment Weekly's Joshua Rothkopf wrote: "Damien Chazelle brings buckets of energy to Babylon, but it's never not pounding and obvious and, finally, uninsightful. "Everything about it is borrowed – even down to Tobey Maguire stealing the film as its Alfred Molina. A Scorsese coke film by a squeaky clean director."
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Ryan Swen suggested Babylon is "truly monstrous in its thudding insistence on shoving the viewer's face in the muck and claiming it's something novel or moving," adding that Chazelle "might be the most confident director in Hollywood today, of course he's also got some of the worst instincts out there."
Particularly scathing was Erick Weber, who suggested it was "one of the worst films of 2022". "I have some really – really – bad news to share with you, Babylon's a flaming hot mess, a tonal disaster, easily Damien Chazelle's worst film and one of the worst films of 2022," he tweeted.
Babylon is released in US cinemas on December 25 and in UK cinemas on January 20, 2023.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
