Babylon's early reviews are split on whether the messy and sprawling spectacle is glorious or just a spectacular bomb. Babylon is the latest film from celebrated director Damien Chazelle, whose previous efforts Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man have won 10 Oscars between them. Following a group of fictional movie stars in the bacchanal of 1920s Hollywood, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Tobey Maguire.
Today, the first critics were allowed to release reviews of Babylon following its Los Angeles premiere, just one week ahead of its theatrical debut on December 23. They tend to agree that the A-list stars (especially Robbie and Pitt) at the center of the film are having a blast and provide a fizzy, exhilarating experience. However, many find that the run time of 3 hours and 8 minutes is exhausting and not fit for a narrative so ultimately formless, celebrating early Hollywood in the emptiest and most shallow way possible. Read excerpts from select reviews below:
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap:
For all of the lathered-up fervor on display — from Linus Sandgren’s restless camerawork to Tom Cross’ frenetic editing to Justin Hurwitz’s insistent jazz score — “Babylon” works only in the rare moments when it slows down enough to capture a human moment. These fleeting moments of powerful emotion serve only to underscore the overblown tedium of the rest of the movie.
David Ehrlich, IndieWire:
It’s a high-risk, high-reward approach that pays huge dividends at the start, stumbles through several deadening passages down the middle (many of which find Chazelle succumbing to tropes that he fails to make his own), and then crushes the film under its own weight during its dour second half.
Jeff Ewing, SlashFilm:
At its best, "Babylon" is loaded with strong performances, incredible energy, eventful scenes evoking the Hollywood of yore, and Linus Sandgren's talented and usually gorgeous 35mm cinematography. That enlivened Old Hollywood anarchy dissipates as the new era takes its toll, but it largely fails to land the tragedy, tone, or ending.
Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:
The script still finds more than few bravura moments of absurd comedy, and the cast can't be faulted for committing. Pitt brings a boozy, unflappable charm and later, bewildered pathos; Robbie starts at 11 and never dials down... Calva is naturally charismatic and lovely to look at, but the movie's supposed co-lead spends most of his time simply bearing witness — one more casualty in the frenzied, preposterous rush of Chazelle's Everything Hollywood All at Once.
Pete Hammond, Deadline:
Babylon may not be for everyone. This isn’t cookie cutter stuff, and Chazelle doesn’t hold back. It can be exhausting at times, but as something wholly original and harkening to the spirit of filmmakers willing to take a swing, this is refreshing as hell.
Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair:
It begins to feel, as Babylon stretches out across three hours and eight minutes, that Chazelle has no clear idea where all of this is going.
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter:
The heart-on-its-sleeve sentiment of the director’s La La Land has given way here to an inability to convey compassion for his characters, which makes them dull company. Even the candy colors of that earlier film are replaced by dingy browns pierced by a golden glow that we know from the start won’t last. “It’s the most magical place in the world,” says Jack of Hollywood. But that magic is tarnished from the moment an elephant craps directly into camera in the opening scene.
Beth Webb, Empire:
Has Chazelle made a remarkable movie? He’s certainly made an unforgettable one. The set-pieces are masterful, the comedy caustic and bold, the ensemble cast commanding even in the face of chaos. Its ambition is undeniable. Yet even with all its flair, what it’s trying to say about cinema gets lost in the noise.
Stephanie Zacharek, Time:
In a moment of heedless generosity, you could almost commend Damien Chazelle for caring enough about the last days of the silent film era to make a movie about it—if he showed any evidence of caring at all. Babylon isn’t a film made with love, or even with any degree of exactitude; it pretends to be a movie about “loving movies,” but more than anything else, it seeks to reflect glory on its creator. It advertises its alleged extravagance and glamour, loud and hard, but only comes off looking tinny and cheap.
What Are Babylon's Oscar Chances in 2023?
Although the film's Rotten Tomatoes score will fluctuate as more reviews are added next week, at the time of writing Babylon is currently sitting at a comfortably Fresh but not overzealous 69 percent on the review aggregator service. It has also earned a "generally favorable" Metacritic score of 62. With these somewhat split reviews, it seems less likely that Babylon will receive as much love from the Academy this awards season as Chazelle's previous love letter to Hollywood, 2016's La La Land, which was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 6 as well as being Certified Fresh at 91 percent.
However, the Golden Globe Awards are typically viewed as a good barometer for the films the Academy will be rewarding in the coming season, and Babylon performed rather well in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's nominations, which were announced earlier this week. The film was nominated in five categories including Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Actor (Diego Calva), Best Actress (Margot Robbie), and Best Picture, Musical or Comedy. However, one more stumbling block for the film's Oscar chances is the fact that the Academy doesn't have a musical/comedy category, meaning that some of the films nominated for the 2023 Golden Globes in that category won't make it into the Best Picture lineup.
One other element to consider though is the fact that the Academy does have a history of rewarding films that celebrate Hollywood and filmmaking in general. This includes La La Land, Hugo (which won 5), and previous Best Picture winners like 2012's Argo and 2011's The Artist. Babylon certainly has that quality working for it, however, if these reviews reflect the views of the Academy, the film might not have much of a shot at Best Picture even if it performs well in the acting categories. Babylon also faces competition on the Hollywood front from Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, which is a semi-autobiographical account of his love affair with cinema in his younger years.
Source: Various (See above)
