The First ‘Babylon’ Reactions Are Largely Positive With Some Concerns For The Coke-Fueled Period Piece

Paramount premiered Damien Chazelle‘s massive new 188 minute film, Babylon, on Monday night, and so far the reactions have been mostly positive. The heady period project stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as it explores the wild excess of 1920s Hollywood, which is apparently a lot like modern day Hollywood depictions because everyone’s doing tons of coke.

If there’s one word that comes up in almost every reaction, it’s cocaine. We’re not even joking. Just take a look at what the critics are saying below:

“Babylon is an ambitious mess of a film,” Scott Menzel wrote. “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.”

— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) November 15, 2022

“#Babylon feels like if someone read Damien Chazelle the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and then he said, ‘hold my beer!'” Clayton Davis tweeted. “High octane, cocaine-inducing trip. First half is great. Likely the internet’s new favorite movie of all-time. Margot Robbie and Justin Hurwitz are your stars.”