Babylon: First reactions to Damien Chazelle's latest call it "a daring Hollywood epic" and an "ambitious mess"

First reactions to La La Land director Damien Chazelle's next film, Babylon, are here – and they're decidedly mixed. The film, which is set in '20s Hollywood and focuses on the switch from silent films to "talkies," stars Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Olivia Wilde, Samara Weaving, and Tobey Maguire. 

"Damien Chazelle's #BabylonMovie is a dazzling, dizzying cacophony of demented depravity. [Loved]! A rebellious, outrageous portrait of golden-era hedonistic Hollywood. Margot Robbie is a live wire. Diego Calva is sensational. Awe-inducing costume & production design," says journalist Courtney Howard. 

Critic Jana N. Nagase is also impressed by Calva and Robbie's performances: "#BabylonMovie is a crazy ride into Damien Chazelle's mind & his love for the movies. Diego Calva & Margot Robbie give a great performance. Stunning costume designer."

EW's Lauren Huff has high praise, too: "#BabylonMovie won't be for everyone, but it is a wild, wild debaucherous ride that swings for the fences and it's an absolute spectacle of filmmaking from start to finish. I think my jaw was on the floor for most of it. La La Land fans will recognize some things"

"#Babylon/#BabylonMovie is a daring Hollywood epic that utterly shocks the senses. 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," says Cheat Sheet's Jeff Nelson.

"#BabylonMovie is a 4 course meal that’s been cooked with a lot of cocaine. Damien Chazelle has crafted a love letter to cinema that looks back on the silent to talkie era of Hollywood and pulls back the curtain on some of the crazy debauchery of the era," is the verdict of Collider's Steven Weintraub.

"#BabylonMovie leaves it all on the floor – an epic, overstuffed kinetic ballet of chaos, cinema, nostalgia, nightmares, prejudices, and probably every thought Damien Chazelle has ever had. Not everything works, but EVERYTHING is in there," writes journalist Luke Y. Thompson.

Not everyone loves the movie, though. "Babylon is an ambitious mess of a film. 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," says journalist Scott Menzel. 

"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 & one of the worst films of 2022," says critic Erick Weber. 

Critic Ryan Swen also did not like the movie: "BABYLON: Truly monstrous in its thudding insistence on shoving the viewer's face in the muck and claiming it's something novel or moving; Chazelle might be the most confident director in Hollywood today, of course he's also got some of the worst instincts out there."

Babylon is in theaters from this December 23. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates to get planning those theater trips.