A comet is blasting through space. It's on a collision course, heading straight for Earth. But unfortunately, nobody seems to care.

This is the plot of Don't Look Up, a satireA genre of art which ridicules the shortcomings and hypocrisies of society. disaster movie. In it, a team of astronomers notice the comet and attempt to warn the world. But politicians, journalists and the public all ignore them. Once it is discovered to contain valuable minerals, all hope is lost. 

Don't Look Up is a take on humanity's reaction to climate change - and the inability of those in power to handle the crisis. 

Public response has been immense. The film has been streamed for 321,520,000 hours. It is Netflix's second most screened film of all time. 

But not everybody is celebrating the film. Don't Look Up has received almost universally bad reviews. One critic called it "a blunt instrument without a sharp razor". An "A-list bomb", said another. For Mashable's Alison Foreman, it was: "about as welcome as a kick in the teeth."

Some say this proves the critics are out of touch. Reviewers have often been out of step with the public. They slammed huge blockbusters like FlashdanceA 1983 American romantic comedy. Critic Roger Ebert gave it 1.5 stars. and Suicide Squad and praised arty films that most audiences find boring. Others suspect that Don't Look Up hit a nerve with the media because it attacks journalists for ignoring society's issues.

Reviewers have their defenders. They cannot predict how the public will react to a film. And they should know best. We trust all kinds of experts to give us advice. Why shouldn't it be the same with critics?

Some defenders say reviewers are trying to help the public - not looking down on them. Film critic A O Scott says they "sort through the glut to assist in the formation of choices". They are our guides. They are not judging us.

One common criticism is that all reviewers are just failed artists. Last year, John Cleese called them "ignorant", "envious" and "untalented". But this is rarely true. Many famous reviewers have been talented artists, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and TS EliotThe initials stand for Thomas Stearns. Born in the US, Eliot was one of the most influential figures in 20th-Century literature..

All the same, studies show the gap between what film critics and the public think has widened in recent years. If the gap continues to grow, people might come to wonder if reviews are worth reading at all. 

Yes: Don't Look Up might not be the greatest film ever made. But it speaks powerfully to our times. The critics have shown that they are out of touch with what really matters to people. 

No: A critic's job is to decide whether a film is a good work of art. To claim that Don't Look Up is a good film because of its message is to fail as a critic.

Or...?: Someone who spends their entire life writing about something is always going to know more than somebody who does not. Critics have a right to be a bit snobbish.