Y2K Review: Weak Story, Still Fun

Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy

Y2K poster. Courtesy of A24.

When the change of the millennium was upon us, there was plenty of concern about what was going to happen. I don’t remember anyone being concerned about things turning out quite the way they did in Kyle Mooney’s new horror comedy Y2K, but I remember tuning in to watch midnight in Australia just to make sure everything went okay.

Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) are each other’s only friends. On New Year’s Eve of 1999, they have plans to stay home and watch a movie. But when they run into Eli’s crush and super-hacker Laura (Rachel Zegler), they decide that they are going to the NYE party that Soccer Chris (The Kid Laroi) is hosting.

(L-R) Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell Credit: Nicole Rivelli

When midnight strikes, the lights flicker, and all of a sudden, all of the electronics start to turn on them. The group tries to escape to a place without electronics, but the machines track them down no matter where they go. Eventually, they realize that if they want to save humanity, they will have to go and confront the machines on their turf.

Y2K is a silly and funny movie that doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. The jokes, especially in the early part of the film, landed well with the intended audience, and there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. But for all of its goofiness, there were some genuinely heartfelt moments as well.

Nostalgia is front and center in this movie, but with a title like Y2K, I wouldn’t expect anything else. For the most part, it is used effectively. Sometimes, if it’s piled on just thick enough, this kind of humor works well. And this film piles it on very thick.

The performances are solid. Dennison and Martell are both talented young actors, and they played off of each other brilliantly. Zegler is another rising star, and even though I wasn’t sold on the romance between her and Martell, she still lights up the screen.

(L-R) Julian Dennison, Jaeden Martell Credit: Nicole Rivelli

The biggest issue this movie faces is that there isn’t quite enough story to cover even the short 93-minute run time. Obviously, a comedy doesn’t have to have a lot of story elements going on, but Y2K has a few moments when it feels like Mooney, along with co-writer Evan Winter, is stretching out some moments beyond when they are finished. The movie loses steam in the final act, with the bulk of the most gnarly kills finished right at midnight. It also has a “kids these days and their devices” that feels a bit preachy at the end that could have been left out.

Even with a weak story, Y2K is a lot of fun. It fully commits to the “evil electronics” bit, where the machines turn against their human creators, and takes it to wholly absurd heights. It has some fun cameos, an awesome soundtrack, and highlights the value of friendship. We can’t get away from our electronics, but we can still ensure that real people are more important than them.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on December 8, 2024.