Movies that are set in apocalyptic times give anxiety and it's kind of interesting to watch. I enjoyed them a lot. Before seeing Greenland, I had already watched 'Geostorm (2017)'. The movie disappointed me and it was painful because Gerard Butler, one of my favorite actors, starred as the main character in the movie. So when I decide to watch this movie, I thought it was going to be like 'Geostorm' but actually it ended up surprising me I'm the end regardless of the fact that it is a half-lower budget film. Normally, we don't get surprises from those kinds of movies.
'Greenland' is an apocalyptic disaster movie that was written by Chris Sparling and directed by Ric Roman Waugh. The story of the movie revolves around a family who are struggling to survive a catastrophic natural disaster that has claim thousand of life. The movie starred Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, David Denman, Hope Davis, and Scott Glenn.
Brief Summary.
John Garrity, structural engineer who lives with his estranged wife, Allison and diabetic son Nathan in Georgia came home to celebrate his son's birthday. Spending some time with his son he got to also watch the news of the recently discovered interstellar comet named "Clarke" which is fast approaching the earth's atmosphere. Not long, Allison asks him to go get some groceries for Nathan's birthday.
John and his son went to the grocery store to get what they needed. While shopping, John received an automatic call and message from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) saying that he and his family members have been selected for emergency shelter. Quickly John leaves the store and goes back home only for him to see on the news that a comet had entered the atmosphere and is likely landed near a sea.
However, the comet landed in Tampa which affected the whole city and the impact spread through Georgia city too. Simultaneously John received the same automated message from the DHS which was clearly this time around displayed on his TV with more details and private pass for John and his family to have access to the emergency he was promised earlier. Immediately, John took his wife and son to the military base he was directed to for safety. Will they make it to the military base? Will John and his family survive the apocalyptic disaster that is about to happen?
The Main Characters.
The Cast of this movie was well selected and their performance was fantastic. Though, throughout the movie, concentration was more on the three main than the disaster. So I will briefly talk about three main characters who in fact the storyline of the movie revolves around.
John Garrity (Gerard Butler)
Butler is the central character of this movie. He played the role of a loving and committed father who is also having some relationship challenges with his wife. Throughout the movie, Butler's role wasn't stagnant but it kept changing as the apocalyptic disaster unfolded leaving many dead in its path. I enjoyed his role and performance a lot because He transformed from a distant father/husband to a devoted and loving man to his family with his determination to keep his family safe at all cost.
Allison Garrity (Morena Baccarin)
Morena's character in this movie was a woman who was struggling with her emotions and mental health as she separated from John. As the apocalyptic disaster starts, Morena had to set aside her emotions and grudges to keep her family safe. Her performance was okay and manageable for me because throughout the movie I couldn't really connect with her as there was no back story as to why she wanted a separation from John. To me, I didn't really pay any attention to her throughout the movie.
Nathan Garrity (Roger Dale Floyd)
Nathan's role was amazing for me. His performance was unexpectedly convincing because he blended with his character well and was able to portray every emotion a child of his will portrayed in such a situation. But then, a scene made me angry with his character because without the scene his parents wouldn't have struggled to stay safe to the extent they put themselves at risk of getting killed. Regardless, his character was at the center of the movie.
Other supporting characters were good, their brief presence was felt throughout the movie and they were all introduced in the movie's flow seamlessly without any disruption to the scene arrangements.
My Review And Rating.
This movie was entertaining to me because it didn't concentrate on the CGI of the disaster; instead, it concentrated on the three main characters and the nature of humans. Though the storyline of the movie is not new to us as there are many apocalyptic movies we have seen, this movie's storyline was told from the perspective of the three main characters in a unique way.
As the story of the movie is told from the perspective of the three main characters, I was able to connect with the arc of the story like I was experiencing what the characters were experiencing too. Because of this unique storytelling, this movie was fully packed with the emotional effect of a catastrophic event, the tension of experiencing such events and lastly it adequately portrayed both the best and worst of human nature in times of such events.
The director did an amazing job with the movie because every scene portrayed appropriate human emotions which makes it all realistic. . The director also made sure to make the disaster scene sequences feel realistic, terrifying and convincing. All the scenes were arranged well to blend with the storyline of the movie. Also, the setting of the movie was good regardless of the fact that there were various settings like the road trip, suburban life and government shelter.
The visuals were okay, but the CGI was not really convincing because it was mild and inconsistent but it was an average work. The movie was entertaining and enjoyable for me. It is a movie that I watched once and forgot that I did because it didn't give me a lasting impression. The ending was not satisfying for me but I hope the next sequel that is in the works will be better.
Rating this movie, I will give it 6.5 out of 10 stars. It is a family entertainment movie and it's averagely interesting. I would recommend this movie if you want to just have fun and relax with a little bit of tension. Have you seen the Greenland movie before? What's your take on the movie?
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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