Released in 2020, American apocalyptic action film, Greenland was written by Chris Sparling and directed by Ric Roman Waugh.
John Garrity (Gerard Butler) is a structural engineer who, after a period of separation due to marital troubles, moves back in with his wife, Allison Garrity (Morena Baccarin) and young son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). He’s home in time to watch, with his family and close neighbours, the special feature on what’s been trending all over the news - the interstellar comet passing closely by earth.
The oncoming comet, which had broken into fragments, was not meant to pose any threat; at least that’s what was said on the news. Nevertheless, the military planes flying overheard, the military vehicles moving in a single file on the roads, and the devastating explosion and destruction when a couple of the fragments hit earth, said the exact opposite.
It turns out that more clusters of the comet were set to hit earth in the next two days with the last and biggest one anticipated to cause world extinction. In preparation for such a time as this, safety bunkers had been created in specific areas around the world and a few people in various fields relevant to the rebuilding of the earth have been chosen by the governments for survival. John Garrity and his family are one of the appointed lucky few. Now, all they have to do is find their way to the point of departure so they can join the number of appointees to be transported to the bunkers. The heavy traffic, throng of disgruntled and desperate people, threatening comet fragments and chaos brought on by the disastrous situation, would make this a complicated ordeal. Plus Nathan is a type 1 diabetic; this was going to be an integral complication. Ultimately, any hope for survival lies in Greenland.
I was curious to see Greenland, partly because it is one of those “dooms day” films - and I do love me some ‘Independence Day’ type blockbusters, and partly because the buzz wasn’t subtle about what to expect – big-budget, cinematic and exciting😊 Well, I think it “kind of” delivered on all three fronts. However, the degree to which each aspect hit the mark weighs heavily in determining how well it delivered.
The story is actually cool. It’s one we have seen in a number of other films; like 1998’s American sci-fi, Armageddon. Let’s face it; we do love that ‘impending end of the world’ theme because it never gets old… at least not yet. It just depends on how well you can spin your variation of it with a solid plot, great actors, and awesome special effects. I thought Greenland’s plot was fairly captivating, mildly exciting in some parts and probably lacking a bit more lustre. I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t a low-budget film, but not quite big-budget either. There were some really frustrating incidents and developments in the film that are guaranteed to infuse excitement in the audience thereby rendering it reasonably engaging. The special effects were good but not amazing. There is absolutely no doubt, though that this film was made for the big screen.
Regarding the cast, I’m not quite sure anyone really owned the role. Even though they all did quite well, I feel like literally anyone could have been cast in any of the roles. Gerrard Butler is one actor that I can’t seem to fathom. While the action man was able to blow me away as King Leonidas in 2007’s American Epic period action film, 300, he hasn’t been able to do so ever since. He tends to have the same worried and stressed look on his face in almost all his films. And is it just me or does he always seem to be sweating all the time… even when there’s no action going on? It’s probably just me LOL. The one actor who really impressed me is nine year old Roger Dale Floyd. His character was quite believable and he’s a really clever actor.
Greenland has most of the trimmings of a huge blockbuster but doesn’t quite make it all the way. See it for yourself. My rating? 7.2 out of 10. Some people would say that's a generous rating. I think so too!
Currently available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
Further information
Director
Writer
Played John Garrity
Played Allison Garrity
Played Nathan Garrity
Played Dale, Allison's father
Played Ralph Vento
Played Judy Vento
Andrew Bachelor: Played
Colin
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