I love a good disaster movie. When Greenland was first being released I wrote it off as likely not falling into the "good" category. Butler has become king of the B-movies and the director is behind the "...Has Fallen" series so I didn't think there was much promise here. But Greenland, while not being brilliant or anything, ends up being a lot better than promised.
Instead of focusing on famous places being destroyed and spectacular special effects, Greenland spends way more time on the human toll. There is a certain amount of things blowing up but that's not the focus of the film. What makes Greenland satisfying is how they spend time really dealing with how people would react during a crisis. So many of these sorts of films don't, or handle these things so poorly. Greenland does a pretty decent job. In fact, a little warning, as the film gets into its Lord of the Flies plots it gets a little on the intense side.
Now that's said I will say the film isn't perfect. There are a lot of coincidences that feel unreal and plot points that are a bit silly. But it really isn't what I expected it to be. Butler and Baccarin are both strong enough actors to make the film resonate emotionally and the plot holes aren't so bad as to ruin the experience. While it remains popcorny and disposable it's also not dumb enough to annoy. The ending feels a bit rushed and unearned but it is what one would expect.
Greenland
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Scott Glenn, David Denman, Hope Davis, Andrew Bachelor
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Writer: Chris Sparling
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