In a year where it seems that just about everything has happened except for the end of the world, it can be quite entertaining to watch a disaster film like Greenland and to witness the end of the world without having to get worried.
In Greenland, Gerard Butler plays structural engineer John Garrity desperately trying to get his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) along with their young diabetic son Nathan to safety as a comet is heading to earth that is likely to cause an extinction-level event. The film is full of action and thrills as fragments of the comet start hitting the ground and levelling cities whilst the Garrity's have to race across the country to reach sanctuary before it's too late.
Greenland is one of those films where nothing about it is ground-breaking cinema or anything that would make you too excited but it's a perfectly entertaining popcorn flick. Perhaps now isn't necessarily the best time to be releasing a film about the end of the world but it's quite nice to just be able to sit back, relax and watch as the human race prepares for a planet-destroying comet to hit without having to do any worrying yourself.
Greenland is the sort of film that from reading a synopsis it can sound a little silly and stupid, but the finished project is actually something worthwhile. And that's because a lot of the film focusses on the family at the film's centre. Whilst yes, there are still the big action scenes and you do still get the exciting CG scenes of bits of a comet hitting the earth that you expect from a film like this but that's not all it has. Morena Baccarin is probably the standout in terms of acting and gives a terrific performance as the mother desperately trying to get her son to safety. Because the characters are compelling it takes away some of the improbability of the whole situation making Greenland a much better film than it seems on paper.
However, the film can be a little hit and miss. You've got dramatic apocalyptic scenes and then you've got Gerard Butler's accent. In some scenes, he speaks with an American accent but then in others, Butler is speaking in his native Scottish accent and to be honest, it got quite distracting. The film would have been totally fine if he used his Scottish accent throughout but it's just the way that his accent would change from scene to scene and it would be really noticeable and distracting.
Overall, the film isn't anything revolutionary or breathtaking but it's nice to have a disaster movie that's actually quite good and Greenland is a film that will keep you engaged and entertained for two hours which is exactly what you want from a film like this.
Dir: Ric Roman Waugh
Scr: Chris Sparling
Cast: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glen
Prd: Nik Bower, Brendon Boyea, Gerard Butler
DOP: Dana Gonzales
Music: David Buckley
Country: USA
Year: 2020
Runtime: 119 minutes
Greenland is released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 5th February 2021
