IN BRIEF: Flawed but entertaining disaster movie.
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) It was just another typical day, except for the orange colored fireworks in the sky and the news announcing that a a massive comet was hurling itself to Earth. That was when John Garrity and his family received an emergency amber alert from the President to become one of the chosen few deemed essential to the Earth's survival. They are ordered to board a plane to Greenland to escape the on-coming Armageddon. Bunkers and perils await them on their road trip to hell in Ric Roman Waugh's surprisingly literate disaster movie, Greenland.
John and Allison Garrity (Gerald Butler and Morena Baccarin) are already not in the best of shape as the couple is on the verge of a divorce and their son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd), is dealing with a severe case of diabetes. As they take to the road, the family is separated by unforeseen circumstances and bad decision-making. This splintering stretches the plausibility factor to its limits and weakens the story with its various sub-plots of danger and suspense.
It also led this reviewer to question some LOL (Leaps of Logic) that seriously affected the movie: If they don't know the comet's actual point of impact, how do the leaders know Greenland will be a safe haven, complete with bunkers? Wouldn't the government already know that the Garrity's son has issues with diabetes through medical records and therefore unable to meet the requirements as human cargo due to his pre-existing condition prior to their approval? Could this family really reunite on an extensive trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Lexington, Kentucky without transportation, money, and no GPS at hand? With congested traffic conditions, could they get from Kentucky to upstate New York in six hours? Why would you name a comet Clarke?
However, credit must go to Mr. Waugh's no-nonsense direction and screenwriter Chris Sparling's storytelling for avoid formulaic tropes and making a doomsday thriller that focuses on the family drama, avoiding overladen CGI and heroic he-man action fight scenes (minus one perfunctory encounter). They create convincing characters that are given mostly realistic perils to endure, and by doing so, make a rarity of a overblown genre: a satisfying disaster movie.
It is refreshing to see Mr. Butler play a real-life person than his usual macho screen persona. He can act. Young Mr. Floyd continues to be a fine natural actor. Scott Glenn has a few scenes that add some touching moments to the film as Allison's father and David Denham and Hope Davis bring on the menace and plot complications. But it is the excellent Ms. Baccarin who has the biggest emotional range as a mother who contends with overwhelming odds and a wife who begins to question her sense of forgiveness. She makes Allison a complex and wounded character to root for.
Greenland is an atypical apocalypse disaster movie and that's what makes it all the more entertaining.(GRADE: B-)
JIM'S REVIEW: (RECOMMENDED) It was just another typical day, except for the orange colored fireworks in the sky and the news announcing that a a massive comet was hurling itself to Earth. That was when John Garrity and his family received an emergency amber alert from the President to become one of the chosen few deemed essential to the Earth's survival. They are ordered to board a plane to Greenland to escape the on-coming Armageddon. Bunkers and perils await them on their road trip to hell in Ric Roman Waugh's surprisingly literate disaster movie, Greenland.
John and Allison Garrity (Gerald Butler and Morena Baccarin) are already not in the best of shape as the couple is on the verge of a divorce and their son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd), is dealing with a severe case of diabetes. As they take to the road, the family is separated by unforeseen circumstances and bad decision-making. This splintering stretches the plausibility factor to its limits and weakens the story with its various sub-plots of danger and suspense.
It also led this reviewer to question some LOL (Leaps of Logic) that seriously affected the movie: If they don't know the comet's actual point of impact, how do the leaders know Greenland will be a safe haven, complete with bunkers? Wouldn't the government already know that the Garrity's son has issues with diabetes through medical records and therefore unable to meet the requirements as human cargo due to his pre-existing condition prior to their approval? Could this family really reunite on an extensive trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Lexington, Kentucky without transportation, money, and no GPS at hand? With congested traffic conditions, could they get from Kentucky to upstate New York in six hours? Why would you name a comet Clarke?
However, credit must go to Mr. Waugh's no-nonsense direction and screenwriter Chris Sparling's storytelling for avoid formulaic tropes and making a doomsday thriller that focuses on the family drama, avoiding overladen CGI and heroic he-man action fight scenes (minus one perfunctory encounter). They create convincing characters that are given mostly realistic perils to endure, and by doing so, make a rarity of a overblown genre: a satisfying disaster movie.
It is refreshing to see Mr. Butler play a real-life person than his usual macho screen persona. He can act. Young Mr. Floyd continues to be a fine natural actor. Scott Glenn has a few scenes that add some touching moments to the film as Allison's father and David Denham and Hope Davis bring on the menace and plot complications. But it is the excellent Ms. Baccarin who has the biggest emotional range as a mother who contends with overwhelming odds and a wife who begins to question her sense of forgiveness. She makes Allison a complex and wounded character to root for.
Greenland is an atypical apocalypse disaster movie and that's what makes it all the more entertaining.(GRADE: B-)