Greenland film review
Okay, yeah it’s easy to admit that the whole end of the world concept is nothing ground breaking, and something we have seen time and time again. But, Greenland managed to do a suitable enough job at playing it slightly different, by producing an engaging apocalyptic film that pays more attention to its characters, rather than the actual disaster happening around them. This results in the audience sympathising with the families more, and sticking with them throughout.
The Garrity family in this are certainly some reasonably likable characters, and they are no doubt the specific type of people you would root for, as they try to miraculously survive a planet-killing comet soon to strike the Earth. However, what the studio did that was very smart, was have you thinking they’re just a normal family with problems — there’s thousands of them around, if anything it makes them more relatable — so as a result they make your opinions of them grow constantly, right up until the point they’re back together.
Then the film drops the adulterer card on you, which I can imagine would leave a decent amount of viewers turning on Butlers character. Combined with the damning sin he commits in this film (shan’t say what don’t worry), it’s almost as if the writers want to split the audience, between those who want him to survive, and those who don’t. Smart.
This film also features plenty of genuinely suspenseful moments scattered about, with a film concept you could call fairly predictable, this was key to keeping the audience invested, and on the edge of their seat. I definitely appreciated how the filmmakers, and studio took this picture seriously from a start to finish. I know it’s a far fetched film, but they didn’t put in any overly exaggerated scenes where you just thought ‘really? Come on’. Greenland, also shed light on how truly terrible, and desperate the human race can be when faced with unprecedented and deadly news like this.
There’s a clear personal touch, this movie possesses that Ric Roman Waugh left for us, and in terms of comparisons with other similar concepts this was a very refreshing approach. The closest picture I can think of is 2012, this is due to its similar narrative and story progression, but thankfully this is far less ridiculous. We’re also given some genuinely heart felt scenes, and moments that work on a level far beyond that of the typical genre outputs.
This is not to say the film is perfect because we have to acknowledge the dialogue. The clichés run rampant, we get some awkward one-liners, there are overly cheesy moments from Nathan, and then we have to talk about the predictably. We all know exactly how this story will progress, and other than a few interesting touches, it does not surprise us at all.
Despite the flawed dialogue, this still manages to be a compelling and semi-relatable disaster film, and this is mainly down to the focus the film follows. Waugh keeps the intensity intact throughout, and it feels like every other scene a twist could occur to keep you on your toes. This family constantly being separated is a huge part of this, it is just another great element to amp up the stakes when the story starts to feel stale.
It’s flawed, yes. But also thrilling, ridiculous, and predictable, yet there is plenty to latch onto here. It is the perfect vehicle for Gerard Butler to show off his intense persona, as this man is determined to save his family from the end of the world. Chris Evans was originally set to star in this film, and honestly I’m very sad that it didn’t come to fruition. However, I’m a huge fan of Gerard Butler and he nails this role.
But — and this may be the cynic inside of me — one of these days I would genuinely like to see a film like this, that draws you in, attaches you to the characters, thrills you, where the family the plot surrounds, maybe don’t survive. Now I know this may sound negative as fuck, and you’re probably right, but I genuinely think that would be the best way to draw the audience’s emotions fully in. When you see the family you’ve spent 2 hours connecting to, die hand in hand. Just an idea, maybe one day it’ll happen.
3* 6.5/10
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