VOD Review - Greenland

Gerard Butler is the Scottish action star that most people know from Zach Snyder's 300 (2006), as well as the action blockbusters that began with Olympus Has Fallen (2013). That film was so successful. It spawned two sequels, including London Has Fallen (20161) and Angel Has Fallen (2019). The latter of which was written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh who in the 1980's and 90's worked as a Hollywood stuntman. Waugh started directing in the early 2000's. He wasn't really put on the map until Snitch (2013), which featured Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock in a drama and thriller that had considerably tamped down action than what one would expect for The Rock. It also featured The Rock as a father, driven to protect his child, specifically his son, from external forces. For this film, which wasn't written by Waugh, there's a similar template. I wouldn't say it's tamped down for Butler because he's already done several films that aren't on the scale that some might expect, if you only knew him from 300 and Olympus Has Fallen. Yet, it is again another Waugh flick where a father is driven to protect his child, specifically his son, from external forces.

Those external forces are debris or fragments from a comet that is hurtling toward Earth. This film is essentially a disaster film. Butler was just in a disaster film, that of Geostorm (2017). I would argue that this film is better because it puts Butler more in the center of the action and the actual disaster than that 2017 flick. This film though doesn't center Butler in the middle of action that's as much of a CGI fantasy as Geostorm or even The Rock's recent disaster film, San Andreas (2015). It's clear that Waugh wants to focus less on the CGI depictions of destruction and more on the emotional journey of the characters, which already makes this film more appreciated.

Morena Baccarin (Deadpool and Serenity) co-stars as Allison Garrity, the wife to Butler's John Allen Garrity, a structural engineer who gets selected to enter a protective shelter, an underground bunker that will save them from the impending comet that will destroy all life on Earth. There's no better indication that this film wants to focus on character rather than CGI action than through Allison. She's not just the wife or the sheer damsel-in-distress. She's also a mother doing what she can to protect her child. She does so as much as her husband and male protagonist here. She's also a daughter doing what she can to get back to her father and connect with him after some contention, partially stemming from troubles in Allison's own marriage.

Waugh's film doesn't make it some melodramatic or even some soap opera thing. The character stuff is subtle enough as almost to be negligible but there's enough there and enough emphasis of it to elevate this film out of the lowest disaster film waters in which it could have waded. There's a moment where Butler's character of John has to consider the ramifications of an action he took in order to save himself both in that moment and in the grander scheme. The film doesn't do more with that, but having that one moment was appreciated.

Roger Dale Floyd (Doctor Sleep and Stargirl) plays Nathan Garrity, the 6 or 7-year-old son of John and Allison. He's mostly just the young son who is pulled along on this adventure ride. However, the film gives him some moments, which might seem minor and probably are, but Floyd gives a really good performance in those moments that make him standout as a child actor. Nathan also is diabetic, which factors into the plot heavily, making things a bit more thrilling.

Given the plot, this film might draw comparisons to Armageddon (1998) or Deep Impact (1998). However, this film differentiates itself in that it's not focused on people trying to stop the comet from hitting the Earth. It's focused on regular people trying to survive. It's not about saving the Earth. It's about saving themselves by whatever means, and the way the film handles them was quite well. There are of course nitpicks to be had. For example, the bunker where Americans are being transported is located in the titular country. There's no explanation as to why. The idea that there wouldn't be bunkers or places in the United States for people to go seems odd. Or, the idea that cities wouldn't convert their subway systems into shelters seems odd not to mention, but those are nitpicks.

Rated PG-13 for disaster action, some violence, bloody images and brief language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 59 mins.

Available on Hulu via HBO.