GREENLAND REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

When it comes to disaster films, most of them fail to impress as they lack in tension, are predictable and the filmmakers are more focused on special effects rather than creating interesting characters and telling an original and compelling story. When Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland was first released late last year, it surprisingly received a mostly positive reception from critics. Despite the positive response, I wasn’t interested in seeing Greenland as, judging from its trailer, it looked like your typical disaster film. However, following its recent release on the streaming site, Amazon Prime, earlier this month, I decided to give Greenland a watch to see if it was better than most disaster films. 

A family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and young son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd) make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary. Amid terrifying news accounts of cities around the world being leveled by the comet's fragments, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity while they battle the increasing panic and lawlessness surrounding them. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.

Although Greenland wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be, it’s far from a great film. What makes it better than most disaster films is that the main characters involved in this world-ending scenario are worth caring about. Because past disaster films have focused more on special effects, This leads to the characters becoming one dimensional stereotypes and the story lacking in suspense. The irony is, in most disaster films, the effects look really artificial and aren’t all that special. One of the last disaster films that I watched was Roland Emmerich’s 2012 and it is one of the worst films I’ve watched. I was 12 years old when I watched it at the cinema in late 2009 and, because its runtime was over two and a half hours long, I found it to be a mostly dull watch. I have rewatched parts of 2012 since seeing it at the cinema and noticed that one of its issues was that it was hard to take seriously. Also the fact that the main characters were able to survive the disastrous scenario. Because of how bad 2012 was, my expectations were not high for Greenland. Fortunately, it beat my expectations and I found it to be a well-made disaster film with strong performances and a serious tone. 

Although I liked Greenland, it’s not without its flaws. The beginning felt rushed and, while I can understand that Waugh wanted to spend most of the film’s 120 minute runtime focusing on the family trying to survive, I felt that I knew little about the main characters, John, Allison and their son, Nathan, who has diabetes. I also thought that the acting by Floyd was weak. Because he’s a young child, I was expecting him to be more scared, especially when he’s kidnapped by a married couple. When he’s reunited with Allison, he didn’t seem to be traumatised by the ordeal. I just found Floyd’s performance to be lacking emotionally. 

Far from a great film, Greenland is still worth a watch, however, I can understand why many won’t want to spend two hours watching a film about the world ending considering the current pandemic we’re currently in. While many of the reviews for Greenland were positive, one critic was less than impressed and thought that the timing of its release was the main issue. I can understand why they felt this way as Greenland is far from an easy watch, with chaos breaking out following the news of the comet that is heading towards Earth. One scene sees a riot in a shop with gun fire breaking out. Another intense scene is when the couple kidnaps Nathan and force Allison out of the car, leaving her stranded in the middle of the road. What makes this sequence is that I can imagine a lot of people behaving this way. As the last year has proven, people are selfish and will do anything to save themselves. If the world were to end in the next twenty four hours, I can imagine this is how people would react and behave. In other disaster films, characters’ actions felt false and hard to believe, however, that wasn’t the case with the characters in Greenland. When John and his family leave their home, one of their friends begs them to take their daughter with them. John refuses which is understandable as he’s concerned that she won’t be accepted onto a plane that is travelling to a safe location and she’ll be left alone. Although, deep down, I knew that John, Allison and Nathan were going to survive by the end of the film, there were a lot of times, including when Nathan gets kidnapped, when I was genuinely worried about their safety. This is a rarity in disaster films as it’s so obvious that the Hollywood star isn’t going to die early on in the film. Because Waugh takes the premise of Greenland seriously, it’s far from a happy film. Although the film ends with John and his family surviving, it’s not the happiest of endings as they return to a disaster stricken world. 

What surprised me the most about Greenland was how thought provoking it was. Throughout, I was asking myself what I would do if the world was ending. Would I try and find a safe location in the hopes of surviving the disastrous situation or would I stay at home and let the inevitable happen. A few hours after watching Greenland, I’m not entirely sure. Hopefully, I’ll never have to find out.

For most of his career, Butler has become best known for appearing in action-packed films, including Antoine Fuqua’s take on Die Hard in the White House, Olympus Has Fallen, and its two sequels, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen, the latter of which was also directed by Waugh. The Fallen trilogy are guilty pleasures of mine as I know they’re far from the best action films and I don’t think either of the sequels were necessary. Prior to watching Greenland, I was expecting Butler to portray John as a heroic type, however, this wasn’t the case. He portrays John as an anxious father who is desperate to protect his family at all costs. Equally as impressive is Baccarin as John’s wife, Allison. Her character is who I felt most sympathy for, especially when her son is kidnapped right in front of her. I found her scenes to be the most effective as she desperately searched for her son. 

Most of the computer-generated imagery in disaster films look artificial, fortunately, that’s not the case with Greenland. The special effects look realistic, especially a late sequence when molten debris begins to rain down, destroying cars, people and a flying helicopter. The film also features some unforgettable images, including when John and his family look out of a window whilst on a plane. 

Greenland isn’t a must-see as it is really difficult to watch, however, fans of disaster films will, most likely, be impressed with what Waugh has created. While I wouldn’t watch it again, I still found Greenland to be a well-made disaster film.

7/10