A disaster movie channeling the apocalyptic vibes of a zombie movie, where the greatest threat is not in fact the people-eating monsters but the desperation of your fellow man, Greenland is a surprisingly thrilling blockbuster about the world coming to an end. Shelved in June due to boarded-up theaters and that whole virus on the loose and finally released to at-home video-on-demand, the Ric Roman Waugh-directed Greenland re-teams the Angel Has Fallen franchise writer-director and frequent collaborator Gerald Butler to rousing effect.
Butler plays John Garrity, a structural engineer who is handpicked for sanctuary when a planet-killer asteroid named Clarke comes hurtling towards the Earth’s surface. Waugh expertly manages both the effects-driven mayhem and anarchical unraveling of society but makes the wise choice to put human nature, and the humanity of the Garrity family, front and center.
Much more in line with 2015 Norwegian disaster-thriller The Wave than your typical Hollywood apocalyptic fare (think 2012 or San Andreas), Greenland believably traces how civil society would come to pieces in the eye of an impending disaster. There are millennials partying on rooftops while men with guns loot and pillage and though comets might be exploding all around them, the Garrity’s primary hurdle continues to be the selfishness of those around them, doing whatever they can to save themselves, often at the expense of whomever they encounter. As desperation takes hold, things get pretty grim.
▶ Streaming on HBO Max. More picks: The Best Thriller Movies on HBO Max Right Now →
Tragically timely, the script from Chris Sparling (Buried) is uncompromising in its depiction of the fallout of humanity but it also understands that humankind, and their humanity, only survives together. Butler is as solid as he’s been in quite some time playing a character who is much less action hero and more desperate father and estranged husband. Flanked by an able supporting cast that includes Morena Baccarin, Scott Glenn, and David Denman, Greenland reveals its greatest moments of suspense in the tension between characters, many of whom will do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival.
Though Greenland features a prevailing orange tint that may remind some viewers of a Michael Bay movie, the STX release has much more intelligence, heart, and substance than anything under the Bay banner. That doesn’t mean that the production elements are any slouch, with a rousing score, impressive visual effects, and white-knuckle editing that make the two-hour runtime zip by. Though cinema has largely relocated to our couches at home, it’s nice to see something that still feels like it has the full weight and feel of a proper blockbuster. Even as the world as we knew it was ending around us.
CONCLUSION: A disaster-thriller that champions humanity over calamity, ‘Greenland’ is a welcome reminder of the oft-out-of-nowhere thrills that await us at the cineplexes.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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