COVID-19 pandemic. Murder Hornets. Fire Tornados. What better way to end 2020 than with a movie about a catastrophic event you can believe could really happen? Welcome to Greenland.
Greenland is a rare take on your normal disaster movie. Instead of concentrating on the scientific effects of an E.L.E. (aka extinction-level event), Greenland focuses on the human side of the crisis. You can cite the lack of a big budget for this approach, but it is because of this direction that the film takes on a more realistic feeling.
If the title gives you a sensation of déjà vu, it’s because the movie was originally slated for Chris Evans (Captain America, Knives Out) to star and Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie) to direct. However, before production had begun filming, Blomkamp was no longer attached to the film (according to the director, it was due to “some political stuff happening with it”) and soon after, it was reported that Evans would no longer be the lead. Picking up the helming reins was Ric Roman Waugh who reteamed with his Angel Has Fallen star Gerard Butler to take Evans’ spot.
The premise of Greenland is simple enough: A comet from an unknown solar system is headed to Earth and while the news is first received with excitement, it soon becomes evident that this is no ordinary comet. It won’t be passing Earth but colliding with it. It is up to family man John Garrity to do whatever it takes to keep his family safe before the comet causes complete and utter destruction of all living things on the planet.
The movie starts simple enough with an introduction to John (Butler). He is a loving father to his 7-year-old diabetic son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd, Doctor Sleep) and is in a tense relationship with his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin, Deadpool) – we learn why later.
While doing some last-minute grocery shopping with Nathan, John gets an alert on his phone from the United States Department of Homeland Security. Oddly, he seems to be the only one in the grocery store to get it. When he answers, he hears a recorded message that he, Allison, and Nathan have been selected for “emergency shelter relocation.” They need to report to the nearest military base asap to be flown to a safe location.
John shakes it off, but it isn’t until he gets home that things start to happen quickly. While watching the progress of the comet on TV with the neighbors, they soon realize the comet is not just one big rock flying through space but actually many large fragments that have the capability of killing millions of people when they hit the Earth.
And boy, does it hit!
The first casualty is Tampa, Florida. And the shockwave of the impact is strong enough for everyone to feel it all the way to Garrity’s house in Georgia. From there, the tension is increased as news that more fragments are headed their way and that the largest fragment will cause devastation across the planet — comparable to the one that left the dinosaurs extinct.
It’s then that John’s phone and TV screen repeat the earlier message that he and his family have been selected and must leave. Needless to say, the neighbors who saw the message and didn’t get one of their own are in a panic. Why does John get to be a chosen one? His job as a Structural Engineer is why. It makes him an essential worker to rebuild the world for when the apocalypse is over.
The Garritys make it to the base and are so close to boarding the plane when they realize Nathan’s insulin was accidentally left in the car outside the base gates. Everything starts to fall apart as John goes to retrieve the medicine and becomes separated from his family. All the while, Allison and Nathan are banned from getting on.
From here on, the film becomes a story of a family trying to find each other and getting to safety before the surface of the Earth is decimated. And if you’re wondering where the title Greenland comes in, we later find out that’s where the secret haven just happens to be located.
Amidst scenes of mass panic, looting, a rooftop kegger with people watching as the comet fragments crash to earth, good Samaritans, and good Samaritans gone awry, Waugh and the cast do a great job at keeping the tone and the film at a believable humanistic level. As the hours pass until the death fragment hits in the film, increasing levels of desperation is seen. We see the gambit of humanity from those who are sincerely trying to be helpful to those who are frantic to do whatever it takes to save themselves when they find out they are in the presence of a chosen saved one.
Compared to his numerous action films, Butler gives a very credible performance as a middle-aged dad who will do what it takes to keep his family safe under life-threatening circumstances. He does get to flex his action muscles a bit (after all, he is an action star), but it’s his character’s focus on the familial unit that gives him that grounded appeal.
Baccarin is also wonderful as Allison and plays well opposite Butler’s John. And her fear and desperation when she is separated from her son is palpable and pierces any mother’s heart when picturing themselves in that same position.
A special nod must go out to Scott Glenn who makes an impact (see what I did there?) as Allison’s father in a key scene about the decisions one makes and the value of their life.
As mentioned earlier, Greenland was not made on a big budget where they can pay an A-lister or two to go into space and nuke the large comet fragment to prevent complete annihilation. And yes, in some scenes, that lack of money is obvious – especially in the special effects department when showing the fragments of comets streaking through the sky. But what they lack in the visuals, they make up with the upkeep of the emotional weight of the story. Well, up to a point as I will admit, there were parts there were a bit hokey.
So while Greenland is a sci-fi disaster film, the event takes a back seat to the real story of a family that must come together and survive which makes what we’re watching not so fantastical but very much believable. Not a bad way to spend 2 hours.
Greenland will be released digitally on VOD in the US on Friday, December 18.
