Greenland

Ric Roman Waugh, after successful dramas set in the prison environment, tackled a disaster film. One might think such a shift wouldn’t result in anything good, but the opposite is true. The first half of the film innovates the genre in many ways, showcasing the dark side of people that would emerge in these apocalyptic scenarios. These intimate moments are actually among the most successful aspects of the film. The tension is built meticulously, and the airport scene is top-notch. The film has an immensely pessimistic tone, and its civil approach, which doesn’t rely heavily on exaggerated computer-generated effects, drew me in remarkably. However, the second half shifted to an American style where the main characters face no real consequences. This slightly tarnished the positive experience from the first hour. Nonetheless, the acting is solid; Gerard Butler has found his niche in these family-oriented roles in recent years, and he’s always a good choice for the lead. The rest of the cast performs well too. The ending was surprising. The first half deserves 8/10, the second half 6/10... Still a decent, above-average film within the genre. For me, it’s 7/10. (11/25/2020)

A very sober and rational view of disaster. Understandably it doesn't have the fun factor of Armageddon or San Andreas, but Greenland surprisingly maintains a high stamp of believability and raw reality most of the time. Too bad about some infuriatingly clichéd scenes (the ending), but thank heavens for the likeable moments that are pleasantly chilling in places and very well acted. Baccarin is surprisingly commanding, Butler is just OK. The pace is great and even though you can see that it's kind of a low budget movie, the filmmakers managed to camouflage it well. Decent and overall smart entertainment. (12/11/2020)

Greenland is essentially another of the "end of the world" disaster movies that we've certainly had no shortage of in recent decades. Within its genre, the film doesn't have much to surprise, but I still have to appreciate the relatively believable depiction of the last days before the coming apocalypse. For my taste, the film dealt far too much with relationships revolving around clichéd conventions, and I personally would have cut it by twenty minutes. On the other hand, Greenland does have a number of engaging and noteworthy moments (the lines with Allison's father and the opening departure from the house were the ones I liked the most). Gerard Butler will probably never be my favourite actor, but he was thankfully balanced by Morena Baccarin and Scott Glenn. Last but not least, it should be noted that this is a passable piece from a technical standpoint, offering a fairly decent soundtrack. (04/04/2021)

It has its weaker moments (the entire final half-hour is such a clichéd Hollywood construct, completely different in mood from the previous realistic action), but otherwise it's far from Geostorm and similar recent bullshit. It's a believable look at human behaviour in extreme situations, when a planetary catastrophe brings to the surface their egotism and low instincts. The special effects are sparse, but the ominous sights of the changing sky has an unsettling charm and visually it really looks good and believable. But I expected it, Ric Roman Waugh is a smart guy, he's done it a few times already, and his latest film so far certainly doesn't deserve to be in the blue. (11/15/2020)

A comet is heading for Earth and Gerard Butler must save his family. Not the world or civilization, just his family. On the surface, Greenland is a very ordinary disaster movie, but what makes it different from the others is that it revolves around ordinary people trying to survive. Nothing more. Solid actors, very brisk pace and well built tension. Nothing too new, but above average entertainment. (11/24/2020)