Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin star in the 2020 Disaster Film Greenland
Gerard Butler stars in Greenland, a 2020 disaster flick about a comet that ravages Earth. He plays John Garrity, a structural engineer who gets chosen to bring his family to safety in an ark.
The film shares some common themes with Deep Impact. Like that earlier movie, it reinforces the worthiness of the 'worthy' characters.
1. It’s a disaster movie.
Gerard Butler stars in this 2020 disaster film, which follows a family trying to survive as a comet threatens the planet. It’s a refreshing change from the usual jingoistic bombast of Butler vehicles, and director Ric Roman Waugh gives this a tautness that keeps the story grounded, even when it’s a bit of a mess.
Structural engineer John Garrity (Butler) is recently separated from his wife, Allison (Morena Baccarin), and devoted to their young diabetic son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). But when the news breaks that a massive comet will hit Earth within 48 hours, John is given a Presidential Alert instructing him to take his family to Greenland, where he believes there are safe bunkers waiting for them.
As it turns out, John and Allison are among the few civilians chosen to make the trip, and the journey is not without its peril. As panic and lawlessness spreads throughout the country, they find themselves surrounded by strangers willing to help them.
In the end, it comes down to this: Are they doing what’s best for themselves and their family? The answer is a resounding yes.
The film also touches on religious symbolism, highlighting the difference between the world as we know it and the world that will soon be. It’s a reminder of how vulnerable we are, and a call to action for us all to live better.
It’s also a reminder that the human race needs each other to thrive, no matter what the circumstances. That’s one of the most important things we can do as a community when it feels like we’re about to go down in flames. So, if you haven’t watched this film yet, do it.
2. It’s a thriller.
In a classic disaster movie, a massive comet from another solar system races toward Earth. It’s only a matter of time before it hits, potentially destroying all life on the planet. But unlike many of the other films in this genre, Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland puts the spotlight on one family’s struggle for survival instead of the spectacle that engulfs them.
When John Garrity (Gerard Butler) and his family - wife Ali (Morena Baccarin), and their young son Nathan - are alerted by Homeland Security that they’ve been selected to receive government-issued wristbands enabling them to travel to Greenland and stay safe, he sets out on the journey. It’s an exhausting, frantic affair, and the family are forced to make quick decisions about whether they can survive.
Fortunately, they’ve been given a leg up: John is an experienced engineer who works on construction projects, and the government has chosen him to be one of only a few people who can survive the planet-destroying event. He and his family are given 48 hours to drive to a secret military airfield, hop on one of the evacuee planes and make it to safety.
Once there, the family is given a bunker to live in. During their time underground, they experience memories that flash before them when the comet hits. The family also get to see the craters that were formed from the impact.
The film is a great, tense and emotional thriller that doesn’t just follow the formula of most disaster movies. It’s very well acted, the director is great and the CG is very good.
Gerard Butler delivers a very good performance as the grizzled John Garrity, Morena Baccarin and Roger Dale Floyd are all great and Scott Glenn is really good. The only thing that let the film down was the ending but a really good story is worth a watch and Greenland is definitely worth seeing.
3. It’s a romance.
With Earth braced for impact from a planet-killing comet, one family races to reach safety in time.
When structural engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler) and his estranged wife, Allison (Morena Baccarin), throw a party to watch a deep space comet hurtle past Earth, they don’t expect the event’s livestream to show the comet was about to crash.
Soon the comet is impacting cities around the globe, and John gets a call letting him know he’s been selected to help rescue his family. But with so many others left behind reaching the ark becomes a terrifying battle that sees the Garritys split up, attacked and scrambling for safety.
The ark is a popular motif in disaster movies, and Greenland’s depiction of it is especially powerful. It encapsulates colonial dreams of pure lands awaiting western expansion, and it speaks to the idea of starting over as society collapses.
There’s also a religious aspect to these end-of-the-world stories, which can be interpreted in a number of ways. A father race to save his son is a common trope, as is a priest or rabbi standing in for a priest in the Judeo-Christian faiths.
The idea of the ark as a symbol of salvation has been used in apocalypse movies since 2012’s Deep Impact, and it’s a theme that pops up again and again. As societies fall apart, it’s easy to see why some people are willing to cheat, lie or steal their way into an ark – but this can only work for so long.
4. It’s a comedy.
Greenland is a riveting disaster movie starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin about a comet that ravages Earth -- and one family trying to race to safety. It’s a recent release and has good reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.
Stuntman-turned-director Ric Roman Waugh, who previously worked with Butler on Angel Has Fallen, casts the actor in a different light in Greenland. This time, he plays grizzled Atlanta-based engineer John Garrity with a natural Scottish burr.
When a comet hurtles towards the planet, John, his estranged wife Ali and their son Nathan are forced to flee their home. The family is subsequently chosen to join a small number of people in military safety bunkers that are set up in the remote Arctic region.
The idea that the shelters are only meant for certain people makes them resentful. When a neighbor begs the Garritys to take her daughter, they have to refuse because they’re not allowed to do so. This scene, beautifully acted by Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin as parents who are deeply hurt they can’t help someone else, is a strong indication that this isn’t just a stolid disaster movie.
As a thriller, Greenland delivers some big thrills and is tense and exciting, with lots of intense, dangerous scenes that forgo the usual cheesiness of disaster movies. But it’s also a very human film that benefits from being grounded and real.
It’s rare to see a disaster movie that genuinely explores the social and emotional issues in a situation like this. And Greenland does so, focusing on a family’s fractured relationships and the way they bond as a result of their experience in a world that’s about to be destroyed.
5. It’s a drama.
In his apocalyptic 2020 disaster movie Greenland, Gerard Butler stars alongside Morena Baccarin as a family reunited in a perilous journey to find sanctuary from the devastating effects of a planet-killing comet. Amid terrifying reports of cities being levelled by the comet’s fragments, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity as they fight to survive. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.
The film, which is directed by stuntman turned director Ric Roman Waugh (Shot Caller, Angel Has Fallen) has been getting rave reviews from both critics and fans of the genre. With scores of 80 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes, this is a disaster movie that will appeal to anyone looking for an entertaining watch.
You can watch Greenland streaming on a number of platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Fandango Now, and you can even rent it from Redbox. There are also a few ways to buy the movie from YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu and Google Play Movies.
Gerard Butler has had a fantastic year in terms of his acting, with recent hits like Geostorm, Hunter Killer and Olympus Has Fallen making him a bona fide action-thriller star. His latest 2020 disaster movie, Greenland, is another exciting addition to his portfolio.
The apocalyptic thriller was originally scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on June 12, but was delayed a few times due to the COVID scare, before finally being released via video on demand on December 18th. It will be available on HBO Max and DIRECTV in the United States, while it’s currently only available on HBO Max in the UK.
