There is a lot to love about the latest actioner starring Gerard Butler, Greenland. There are countless movies that chronicle the supposed end of days and whatever form they take. But there have been few, in my experience, that tapped into that primal desire to stay alive—and most importantly—captured the insane chaos that unavoidably would ensue as director Ric Roman Waugh achieved with his latest thriller.
The helmer reunites with his Angel Has Fallen star in this tale of a comet bringing an extinction-level event to Earth. First of all, is it me or is the moniker of the source of our utter and complete destruction have the most passively innocent of names? Clark is hurtling towards us and was supposedly expected to be the closest a comet has come to our planet without breaking our atmosphere in our history. But as they are known to be at times, the experts were wrong. This puppy not only has a date with us for a full-on collision but what makes this so catastrophic is how the comet has fractured along its way and there is a multitude of various sized pieces of Clark knocking us on our keester across the globe.
At first, one may think that this is just another asteroid movie—such as Deep Impact and Armageddon, which incidentally arrived within months of each other back in 1998. But the scientific research that went into Greenland is pretty impressive. See, comets and asteroids couldn’t be more different. One of a comet’s distinctions is that it can do just what it’s doing in Waugh’s flick, breaking into pieces that exponentially increase the threat to a wider swath of the population.
We can laud credit for this tantalizing thrill ride on the director—and boy does he deserve it—but how the viewer gets so wrapped up and vested in this journey must be laid at the feet (or hands, since he was typing?!) of screenwriter Chris Sparling.
Butler’s John Garrity is a structural engineer. Without going into momentum dragging exposition, Sparling simply shows him at work in charge of building a new Atlanta skyscraper as a brief discussion ensues about him heading home a little early. This accomplishes multiple narrative elements in under three minutes. That is just one example of the sensational action movie screenplay that Sparling has produced.
Another comes once he arrives home to his wife Allison Garrity (Morena Baccarin, Deadpool). There’s trouble in paradise. John hasn’t been sleeping at home lately, but things are improving. Their son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd) is seven and hasn’t had it exactly easy as the kiddo has diabetes (yes, you know that is going to be an issue later, don’t you?). He’s a happy kid, though, whose world is about to literally be rocked.
The Garrity’s are hosting a BBQ the next afternoon when the first signs of trouble arise. John and Nathan run out to get some last-minute items for the party and he receives a Presidential text and subsequent phone call stating that he and his family have been selected for survival relocation. Wait, what? Guess Chuck isn’t just going to wiz on by like the public had been told. John races home and as he informs Allison about the call, a houseful of guests sit mesmerized at the television as the first piece of the comet strikes Florida—shaking things up all the way to Atlanta and beyond.
Greenland is only 15 minutes old, tops, and we’re off to the races.
Don’t get me started on all the wildly original roadblocks that get in their way before the extinction-level event portion of Clark descends on Western Europe and ends us. I don’t want to spoil a thing beyond what I’ve already told you. So, let’s just say this: There are films that capture chaos rooted in the human races’ innate survival mentality. Then… there’s what Waugh has painted with his apocalyptic brush. In those early scenes, it’s beyond every human for themselves. Those scenes pulsate with auditory madness meets a visceral fear that hits you right in the gut. To say it’s palpable is a gross understatement.
The emotive tether between viewer and protagonists is achieved so impressively swiftly. Also, Greenland features a combination of stellar storytelling, deeply moving acting arts by Waugh’s leads, and smartly orchestrated action sequences that also amazingly still enrich the narrative—instead of simply dropping our jaws or speeding up our collective pulses. It is rare in this milieu that a screenwriter, director, and the cast been so dialed in, and as such, we are there for whatever filmmakers are throwing at us.
Butler has been down this action movie with a heart road before and he possesses a gift, which is probably why the Scottish actor has made so many of these types of flicks. He knows his lane. John is a man stung by an error in his past that he hopes will not ruin his future—more than a giant comet already is trying to do. When a comet is barreling towards our planet, there are only so many thrilling sequences that an actor can cull from his action star toolkit. Yet, what he is charged with doing as he tries his darndest to get his family to that bunker in Greenland before the world ends. It’s a lesson in creative tension creation and execution by an actor who fits the challenge like a glove.
There is also something else at work here and that is a contrasting take on masculinity. There is an overflow of toxic maleness featured throughout, that when mixed with a myriad of beautifully evolved manliness, it all adds up to some sensationally satisfying slices of action movie mettle. Scott Glenn gets in on some of that. There are a few brief scenes with him (who portrays Allison’s beloved father, Dale) and John that put this entire notion front and center. Both are men of a certain “cut,” yet life has pushed both to check that toxicity at the door.
Baccarin has had thankless roles of the female sidekick, for lack of a better word. Hey, I love Deadpool and Deadpool 2, but it is not like she was given the most evolved role to play. In Greenland, she gets a series of moments to go outside that “mother” or “wife” box that too many actresses are asked to inhabit. Allison is managing a crisis on a global and local scale. Whether it’s wading through armed looters to secure insulin for her son or finding unforeseen levels of resourcefulness to save herself when the family gets separated, the Brazilian born actress must have read the script and wanted to thank the movie gods. She has a command that is immediate, yet also paints a vulnerability that is refreshing in a film such as this.
Too often, that emotional breakdown that must permeate anyone’s mind who is going through what our players are experiencing in Greenland is either shrugged away at the least or merely tackled in one fateful scene. Here, it is right under the surface at all times once the sky literally starts falling. Whether it’s illustrated by Baccarin, Butler, or even the most extraordinary young actor in Floyd, the heartstrings are brilliantly pulled—all while that heart rate is exponentially sent higher as we progress closer to that extinction-level event.
Waugh is proving to be a “one to watch” action helmer. His command of scenes involving utter terror or one that is seemingly simple, such as a hand-to-hand combat fight, is equally skillful. Another element that action directors don’t get too much credit for, given the nature of the beast, is bringing the nuanced moments of an action movie script to life with a touch that isn’t as heavy-handed as the rest of the picture. He expertly achieves that with his latest, and that’s why under normal circumstances, Greenland would be a bonafide blockbuster.
The film is debuting in theaters, but with Covid-19 keeping people at home, it is thankfully also landing On Demand. It feels strange to say that Greenland is the movie we need right now—given the nature of the plot and how the world is battling its own global catastrophe. But action thrillers are so popular because of their innate ability to sweep people away from their own daily stressors and for two hours this evening, this writer didn’t think about anything else other than John, Allison, and Nathan finding solace.
Grade: A