The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Greenland

Greenland | Movie review
5 February 2021
Andrew Murray
Avatar
Andrew Murray
5 February 2021

Movie and show review

Andrew Murray

Greenland

★★★★★

Release date

5th February 2021

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

A comet of extinction-level proportion is on a collision course for Earth. Some citizens have been selected to be transported to an emergency shelter, with one of the lucky ones being structural engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler) alongside his wife (Morena Baccarin) and their seven-year-old son (Roger Dale Floyd). However, after a series of unforeseen consequences, the family becomes separated. With civilisation collapsing into anarchy around them, the group must find a way to reunite and survive the impending apocalypse.

Helmed by Ric Roman Waugh with a script penned by Chris Sparling, Greenland plays out a bog-standard disaster flick. The day begins like any other as we see the Garritys in their everyday domestic routine. Then catastrophe strikes as the first fragment hits. From here, the screenplay is a collection of loosely connected scenes showing the world falling apart. Offering little in the way of surprises, the movie retraces the same steps seen in other genre films: seemingly kind people turn on each other, areas are devastated and the protagonists narrowly avoid cataclysmic events through sheer luck.

While these sequences offer a large spectacle even on the small screen, the entire plot is weighed down by the vast amount of them. Shots like these are so numerous, in fact, that many are resolved almost instantaneously. Having virtually no relevance to what precedes them, many of them could have been cut. The extraneous padding of the narrative is so bad that by the time the family has their (what should be) climactic reunion, there is a staggering 40 minutes left in the runtime. It’s only at this point when the main goal of reaching safety is introduced. It’s like the script is merging two features together and hoping for the best.

However, despite the disastrous pacing, what makes Greenland work far better than it should is the accomplishments of its central cast. Butler (who speaks in his native Scottish accent with noticeable American twangs), Baccarin and Floyd especially give far stronger performances than this picture deserves. Glen Scott, who only appears onscreen for a few minutes, provides a staggeringly emotional portrayal. When actors like these are bringing their A-game, it’s impossible not to become invested in their characters’ plights.

Its script might be a broken mess, but the phenomenal performances are what saves Greenland from being a total disaster.

★★★★★

Andrew Murray

Greenland is released digitally on demand on 5th February 2021.

Watch the trailer for Greenland here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Ithaka

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

Wayfinder

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Brian and Charles

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

Futura

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Clean

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

The Railway Children Return

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Minions: The Rise of Gru

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Nitram

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Andrew Murray

Greenland

★★★★★

Release date

5th February 2021

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Ithaka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Wayfinder
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Brian and Charles
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

2 Hearts | Movie review
Delicious Chinese New Year deliveries to welcome in the year of the Ox