Greenland

This year seems ill chosen for the release of an entertainment revolving around a worldwide disaster, but here come Greenland, about a giant, zillion-fragment comet crashing into Earth in flaming, plot-point-determined handfuls of killer chunks. It's a movie that makes 1998's Armageddon and Deep Impact look like documentaries, since the rocks rain down on the Eastern U.S. at all times of the day and night, despite the presumed rotation of the planet away from the comet's path for at least half the day.

The movie follows the Garrity family, gruff architect John (Gerard Butler), estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and adorable 7-year-old Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd). They flee their (of course) Atlanta home in the hopes of catching a flight to Greenland, where underground bunkers will protect a select few from the “extinction level” impact of the comet’s largest piece. Along the way, they meet countless violent, horrible Americans, a few doomed nice people, and some helpful Canadians. Scott Glenn eventually shows up as Allison's crusty dad, evidently the only star the producers could afford other than Butler, and the always-underused Hope Davis also has a drive-by.

Butler, one of the producers of this uncalled-for project, is his usual stoic self, always seemingly on the verge of punching someone. So when there’s a melee and John has to wield a hammer in self-defense, his supposed dismay at the results is one of many eye-rolling moments. Baccarin, from the Deadpool movies and Flash TV series, fares better in her many emotional scenes but remains less actor than reactor. Boy actor Floyd, who played young Danny in the recent Doctor Sleep, may have the most promising future among the principals.

The screenplay is by low-profile-thriller specialist Chris Sparling (The Sea of Trees), whose dialogue is obvious but inoffensive and whose plotting is by turns baffling, absurd, utilitarian, and creative. The special effects are competent if underwhelming, ditto the direction by former stuntman Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch, Angel Has Fallen). From the team that brought you Butler’s “…Has Fallen” action trilogy, this is a moderately budgeted movie posing as a blockbuster — a Day After Tomorrow knockoff with a fraction of a big studio’s resources. Not calling it Comet Has Fallen was a missed franchise opportunity.

Of course, if you're in the mood for a disaster movie and don't mind Butler's limited range and some cheesy CG effects, you may find Greenland to be reasonably diverting. It keeps things moving, burning, and colliding, and a number of sequences earn some "how will they get out of this?" engagement. And, unlike most of 2020's real disasters, there's a promise of hope at the conclusion. Well, except for the end-of-the-world part.

Grade: D. Available now on pay-per-view via Amazon Prime and other platforms.

(Photo: STX Entertainment)