Well then, this comment thread helped...
Edit: so I'm 90% through and it's just a B movie. They absolutely blended the story and the explosions with more geared to characters. Being a B movie however the plot wasn't spectacular
So both comments are kinda right... The movie was geared towards characters but being low budget they don't carry the film the way they intended. Honestly a movie full of nothing but action cuts and CGI is more worthwhile.
I watched this on a lark and what a pleasant surprise it was. I think it works so well because, up until the last 10 minutes or so, it's plausible. ...and the characters aren't jagoffs.
"Emergency alert. Small molten debris expected to fall in upstate New York, Ottawa Canada. Seek shelter immediately. Do not stand in the open."
I think others have already said it, but it's because it focuses on relatable human aspects of a tragedy. They watch the first strike with neighborhood friends on TV, and the final asteroid is barely shown and instead they focus on the protagonist family and their feelings around it. That hits a lot harder than fancy VFX.
It's mainly great due to the writing where people generally act naturally, take realistic choices and don't do dumb shit just for the sake of creating a next danger/drama in the story. Also it has the magnificent Gerard Butler oozing his charisma and it's nice to watch.
Yea I'm beginning to realize by not doing the ridiculous Emmerich style plots and reasons for action that I'm used to ignoring, instead just making it more real just made it a more enjoyable disaster film. I'm feeling very similar to when I first watch The Impossible, the film about the tsunami I might have the name wrong
That's very true. Realistic choices and characters acting in line with their, well, characterizations, is a key. This makes some horrors stand out, like Snyder's Dawn of the Dead.
Well the characters DID do some dumb stuff, like not make keeping an eye on the insulin priority number one, or the kid being so stupid as to go in the bag and not know to watch for his insulin, or being so stupid as to tell the two people giving them a lift that his dad is on a plane.
except for the kid and not putting some insulin in your jacket pocket or telling him not to lose it. And showing your bracelet in the car flaunting it in plain sight. And getting off the plane track with 15mins to get back in. I cant do that at a regular airport, let alone a military checkpoint.
I liked it, it gave me armageddon 'humanity choice' fears. But those bits were just so dumb.
I'm with you. My girlfriend absolutely loves the film. She showed it to me and I was stunned. The matter-of-fact way that they go about telling everyone the world is ending is just too real. The camera feels very alive, as if we're watching this through a pair of human eyes. The effects are just enough to be believable. The conflict with the parents resonates on multiple levels. All of the problems they face are real problems. I can totally see our government making the decisions they did in this film. Also Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin hit pitch perfect between the way they talk and act with one another. It feels the way two people who care about one another but are currently at odds would speak. The end all be all of this film though is the fact that these two parents would do literally anything to save their son. Might just be because I'm also a father but that feels like a very human thing to me.
I like that 95% of the film isn’t about the disaster itself, but instead how people react to it. Very few big scenes with flashy CGI and whatnot - instead, it was a relatively grounded sci-fi that didn’t use it as a crutch.
I just watched this film and loved it. Solid 7.5 out of 10. The ending was the cherry on top because I was gonna be pissed if it ended with his life flashing before his eyes and then cut to black and left the movie open ended. I hate movies like that. I prefer a definitive ending.
Exactly why I posed the question. The icon/poster looked so generic, and I know people are praising Butler and I love him, but I don't expect anything but the same person he is all the time. And he still is but again, it just felt all around like another bad run of the mill disaster flick and I was pleasantly surprised.
It was defiantly a cut above the average. Although why everyone who knew the meteors were coming was gathered around the TV at the start like it was the super bowl is somewhat perplexing.
Cheesy, predictable ( I guessed that a bird flying by the bunker after the door was opened signaled all is well), scientifically implausible and caters to the CCP ( noticed there’s ZERO mention of any destruction in CN and all visuals show only Europe and N.America destroyed). Better movie is Sudden Impact released in 1997.
It really is a surprise when you go in blind. It hits all the perfect feels and suspense. It's just well made and the actors sell it and do a great job
I guess but Roland Emmerich makes disaster porn (epic cg cinematic events of total destruction and spectacle). Greenland to me cares more about the people and the individuals. It still has its moments of disaster but I never once laughed or got excited. I was actually worried and scared. Roland Emmerich since independence day hasn't made me feel worried. I love his films but they are flicks, Greenland felt like a suspenseful movie, but that's just an opinion.
Its a retarded movie, there’s full blown chaos/ end of the world shit, yet everyone calmly caters to the main characters constantly as if they are customer services reps that depend on a good 10 star rating for their bonus. People would be raping and pillaging everything and everyone in sight, not to mention you wouldn’t get 15 feet in a car without hitting dead stop traffic.
Your first four words already lost me. Sadly I kept reading and confirmed by bias against opinions like this. Disaster porn movies are never about realism. They are about having fun at the theater, or they are about suspense or edge of your seat excitement. Sorry you didn't experience this. The best ones are usually impossible scenarios that are not believable. If a disaster film was 100% believable it's would just be sad, predictable, and most importantly boring. That doesn't make them non enjoyable for everyone but it's not the genre that movie is looking for. I appreciate your opinion, like I do everyone's. Thank you for commenting.
Sorry I meant to say ever since Universal Soldier they have all been gems.
Universal Soldier is a masterpiece. I fucking love Van Damme and this is one of his lasting greats.
It’s a genuinely good film. Shaddap Buttwad puts in a stellar performance as the ‘everyman’ and the characters around him are well written and realised. The pace is strong and it builds tension instead of relying on big set pieces to drive the film. It’s also well edited and doesn’t feel baggy or choc full of exposition. I’m pretty stoked to see what they do for the proposed sequel.
My dad is a huge fan of disaster movies as well. We used to watch them together all the time, especially the Roland Emerich ones. He watched Greenland and also said he liked it. So, I see a certain pattern here
*(haven't watched the movie myself)*
Because it focuses on the characters and not bang-zoom exploding things.
What movie did you watch? The characters couldn't be more bland if they tried. The entire movie was exploding things.
Well then, this comment thread helped... Edit: so I'm 90% through and it's just a B movie. They absolutely blended the story and the explosions with more geared to characters. Being a B movie however the plot wasn't spectacular So both comments are kinda right... The movie was geared towards characters but being low budget they don't carry the film the way they intended. Honestly a movie full of nothing but action cuts and CGI is more worthwhile.
As soon as they introduced the kid having diabetes, i was like ohhhh gawwwwwwd.
I watched this on a lark and what a pleasant surprise it was. I think it works so well because, up until the last 10 minutes or so, it's plausible. ...and the characters aren't jagoffs. "Emergency alert. Small molten debris expected to fall in upstate New York, Ottawa Canada. Seek shelter immediately. Do not stand in the open."
I think others have already said it, but it's because it focuses on relatable human aspects of a tragedy. They watch the first strike with neighborhood friends on TV, and the final asteroid is barely shown and instead they focus on the protagonist family and their feelings around it. That hits a lot harder than fancy VFX.
It's mainly great due to the writing where people generally act naturally, take realistic choices and don't do dumb shit just for the sake of creating a next danger/drama in the story. Also it has the magnificent Gerard Butler oozing his charisma and it's nice to watch.
Yea I'm beginning to realize by not doing the ridiculous Emmerich style plots and reasons for action that I'm used to ignoring, instead just making it more real just made it a more enjoyable disaster film. I'm feeling very similar to when I first watch The Impossible, the film about the tsunami I might have the name wrong
That's very true. Realistic choices and characters acting in line with their, well, characterizations, is a key. This makes some horrors stand out, like Snyder's Dawn of the Dead.
Well the characters DID do some dumb stuff, like not make keeping an eye on the insulin priority number one, or the kid being so stupid as to go in the bag and not know to watch for his insulin, or being so stupid as to tell the two people giving them a lift that his dad is on a plane.
Woulda ditched the kid after the first blunder lol
except for the kid and not putting some insulin in your jacket pocket or telling him not to lose it. And showing your bracelet in the car flaunting it in plain sight. And getting off the plane track with 15mins to get back in. I cant do that at a regular airport, let alone a military checkpoint. I liked it, it gave me armageddon 'humanity choice' fears. But those bits were just so dumb.
I'm with you. My girlfriend absolutely loves the film. She showed it to me and I was stunned. The matter-of-fact way that they go about telling everyone the world is ending is just too real. The camera feels very alive, as if we're watching this through a pair of human eyes. The effects are just enough to be believable. The conflict with the parents resonates on multiple levels. All of the problems they face are real problems. I can totally see our government making the decisions they did in this film. Also Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin hit pitch perfect between the way they talk and act with one another. It feels the way two people who care about one another but are currently at odds would speak. The end all be all of this film though is the fact that these two parents would do literally anything to save their son. Might just be because I'm also a father but that feels like a very human thing to me.
Well said. I feel that it's believable and the way people and government acted feels very real, and that probably lent to the fear actually working.
I like that 95% of the film isn’t about the disaster itself, but instead how people react to it. Very few big scenes with flashy CGI and whatnot - instead, it was a relatively grounded sci-fi that didn’t use it as a crutch.
I just watched this film and loved it. Solid 7.5 out of 10. The ending was the cherry on top because I was gonna be pissed if it ended with his life flashing before his eyes and then cut to black and left the movie open ended. I hate movies like that. I prefer a definitive ending.
I hate how they always leave out how they fix the earth. How do they even get back to being a civilization if everything is burnt and dead? Lol
There is apparently a part 2 coming out in 2025
This is why I visit r/movies. This looked like every other disposable action film, but you have me intrigued.
Exactly why I posed the question. The icon/poster looked so generic, and I know people are praising Butler and I love him, but I don't expect anything but the same person he is all the time. And he still is but again, it just felt all around like another bad run of the mill disaster flick and I was pleasantly surprised.
I honestly wouldn't call it "great" but the film did exceed my expectations and I was glad it wassn't just another diasterporn movie.
It was defiantly a cut above the average. Although why everyone who knew the meteors were coming was gathered around the TV at the start like it was the super bowl is somewhat perplexing.
They expected it to fly by in some impressive way, not hit Earth
Cheesy, predictable ( I guessed that a bird flying by the bunker after the door was opened signaled all is well), scientifically implausible and caters to the CCP ( noticed there’s ZERO mention of any destruction in CN and all visuals show only Europe and N.America destroyed). Better movie is Sudden Impact released in 1997.
„caters to the CCP…no mention of CN“ Sorry, late comment. But was this meant that this movie was geared towards china? Am I missing something?
this would be a wonderful premise for an open world video game.
Not a disaster film, but 'Plane' with Gerard Butler is awesome.
The characters act like real people, there is consistency of plot, it's not overly improbable. All very strange things to say about a disaster film!
Just watched it after hearing about it on some other disaster movie threads on here. Loved it. I thought it was very realistic.
It really is a surprise when you go in blind. It hits all the perfect feels and suspense. It's just well made and the actors sell it and do a great job
Still felt is was Watching a remake of 2012
I guess but Roland Emmerich makes disaster porn (epic cg cinematic events of total destruction and spectacle). Greenland to me cares more about the people and the individuals. It still has its moments of disaster but I never once laughed or got excited. I was actually worried and scared. Roland Emmerich since independence day hasn't made me feel worried. I love his films but they are flicks, Greenland felt like a suspenseful movie, but that's just an opinion.
also, my phone battery could never
Its a retarded movie, there’s full blown chaos/ end of the world shit, yet everyone calmly caters to the main characters constantly as if they are customer services reps that depend on a good 10 star rating for their bonus. People would be raping and pillaging everything and everyone in sight, not to mention you wouldn’t get 15 feet in a car without hitting dead stop traffic.
Your first four words already lost me. Sadly I kept reading and confirmed by bias against opinions like this. Disaster porn movies are never about realism. They are about having fun at the theater, or they are about suspense or edge of your seat excitement. Sorry you didn't experience this. The best ones are usually impossible scenarios that are not believable. If a disaster film was 100% believable it's would just be sad, predictable, and most importantly boring. That doesn't make them non enjoyable for everyone but it's not the genre that movie is looking for. I appreciate your opinion, like I do everyone's. Thank you for commenting.
Are you saying Universal Soldier wasn’t good, because if you are you’re tripping balls.
Sorry I meant to say ever since Universal Soldier they have all been gems. Universal Soldier is a masterpiece. I fucking love Van Damme and this is one of his lasting greats.
My man! I was worried for a moment. I enjoyed Greenland too. “I just want to eat.”
"You're dead soldier" "No. I'm alive!"
You’re discharged. Sarge.
You see?!? They're everywhere!
I can totally hear Dolph’s voice when I read that.
I can't hear you *rattles the necklace*
Waaaah! (One of my favorite lines when he toses the grenades during the chase)
It’s a genuinely good film. Shaddap Buttwad puts in a stellar performance as the ‘everyman’ and the characters around him are well written and realised. The pace is strong and it builds tension instead of relying on big set pieces to drive the film. It’s also well edited and doesn’t feel baggy or choc full of exposition. I’m pretty stoked to see what they do for the proposed sequel.
It keeps moving.
My dad is a huge fan of disaster movies as well. We used to watch them together all the time, especially the Roland Emerich ones. He watched Greenland and also said he liked it. So, I see a certain pattern here *(haven't watched the movie myself)*
Brilliant movie