Let’s get the obvious out of the way first, shall we? In the history of the modern world – or at least in recent cinema – there has never been a better week to release a film titled “Greenland.”
If you’re reading this from another era or galaxy, if you Google “United States” and “Greenland” you’ll know what we mean. Otherwise, there is no need to say much.
except that “Greenland 2: Migration,” A serviceable but low-key, even serious affair, starring a strong, clearly depressed Gerard Butler, will make anyone want to get the hell out of Greenland – with no way to keep it to themselves. That’s because the film, Rick Roman Waugh’s sequel to his 2020 comet-disaster film, presents a Greenland that, like much of the world, has been transformed into an uninhabitable mess of radioactive ash, where life is possible only in a dank underground bunker.
And everyone is forced to flee before things get even worse, before a tidal wave destroys them. So there’s a really important word in the title: “Migration.”
Butler returns as John Garrity and Morena Baccarin as his wife Allison. At the screening I saw, Butler came to the screen early to welcome the audience and tell them that the sequel is “just as intense, but more emotional.” This seems to be the goal, and Baccarin’s main work: her Allison is a vehicle of fear, anxiety, and sadness, while John is mostly the strong silent type, though with a fascination for poetry. A new addition is Roman Griffin Davis as their 15-year-old son Nathan, who is growing up in less-than-ideal circumstances.
It has been five years since the Clarke meteor struck Earth and destroyed two-thirds of its surface. Images from the first film return as a reminder – the Eiffel Tower is cut in half and bent like a broken metal toy, the Sydney Opera House is recognizable among the ashes.
When we left the Garrities, they were among the planet’s lucky survivors, having reached the Greenland bunker. Now, no one feels very lucky, although attempts are being made to recapture some rhythm of normal life: school, social events with dancing in the evenings, exercise classes. The external border remains closed to most people. John, a surface cleaner, makes dangerous trips in a gas mask. It’s a bleak existence, especially for a teen like Nathan, who has to quietly go out for a while.
The meeting of the bunker’s steering committee, on which Allison sits, shows how uncertain things are becoming. “We’re basically running on smoke,” someone says. In addition to toxic radiation, the comet is still sending out destructive fragments. Can we go to Iceland, they wonder? No, he is gone. It is the same with Canada. And most of Europe.
Except, perhaps, southern France. One expert believes the impact created a crater there, a safe zone with clean air where human life can not only survive, but thrive. And where the grass is, literally, it’s greener.
Meanwhile, a bit of social conflict emerges when a member suggests that a group of migrants seeking asylum be denied entry. Allison argues to save them and wins.
It all goes to waste when a brutal earthquake destroys the bunker itself. The family runs to the shore before the tsunami hits and manages to reach a small rescue ship with a few others.
The ship ran out of gas, but managed to land… in Liverpool, a partially submerged metropolis that resembles Venice after a volcanic eruption.
Not exactly a warm welcome there. But the family manages to find a car and pay its driver to take her to London, where Allison has a dear friend. “The world is a dangerous place now,” the man says unnecessarily.
Obviously, there will be more painful journeys ahead. One of these will involve a death-defying journey across the English Channel – or its remains – some of it on bridges that appear to be made only of rope.
The family meets various people along the way, none particularly memorable. This sequel could be more focused on emotion and character – since the whole comet thing happened a long time ago – but the problem is that none of it is presented attractively, and gets forgotten when convenient. For example, the relationship between young Nathan and a cute girl he meets is basically over.
Will the family move to France, and does the beautiful crater still exist? This is the part we can’t tell you. As for the “Greenland” in all this – well, Greenland was quickly forgotten, and even when we were there, it was nothing to write home about. But hey – it makes for a pretty lucky title.
Lionsgate’s release “Greenland 2: Migration” is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association “for some strong violence, bloody images and action.” Running time: 98 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.