Gerard Butler is one of the most prolific action stars in Hollywood in recent years. The actor has firmly put his stamp on the genre with films such as Law Abiding Citizen, Olympus has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Geostorm, and many, many more. Arguably one of the most popular of his films, however, is Greenland. The 2020 disaster film saw the actor starring as a man who, along with his family, were fighting for survival when as a comet posing an extinction level threat was headed to Earth. Soon after that film’s release a sequel was announced and now, that sequel is finally headed to HBO Max four months after it theaters.
Arriving on HBO Max on May 8th, Greenland 2: Migration picks up the story of John Garrity (Butler) and his family five years after the comet destroyed most of Earth and the life on it. While they have survived the comet strike, life on Earth is anything but easy or safe with the environment now chaotic and dangerous and when the underground bunker they had been living in is destroyed, they go on a journey to find the comet’s impact crater, a place they believe is where conditions are better and humanity is rebuilding. The film underperformed at the box office and earned mixed reviews, but the film is a satisfying follow up to Greenland’s intense apocalyptic story.
Disaster films can themselves be tricky in terms of holding on to their core themes and not leaning too deeply into spectacle, but that’s a particularly big challenge for sequels. With audiences often seated for these films to see the disasters and the action associated with them, the story element of these sequels tend to simply serve that action: give the characters a reason to be in bombastic, intense situations and dial it up to 11. While that is certainly an element of Greenland 2, the film actually succeeds in balancing the need for big elements with a solid story.
The devastation of Earth and the massive challenges the survivors face are certainly a core element of the film, but in this case, the story really is about John and his family, specifically John’s efforts to not only protect his family but secure for them a better future in the face of a world whose environment has collapsed and it’s morality isn’t far behind. This element provides real stakes well beyond the need to merely survive and gives a thought-provoking and at times deeply moving portrayal of humanity in a truly unprecedented situation. These are themes and elements that were present in the first movie, but here they are on a somewhat quieter and deeper level. This isn’t a story merely about survival anymore; it’s a story about finding a way to thrive. The film may not have been a huge winner at the box office, but it’s truly an underrated gem of the genre and well worth checking out on HBO Max.
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