GEOSTORM Review

Movie Information

Release Date: October 20, 2017

Director: Dean Devlin

Writer: Dean Devlin, Paul Guyot

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, Amr Waked, Adepero Oduye, Andy Garcia, Ed Harris, Robert Sheehan, Richard Schiff, Mare Winningham, Zazie Beetz, Talitha Eliana Bateman, Daniella Garcia, Ritchie Montgomery, David S. Lee, Billy Slaughter, Gregory Alan Williams, Richard Regan Paul, David Jensen, Derek Roberts, Nathan Moore, Blake Burt

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 109 minutes

Production Company: Warner Bros., Electric Entertainment, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Skydance Media

Language: English

Country: USA

Budget: $120,000,000 (estimated)

It’s likely obvious at this point that I thoroughly enjoy films. I’m into all types of genres, and I’ll most likely never get tired of them due to my curious nature. I’m not a destructive person that sets fires at random, but I’m always asking myself, “What would it look like if this happened?” I’ve asked myself that question growing up a ton of times regarding the weather, and it initially appeared that this film would answer those questions for me. Many film fans around rolled their eyes at the notion of such a film, but when Gerard Butler popped up on screen, during the second trailer, my interest spiked even higher. He’s a great actor and leading man that knows how to steal a scene, whether he’s an ancient warrior leading his men to a glorious death or making jokes in the latest romantic comedy. I loved the film Independence Day, and was hoping this film would be somewhere on the same level. Unfortunately, it’s not even close. While the former had heart, and some sense of a stretched reality, I didn’t feel the same with Geostorm. This is a heightened dumbed down version of Independence Day, that rushes to its conclusion, not giving a crap about how stupid it is, but still shockingly is still fun.  

In the near future, global warming will be destroying the planet, killing thousands upon thousands across the world. Now, all of humankind is fed up and starts to band together to put an end to all the chaos. That’s when Jake Lawson (Butler) comes to save the day creating Dutch Boy, a global network of satellites to control the weather. But then, some nefarious evildoer wants to turn his invention into a weapon for global domination. On the surface; that’s a wonderful concept. As an audience member, you can relate to the weather needing to be under control with all the lost lives around of the world being in check. Earthquakes and hurricanes are a real thing, and the release date of this film couldn’t have been at a better time. The film suggests a large scale of teamwork and trusting of your fellow neighbor whether they’re next door or over in the next country. So, I give kudos to the film for grounding itself in that sense of reality.  

The film is still filled with problems from beginning to end leaving plots holes free to run amuck. There’s one plot hole that’s the size of the planet, but I guess the writing team didn’t care. If someone is secretly controlling satellites to kill people around the world, or if there is a malfunction with them acting on their own. Are there no more missiles or weapons still left in the world to blow them out of the sky. If this was mentioned towards the beginning, and I missed it, that’s on me, but this was a glaring question I was dying to know, but never received an answer for.  

Some of the characters weren’t believable in their roles as well. Even though I’m a fan of Gerald Butler, he didn’t come across as a leading scientist that could save the day. I just wasn’t buying it, and for the tone of the film, the acting from his brother Max Lawson (Jim Sturgess) was extremely over the top. While he was trying to get an Oscar for high performance, no one else around him was. It was like he knew this would be his last film ever, and he wanted to go out with a bang. That can be respected in a sense, but it stands out like a sore thumb when your surrounding counterparts, aren’t on the same level of intensity.  

The action was satisfactory at most. I wanted to escape for at least 90 minutes seeing the most creative pieces of destruction a film could offer. Instead of that, a good portion of the film is spent with the characters and their over exaggerated dialogue trying to figure things out. That’s fine, but not if it saturates the main reason people are coming to view this film. There were a few scenes with carnage, chaos, and destruction that were splendid, but honestly, I wanted more. It was a missed opportunity that could’ve led this film to be something to remember, but now, I  confident that a month after this release, this film will be most likely forgotten.  

Don’t get me wrong with this film, because believe it or not, it still has a few redeeming qualities, especially with the comedy that you can find some entertainment in. While it’s clear you shouldn’t take it seriously, it had so much potential to be much more. The ending action sequence is one of the ridiculous things I’ve ever seen, being nearly impossible for those involved to survive. It’s so bad it’s hilarious that you just sit back and accept it for what it is. Everyone loves a happy ending, but I don’t want the film to cheat to get there. Though it isn’t that serious of an issue, so, if you’re into goofy nonsensical action, I’m sure you’ll have a decent time. 

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