Synopsis: When the network of satellites designed to control the global climate start to attack Earth, it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone.
Release Date: October 20, 2017 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Action,
Film Review
Production
Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Heat waves. Earthquakes. Cold fronts. Floods. A film about natural disasters and the effects of climate change on earth couldn’t be more topical. And that’s part of the draw with Geostorm: to see how/if mother nature can be controlled. Well, according to Geostorm, it won’t take very much time — just a lot of money and global cooperation — to control the weather. Via a space station, of course, and a net, and a lot of satellites that manipulate weather patterns through Dutch Boy (that’s the machine/program, whatever — the film does a terrible job with explanation). The idea behind Geostorm and the promise of big-budget, special effects derived destruction to the world is what makes you want to take a seat and enjoy the show. You shouldn’t.
Geostorm is an epic disappointment. It’s oh-so predictable. If you’re a fan of this genre of action thrillers, you’ll likely be able to map out and recite each plot point, twist, and the climax around 20 minutes in to the
film. There’s the disgruntled and discarded scientist (Gerard Butler’s Jake Lawson) who is brought back into the fray when things start to go wrong with his creation. He has a daughter of course, but he’s not a very good father. Nor does he have a good relationship with his brother (Max Lawson, played by Jim Sturgess), who is now his boss. Oh, and there’s a bad guy in a position of power — could it be any other way? This could all be forgivable if the scenes in which parts of the world meet a terrible fate were awesome. They’re not. In fact, the movie has more dry dialogue, familial drama, and moaning than action. When special effects are called for, you get a quick, cheaply rendered scene that is far too short and far too amateur for the big screen.
There are a great deal of fantastic disaster movies that stand the test of time (even decades later). Watch one of them again and forget you ever heard of Geostorm.
Writing
Before stepping into the big-screen directing chair for Geostorm, Dean Devlin was famously known for writing hits such as Independence Day and Stargate. More recently, he penned Independence Day: Resurgence, a major disappointment. The same goes for Geostorm, which he co-wrote with Paul Guyot. With its stunted dialogue, lack of real scientific explanation, and downright boring plot from start to finish, <>Geostorm is itself a disaster. There’s zero empathy developed for the whiny characters and whether they live or die isn’t an issue — in fact, you may want more than a few to perish (like Abbie Cornish’s Sarah Wilson) so you won’t have to endure the pain and suffering of watching them on screen any longer. And the Millennial jokes, if you can call them that, are catastrophicly terrible. Geostorm has a great premise, but it’s too concerned with familial drama (that doesn’t click with viewers, ever) and attempting to preach about climate change and power that it forgets its purpose: to entertain with destruction.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Dean Devlin
- Producer(s):
- Screenwriter(s): Dean DevlinPaul Guyot
- Story:
- Cast: Gerard Butler (Jake Lawson)Jim Sturgess (Max Lawson)Abbie Cornish (Sarah Wilson) Daniel Wu (Cheng Long)Andy Garcia (President Andrew Palma)Ed Harris (Leonard Dekkom)
- Editor(s): Chris Lebenzon
- Cinematographer: Roberto Schaefer
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score: Lorne Balfe
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: USA