One of Hollywood's most reliable genres of films which often result in enormous amounts of success, are those of disaster flicks. The latter has ended up becoming a staple in Hollywood since the genre first blew up during the 1970's era. When crafting a disaster-themed story, one of the most important elements that generally determines the success of the film besides its showcasing of top notch visual effects, is the type of story the film carries along with characters that the audience can get behind and ultimately find themselves rooting for. What makes a disaster flick entertaining as well as memorable are both the freshness and creativity behind its concept. In the case of Geostorm, the 2017 box office flop bears strong similarities to disaster flicks such as Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow and Michael Bay's Armageddon. Boasting Gerard Butler as the films main lead, Geostorm borrows the climate change subplot from The Day After Tomorrow along with replacing the Astroid from Armageddon with malfunctioning satellites threatening mankind with a storm of epic proportions. The end result ends up being a film that essentially feels as if it borrows every major Hollywood cliche from past films of the disaster genre, with it heavily placing style over substance. Geostorm is a film that brings absolutely nothing new to the table in regards to its story along with the film being not as effective as the surprisingly strong disaster flick Greenland (Which also stars Gerard Butler). Despite its shortcomings, the film utilizes enough elements from previous disaster films along with some impressive CGI action sequences and an appealing cast to make it a mildly entertaining misfire, that serves as being solely enjoyable based on the fact that the film is so bad it's fun to watch due to its awfulness.
The plot for Geostorm centers around a hot-headed scientist (Played by Gerard Butler) being called into action to help track down the cause of an advanced system of satellites with the ability to control extreme weather going haywire before the planet is ultimately destroyed by a series of intense storms. The plot for Geostorm borrows heavily from the Roland Emmerich films of the disaster genre including both The Day After Tomorrow as well as 2012. If one has seen those films, they've essentially seen Geostorm as the film lifts every type of character arc and subplot that's been seen before in previous disaster blockbusters. It's a film that desperately aims to give audiences a thrilling experience, but doesn't quite know how to be original in doing so. What keeps it from being a total misfire are the films stunning destruction set-pieces that are both well-executed and exciting to watch, along with the appeal of its main cast. Although there isn't much originality when it comes to the plot with audiences having experienced Geostorm's concept from other previous blockbuster disaster flicks, the film puts in a sizable effort to make its plot a serviceable one for audiences to get a reasonable amount of entertainment from. While the latter manages to somewhat succeed in providing minor entertainment, the story often finds itself struggling with trying to balance out three different versions of the film it wants to be such as a mindless global destruction blockbuster combined with a political thriller full of twists and turns regarding whose causing the satellites to go haywire, and the third being a powerful statement on the issue of Climate Change in a tone similar to The Day After Tomorrow. The biggest problem with the film lies within its desire to be all three with it ultimately going excessively over-the-top in its efforts to try and appease its target audience. Geostorm serves as being a typical disaster flick that's so cheesy as well as being relentless in its ambition to dazzle audiences with its striking visual images of global destruction, that audiences can't help but find some form of enjoyment out of the whole ordeal, regardless of how messy it feels.
Whereas the script for Geostorm nearly collapses under its own weight in an effort to thrill audiences, the films cast manages to deliver with performances that appear to be both strong and charismatic in playing their roles. The cast seems well aware of the type of film their making, yet still go out of their way to make it as convincing and believable as possible with their efforts. The films main star, Gerard Butler, is appealing in his role as satellite designer Jacob Lawson, who gets reprimanded by the United States Senate sub-committee for bringing a series of climate-controlling satellites called Dutch Boy online without approval in doing so. Butler plays his character off as being a bad boy scientist, who unsurprisingly becomes the only one who can save the planet and figure out why Dutch Boy is suddenly going haywire. Those going into this film know what kind of performance to expect from Butler with him once again delivering his tough guy persona with his character being a big-brained scientist, who carries all the answers to Dutch Boy's functions and isn't afraid to tell off politicians criticizing his work. Along with Butler's work on the film, Jim Sturgess also impresses as Jake's younger brother Max Lawson, who ends up replacing Max as the chief architect of Dutch Boy. Sturgess like Butler, delivers a performance that ranges as being both likable and charismatic even if audiences don't fully buy them as being brothers on screen. Abbie Cornish also proves to be fun to watch as U.S. Secret Service Agent Sarah Wilson, along with secretly being Max's fiancee. Cornish work here provides the film with not just the action but a strong female character who both acts professional with her line of work, while keeping her personal life separate due to work rules and barriers. Adding to both the strong performances as well as the solid appeal of the main cast, the hugely talented and always reliable Andy Garcia and Ed Harris deliver highly-effective performances as both U.S President Andrew Palma and Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom. Other noteworthy supporting cast members that deliver impressive performances are Alexandra Maria Lara as space station commander Ute Fassbinder, and Zazie Beetz in a scene-stealing yet underused role as highly skilled cybersecurity expert and loyal friend of Max named Dana. While Geostorm goes both upwards and down in regards to quality, the one aspect of the film that remains consistent straight through is the hugely reliable performances of its main cast with it even being stated that they literally save the film from being a complete disaster while ultimately elevating it to the level of being watchable. The performances from the cast even come across as being charismatic, particularly Butler, Cornish, and Beetz surprisingly with both Harris and Garcia bringing their A game once again regardless of the type of story their acting in. The one thing that can be said about Geostorm's acting is that everyone did their best to make the most out of their roles, regardless of how eye-rolling and silly the story comes across.
Directed by Dean Delvin at the helm, who previously collaborated with Roland Emmerich as writer on previous disaster flicks such as Independence Day, Godzilla, and Independence Day: Resurgence. With Geostorm, Delvin sets out to create his own disaster spectacle with a visual look and style that closely resembles that of both The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Delvin proves himself capable of working with CGI as well as setting up key VFX sequences that ultimately become the films main attraction, as well as being the sole reason anyone should bother watching the film as it both lives and dies based on the destruction sequences shown of locations such as Hong Kong, Moscow, and other major cities getting wiped out by huge Tsumani's or fire coming out of the ground. Delvin's directorial work makes him feel like the younger sibling of Emmerich, whose finally getting the opportunity to try his hand at directing a disaster-themed spectacle with the end result lacking the confident directing style that Emmerich typically puts on his films. The films cinematography is effective in capturing the films breathtaking destruction sequences with the pacing moving Geostorm's story much faster in comparison to the disaster films Emmerich directed, which usually run as long as 2.5 hours compared to Geostorm's 109 minute running time. Those choosing to watch Geostorm know what type of film they're getting themselves into as Delvin doesn't hold back on the films usage of CGI, and exploits it in the same vein as Roland's work. Those who've seen Emmerich's films are aware that the filmmaker has an enormous tendency with his disaster based films to throw out the suspension-of-disbelief contract with Delvin taking the same approach here. Although not as skillful as Roland when it comes to crafting brainless popcorn entertainment, that pays direct homage to the classic 1970's whodunnit and popular disaster films of its time such as The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and Airport, his work here is passable enough in creating a tense atmosphere that's heavily effects driven, while managing to hold audiences interest as the film shifts from being a global disaster story to a mystery political thriller that's ultimately merged together for maximum effect.
The films greatest shortcomings stem from it's confused and messy script, which attempts to blend three different types of films merged into one. The screenplay also written by Delvin with Paul Guyout, aims to be a political mystery thriller with the audience being led to constantly guess on whose forcing Dutch Boy to go haywire with fingers being pointed at the obvious suspects, along with the film shifting back and forth from this subplot to deliver the traditional world destruction sequences mainly because it wouldn't be a true disaster film without them. Delvin sets the stage for the films main plot with the opening narration explaining that the year 2019 leads to the creation of an international coalition following a series of catastrophic natural disasters, ultimately giving birth to Dutch Boy. The script for Geostorm aims to carry a message which says that we all share one future and one planet with simply one climate, and that we should ultimately do everything possible to keep it from being destroying. Whereas the film carries a strong message behind it, the script isn't well-developed enough to truly make audiences connect with it as the film struggles with juggling to be a popcorn style thriller, traditional disaster flick, and a story that stands as being a hard-hitting statement on the issue of climate change. The films character development is about what one would expect from a typical disaster flick, which is to be minimal with characters that appear as being one-dimensional, showing how pivotal it is that the actors performances made those characters believable. The one area of the script where it does surprisingly well in regards to character development, is the establishing of the female characters in multiple job positions as being strong-willed individuals with the brains outside of Butler's character being portrayed as a know-it-all when it comes to Dutch Boys functions. Examples are Abbie Cornish's character being shown to be a complete badass when it comes to protecting the President against the films antagonist, who wishes to control the satellies for their own sinister purposes or Beetz's character being enormously skilled at her profession. Despite the brief moments where the script shows strength in regards to both its storytelling and character development, the overall work ends up being extremely messy and confused on what exactly it wants to be. The plot will encourage audiences to perform multiple eye rolling throughout various points of the story, particularly when predictable and extremely cheesy subplots are being thrown at them such as the unveiling of the true mastermind behind Dutch Boy going haywire, and the inevitable climactic self-sacrifice that feels like its been directly lifted from Michael Bay's Armageddon with another plot twist placed on top of it. The scripts excessive use of twists and turns regarding the plot doesn't do much in terms of exciting audiences, but shows the sheer desperation on the filmmakers part to compensate for a thinly developed plot that ultimately feels like every other disaster film made prior to its release. The concept of a category 4 storm being caused by out-of-control satellies, is an extremely laughable premise that won't win over any new fans to the disaster genre, but there's enough Sci-Fi mayhem, as well as a combination of action sequences ranging from global destruction to shootouts and car chases, that'll satisfy action junkies if they don't look too deep into the films plot or character growth.
With Geostorm, audiences can't help but question whether the big-budget disaster genre is running out of steam, as this was the best attempt that the filmmakers behind it could give audiences. There's nothing about the film that justifies the amount of time, money, and effort that went into making the film with even the films visual effects, though impressive, not being groundbreaking enough to make up for an extremely bland story with thin character development and poor exploration of the films themes and messages. Watching the film, it becomes apparent that the filmmakers didn't know which direction they wanted to go with the story with the end result being a entertaining hot mess. Geostorm is every other global disaster film ever made with the overall plot getting stupider, yet the film is no less entertaining than the ones that Emmerich occasionally throws at audiences. It's a film that should never be looked upon as being a high form of art, but it carries enough elements from other disaster films to make it watchable at the very least. Though if audiences are looking for a far superior disaster story that places both characters and story over overlong sequences of global destruction, they're highly encouraged to check out Amazon Primes Greenland to see how solid storytelling for a disaster-themed story is done. Whereas Geostorm provides mild entertainment as being an intriguing misfire, Greenland serves as being a more rewarding experience from start to finish. It's a shame that the filmmakers behind Geostorm weren't inspired to follow suit in a similar fashion with its sound rejecting from audiences during its initial box office run being ultimately deserved. The film is a pure mess but within that mess is a certain amount of enjoyment to behold.
Final Verdict: Geostorm is only mildly entertaining if one can overlook the endless amounts of cliched and generic subplots lifted from other similar films. Fans of the disaster film genre as well as those of Gerard Butler should watch Greenland instead of Geostorm, as the latter is only watchable due to its key destruction sequences and solid cast with Greenland providing a more satisfying experience overall in regards to story.
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