Rating: 1 / 5 stars
“Geostorm” is the directorial debut for Dean Devlin (“The Librarians”), a film producer and screenwriter most notable for producing various Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day: Resurgence”) films such as “Stargate”, “Independence Day” and “Godzilla.” That connection can easily be felt here, as “Geostorm” is the kind of film that would fit well within Emmerich’s filmography. In truth, however, “Geostorm” is the most moronic movie to be released this year and the worst disaster film to be released in recent memory.
The film takes place in the near future where catastrophic natural disasters are halted with the aid of “Dutch Boy,” a system of satellites designed to control climate on a global scale. When the system begins to malfunction, a former lead architect is brought in to save the day and hopefully prevent a “Geostorm” from destroying the planet. Regarding disaster movies plots, this story is very basic. In fact, it is downright pedestrian. Viewers have seen it in “Armageddon,” “2012,” “San Andreas.” and “Geostorm” brings absolutely nothing new to the table. This can even be seen with the characters.
The disgraced lead architect is Jake Lawson, played by Gerard Butler (“London Has Fallen”). He is joined by Jim Sturgess (“Kidnapping Mr. Heineken”) as the protagonist’s younger brother, Abbie Cornish (“Robocop”) as a U.S. Secret Service agent, Ed Harris (“mother!”) as the U.S. secretary of state and Andy García (“Passengers”) as the president of the U.S. All try their best, but the script is so cliché and predictable that even Daniel Day-Lewis wouldn’t be able to salvage it. Not to mention some of the choices several characters make in the film defy all logic and reason.
Despite being a disaster movie, “Geostorm” does not showcases many disaster sequences. In the entire film, only one disaster sequence is memorable and even that ends as soon as it begins. The second act is completely devoid of any spectacle and viewers are subjected to following a generic mystery surrounding sabotaged satellites. There is a rule for disaster films that people go to see them for the sole purpose of seeing amazing visual effects. “2012” did this decently, but “Geostorm” does not. In fact, we are given effects that look on par with Syfy original movies. Not to mention that none of the main characters are involved in any of the disaster sequences, giving them no emotional weight or even a fleeting sense of urgency.
In a nutshell, “Geostorm” is a big bore. In this day and age, the disaster genre is a dying breed due to a lack of fresh material. They need to bring in something fresh to reel audiences in. “Geostorm” once again fails in this regard. In the disappointing movie month of October, “Geostorm” is not worth time or money. Watch and support “Blade Runner 2049” if you want a better film with more substance, or wait a few weeks for the release for “Thor: Ragnarok.” “Geostorm” is as entertaining to watch as a Syfy original movie. Hopefully, Devlin’s next film, “Bad Samaritan,” is an improvement over this wreck.
Image from Warner Bros. Pictures via YouTube.com
