[7]

Gerard Butler (300) and Morena Maccarin (Firefly) star in this end-times thriller about a family trying to find shelter before a comet smashes into Earth. We’ve seen this plot play out in movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, but Greenland distinguishes itself by its psychological focus on the two main characters. There are, of course, visual effects depicting destruction and devastation, and harrowing crowd scenes of mass panic, too. But none of those visceral moments have near the impact that the human component delivers.

The first emotional crisis is when Gerard, Maccarin and their young son are selected by the government for being transferred to a classified facility, leaving all their friends and neighbors behind to perish. And then, just when they’re about to board the plane to safety, they’re rejected because the boy has diabetes. Then the movie separates all three characters and the world learns it has just 48 hours before an extinction-level event. Greenland is at its best when the end of all things is imminent and inescapable, when the happiest possible ending is just for these characters to be together when it happens.

The third act, always the trickiest in thoughtful action movies, can’t avoid some of the usual clichés and pitfalls. And as grim as the movie is, Greenland actually holds back in depicting the full scientific horrors of such a cataclysmic event. It does very well, however, in its depiction of civilization’s collapse. The government secrecy, selfishness, looting, and barbarism are all there, serving as a reminder that if the end times are ever indeed upon us, there’s a good chance we’ll kill ourselves before an act of God gets the chance.

With Roger Dale Floyd and Scott Glenn.