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Friday, April 19, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD GEOSTORM (3D)
EDITOR'S PICK
'Geostorm': An endurable disaster film (Review By Troy Ribeiro ;
Rating: **1/2)
Layered with a bro-bonding drama, "Geostorm" is a fictional "save the Earth"
rescue film.
Set in 2019, the plot follows Jacob Lawson (Gerard Butler) aka Jake, a maverick
satellite designer who tries to save the world from a storm of epic proportions
caused by the malfunctioning of a climate-controlling satellite.
The film begins with a voiceover of Hannah, Jake's daughter, explaining that
ecological destruction leads to global warming. And, in response to a series of
extreme natural disasters, a coalition of seventeen nations commissioned, "Dutch
Boy" - a system of satellites designed to control the changing climate on a
global scale.
After defusing a massive hurricane over Shanghai, Jake is reprimanded by a
Senate sub-committee for activating the satellites without prior approval and is
thus replaced by his own brother Max.
Three years later, Dutch Boy on the cusp of being handed over to the world at
large and becoming a global property, is struck by a series of glitches caused
by a computer virus. Due to its malfunctioning, Earth is under threat of a
"Geostorm which is simultaneous weather disasters".
Jake is roped in for disaster control and how he along with his brother Max does
the needful, forms the crux of the tale.
Though there are superb disaster clips portraying the apocalypse the narrative
lacks visual tension, especially of how the people are trying to defend against
it. Thus, this film will not strike high as an action-packed, disaster-rescue
film.
But it works superbly as an emotional film interlinking science, religion and
human behaviour, especially that of greedy politicians.
With race-against-time tension brewing between the brothers and the anxiety of
little Hannah over her father being sent into space, it is touching to hear her
say, "I want you to come home alive".
It is also amusing to hear Jake tell Ute Fassbinder, the captain of Dutch Boy,
"Do you believe in the Hail Mary?", while escaping from the exploding satellite.
As usual, Gerard Butler slips into his character effortlessly. He nails his role
as a defiant scientist, loving father and a concerned human being. He is aptly
supported by Jim Sturgess as his brother Max, Alexandra Maria Lara as Ute
Fassbinder, the German Space Captain of Dutch Boy, Abbie Cornish as Max's
girlfriend Sarah Wilson the steely Secret Service Agent, Ed Harris as Leonard
Dekkom, the aging politico and Andy Garcia as President Andrew Palma. They all
deliver their parts sincerely.
Technically, the film has slick production values, but they don't rise in terms
of originality. The computer generated images along with the 3D effects are
slick and they merge smoothly into the live action frames.
Overall, "Geostorm" is not a masterpiece, but it definitely touches some right
notes, sometimes.
