Gerard Butler returns to the post-apocalyptic fray in Greenland 2: Migration, a sequel that arrives with significant promise but ultimately delivers a glum and misjudged adventure. The follow-up to the surprisingly sober 2020 hit struggles under the weight of its own self-seriousness, failing to capitalise on the intriguing premise established by its predecessor.
A Bleak Continuation of the Garrity Family Saga
The story picks up five years after comet fragments rendered Earth largely uninhabitable. Engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their now-teenage son Nathan (played by Roman Griffin Davis) are living in a government bunker in Greenland. While safe from the toxic atmosphere, they chafe under the strict rules and claustrophobic conditions of underground life.
Their fragile stability is shattered when a series of earthquakes destroys the bunker. Forced back to the surface, a small group of survivors, including the Garrity family, hears a rumour of a crater in France with a large pocket of breathable air. Their desperate mission to cross the devastated European landscape forms the core of the film's narrative, offering greater geographical scope than the first movie.
Missed Opportunities and Tonal Missteps
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, marking his fourth collaboration with Butler, the film attempts to maintain the earnest tone of the original but pushes it to a dour extreme. The action set-pieces, such as a treacherous crossing of a dried-up English Channel on rickety bridges, often feel more ridiculous than nerve-wracking. The production's budgetary constraints become apparent, with compelling wide shots of desolation undermined by shaky, dimly lit close-quarters sequences.
The sequel initially seems poised to expand on the first film's accidental resonance as a Covid-era story, featuring radiation gear and paranoia about sickness. However, this theme is abruptly dropped when characters are told they no longer need their masks, severing any tangible connection to contemporary anxieties. The film then descends into a cycle of grimly killing off side characters before pausing for maudlin reflection, a rhythm that feels both manipulative and unearned.
A Lead Performance Lost in the Gloom
Gerard Butler, who has settled into a dependably rugged screen presence, is hampered by the material's relentless solemnity. While he gets to use his native Scottish accent, his performance veers into good-dad bathos, lacking the compelling urgency that defined his role in the first film. The dynamic with his on-screen family feels stagnant, and the script does little to develop their relationships beyond a superficial level of protection and worry.
Ultimately, Greenland 2: Migration is a 98-minute exercise in misplaced seriousness. It wants the audience to mourn for a fictional nobility while carefully avoiding any meaningful commentary on the real world it vaguely echoes. The film opens in US cinemas on 9 January, with UK and Australian releases to follow soon after.
