Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Greenland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 4, 2021

And people thought 2020 was bad. For all that went wrong in one of the world's more tumultuous timeframes at least there wasn't a sudden E.L.E. - Extinction Level Event -- to worry about. But that is the concern for one family -- and the entire world -- in Director Ric Roman Waugh's (Angel Has Fallen) Greenland, an emotionally charged story of a journey for survival in the face of an imminent cataclysm. The film blends effects-heavy yet believably rendered wizardry with an essential human soul. The film finds the best and worst mankind has to offer in a tight, compelling, and emotionally draining yet soulfully satisfying journey through a crumbling world in search of a sliver of hope when none seems to exist.

A storm is coming.

Engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler) is having trouble at home. He’s cheated on his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) and they’re in the middle of a messy separation with their seven-year-old son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd) caught in the middle. John, Allison, and Nathan gather together, along with several friends, to watch the news coverage of Clarke, a comet that will be passing incredibly close to Earth. John receives a message on his phone, an automated Presidential alert, informing him that he, Allison, and Nathan have been granted a spot in an underground shelter. Moments later, when the comet is supposed to crash safely in the ocean, it strikes near Tampa, Florida, devastating the city. The blast is felt hundreds of miles away, including in Atlanta where the family is gathered.

News is quickly revealed that that comet is fragmented and that pieces will be impacting all over the planet in the next 48 hours ahead of a massive planet-killer that will almost instantly wipe out everything on Earth. John, Allison, and Nathan rush to meet their plane but when it’s discovered that Nathan is diabetic, their pass is revoked. John becomes separated from Allison and Nathan in the chaos. They cannot reach each other on the phone but Allison leaves John a note on their abandoned car that they’re headed north to Allison’s father’s ranch. As the figuratively and literally separated family fights the chaos, confusion, and crumbling humanity, hoping to reunite before disaster strikes, they desperately seek any means of survival as their options, and their chances, quickly reduce to near zero.

Greenland is more-or-less a pre-disaster movie, following the events leading up to a catastrophic “extinction level event” rather than a movie like San Andreas in which much of the story unfolds during and after the devastation. In that way, Greenland has more in common with 2012 than it does many other Disaster films. But for as fun as that movie may be as a quintessential example of the modern, sprawling, effects-first Disaster film, Greenland is more concerned with the human condition. In the film, the comet’s arrival is, at first, met with great excitement. It’s a fascination, an event, a cause for celebration, and if nothing else an excuse to plop in front of the television with popcorn at the ready. But these fleeting moments of excitement come in the shadow of pending disaster. The film never does answer the question of how long the government (or world governments) has known the truth, but the sudden switch from fascination to fear is one of the big driving forces that makes the movie successful. Characters are forced almost literally in the blink of an eye to shift into a survival mode which means different things for the different people John, Allison, and Nathan meet along the way.

Ultimately, it’s humanity that poses almost as big a risk to the family as the comet, resulting in an emotional roller coaster for the family and the audience. The Garrity’s meet people who would help them and who would harm them. It’s difficult to watch the scenes in which humanity crumbles in the face of death as selfishness rises above selflessness but it’s equally uplifting to see the people who fight for what is right, to hold onto their humanity even when humanity is at its end. But that countdown to extinction is constant and the threat of impacts from Clarke’s smaller pieces is an ever-present danger, too. Essentially, there’s no escape for the family, only reprieves should they stumble upon someone willing to help. The movie is chilling and presented in a plausible way, both in terms of its depiction of the astral event and humanity’s response to it. It’s legitimately nerve-racking from start to finish (a finish that tacks on about two minutes too many at the end). The three leads are very good, too. Butler and Baccarin are strong as the estranged husband and wife, believably frightened but also believably invested in reuniting their family and fighting for a chance at survival. The film never asks them to be superheroes; their journey is fraught with peril and they are pushed to their limits, and often beyond, but not so far that the film becomes a farce.

Greenland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Greenland's 1080p picture quality is stable and sure. The digitally shot film often takes place at night, in lower light, or in a warm glow influenced by the fiery sky in the world around the characters. Source noise is a challenging issue for this release and some of the darkest scenes can reveal a fairly substantial amount. Nevertheless, the source is in otherwise good shape as is the encode, where banding and macroblocking are essentially nonissues save for perhaps the darkest and most densely black shots. Black levels do waver a bit, sometimes appearing a bit flat and pale, other times overly dense and soupy. Color output is otherwise good, particularly in well-lit exteriors where clothes and cars and natural greens are given ample opportunity for punch. Skin tones appear healthy and accurate though they do vary based on any given scene's lighting parameters. Details are very good. While a UHD would have rendered Butler's beard, for instance, even sharper, the Blu-ray does a fine job of bringing out expressive, sharp enough definition to broad and intimate facial features alike. The darker shots allow for less dynamic texturing but the image remains stable and well within 1080p expectations for the duration. This will never be seen as reference material but viewers should be generally satisfied with the picture, particularly given that most of the drawbacks can be traced to the source or artistic intent.

Greenland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

What is of reference quality is Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. While the sound design screams out for an Atmos or DTS:X experience, there's no shortage of excellent, even exquisite, surround extension, low end depth, and discrete effects. The track is explosive, literally. The first blast from the comet sends a concussive shockwave through the film and into the home theater with incredible speed, depth, and sense of movement. Several similar impacts throughout the film are equally impressive, many of them more dominating than the last but never losing even a hint of detail. But one of the best moments comes not with a thunderous single impact but rather a pelting of smaller comet fragments at the 92-minute mark. This is the scene that really demands the overhead channel engagement but even without them the feel for total immersion, for the projectiles zipping like missiles from above and to the ground, and the various impacts and subwoofer extensions, not to mention the absolutely perfect sense of spatial awareness and distance, make for a clear-cut demo worthy audio scene. Beyond the intense action effects, musical presentation is flawless for detail and immersion. Environmental supports excite, too, particularly some of the denser examples like when an unruly crowd assembles outside of a military base in chapter five as panicked throngs attempt to gain entry in a desperate life-saving measure. Dialogue is unsurprisingly natural, well prioritized even in intense action, and center-grounded throughout.

Greenland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Greenland includes an audio commentary track, deleted scenes, and a featurette. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 5:07 total runtime): Included are Colin, Poker, and Original Ending. With optional director intros.
• Humanity (1080p, 1:20): A quick look at the movie's qualities.
• Audio Commentary: Director Ric Roman Waugh and Producer Basil Iwanyk cover all of the essential topics: the movie's place in the COVID pandemic, the story's structure, cast and performances, themes, visuals, and more. This is a well-rounded track that fans will find well worth a listen.

Greenland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Greenland is a rare blend of spectacle and relatability. It's a film that doesn't push the envelope but rather pushes a family to, and beyond, its believable limits in the face of unthinkable disaster. Visual effects are present in support rather than as a defining feature. Humanity is at the center of the film and that's why it plays as well as it does. Universal's Blu-ray is very good. The 1080p picture quality is solid, the 7.1 lossless audio track reaches reference, and a few extras are included. Highly recommended.