Gerard Butler's return to the post-apocalyptic world of Greenland has arrived, but the sequel, Greenland 2: Migration, fails to recapture the sober tension of its predecessor. Released in US cinemas on 9 January, with UK and Australian releases to follow, this glum follow-up feels disastrously self-serious, trading thoughtful survival for misjudged melodrama.
A Grim New World Lacks Hope
The story rejoins engineer John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their now-teenage son Nathan (now played by Roman Griffin Davis) five years after the comet impacts. They are living in a government bunker in Greenland, chafing under the claustrophobic rules and loss of freedom. The film initially walks back the hopeful ending of the first movie, revealing the planet's air is not as clear as promised.
Their fragile existence is shattered when earthquakes destroy the bunker, forcing a small group of survivors, including the Garrity family, to embark on a perilous journey. Their goal is a rumoured crater in France that supposedly contains a large pocket of breathable air, leading them on a treacherous trip across a dried-up English Channel.
Missed Opportunities and Wobbly Execution
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh – marking his fourth collaboration with Butler – the film attempts to expand its scope but stumbles in execution. While the country-hopping mission offers a change of scenery, the central dynamic remains the same: John improvising a path to safety for his family. The environmental threats are less immediate this time, replaced by radiation storms and tidal waves, but the film struggles to maintain a consistent sense of urgency.
The action set-pieces are a mixed bag. A sequence involving a comically rickety series of bridges over the Channel is more ridiculous than nerve-wracking. Furthermore, the budget limitations become apparent, with compelling wide shots of desolate landscapes undermined by shaky, dimly-lit close-ups during confrontations.
An Unearned Earnestness
The sequel's most significant flaw is its doubling down on a dour, maudlin tone. It alternates between grimly killing off side characters and then pausing for unearned sentimentality. Butler, while a dependably rumpled presence, is pushed toward good-dad bathos, and Waugh's handling of human drama feels grasping and indelicate.
Interestingly, the film briefly touches on themes that accidentally echoed the Covid-19 pandemic, with radiation masks and paranoia about sickness. However, it quickly abandons this potential for contemporary resonance, opting instead for a safe distance from any real-world parallels. Greenland 2: Migration ultimately takes itself seriously in all the wrong ways, urging tears for an imagined nobility while failing to craft a compelling or coherent adventure.
