In Geostorm, the Earth has been subjected to severe weather conditions, caused by climate change. After millions of lives have been a lost, the governments of the world team up to devise a system of satellites surrounding the planet, that are able to control the weather. After a couple of successful years, the technology starts to malfunction, and the planet is at risk. The leader of the team that built the system – Jake Lawson (Gerard Butler) – is asked to solve the technical issues, but he soon discovers there has been deliberate sabotage.
I have a real fondness for the classic disaster movies of the 70s. For the most part (1979’s Meteor being the exception) there was just one building or plane or city at risk, and that was enough stakes to make a great movie. Since Independence Day in 1997, it seems that only the future of the entire planet can provide enough jeopardy. So, once again, we see whole towns and cities around the globe being destroyed. The CGI depictions of those events are of variable quality, but however good they are, I find that they have no impact on me any more.
It is fortunate then, that a large part of the film plays more like a political conspiracy thriller, as Jake and his brother Max (Jim Sturgess) try to unravel the mystery of who is plotting to make the system fail and why they are doing it. The problem with that is that the answer is pretty obvious and neither Butler or Sturgess are very compelling in their parts. The acting honours actually go to Abbie Cornish as Sarah, Max’s secret service girlfriend and Adepero Oduye as Eni, his tech whizz. I would happily watch a TV series with those two solving crimes!
Despite the flaws, the film moves along well enough for the first couple of acts. The last third is a bit of a mess though. Aside from the non-shock when the bad guy is revealed, some of the science on display is pretty laughable, especially the countdown to disaster clock. The decision to destroy the satellite system seems to be taken pretty lightly bearing in mind the reason it was built in the first place and Jake’s Bruce-Willis-in-Armageddon-style-sacrifice is laughable. It ends with a sickly voice over from Jake’s daughter, played by the overly precocious Talitha Eliana Bateman.
Rating: 5 out of 10