Exhausting but Entertaining
Summary
Greenland 2: Migration is relentlessly paced with plenty of destruction and more action than the first film. I found the original to be a one time watch mostly due to it being pretty grim and I feel like I wouldn’t be a rush to watch this again either. Still, it’s better than expected with solid performances and some genuinely moving moments alongside the action to be worth watching once.
Plot: The surviving Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker and embark on a perilous journey across the decimated frozen wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Review: Greenland 2: Migration didn’t get a theatrical outside of the US, but it hit digital within 2 weeks; it’s a shame as it has enough spectacle to have been worth checking out on the big screen.
The first Greenland was far more emotional than I was expecting while still delivering plenty of destructive goodness. I wasn’t sure it needed a sequel, but after watching this I feel like the story has a proper ending and closure. At just over 90 minutes, this sequel has arguably more action than the first rarely going more than 2 minutes without something devastating happening. It’s almost comedic how many bad things occur and at one point Gerard Butler even says “you’ve got to be kidding” as that’s what we as the audience are saying.
Focusing on the world after the events of “Clarke” in the first film, Earth is now a decimated hellscape and what’s left of mankind are mostly at war with each other while also trying to avoid being killed by radiation or random natural disasters. Gerard Butler and his family are forced to leave their bunker to try and find a new home, but things are not going to be easy with the world seemingly doing its best to stop them.
On the action front, this sequel has some shoot-outs and even a battle scene, so it moves at lightning pace while also making things emotional and dramatic. Without going too spoilery the voiceover at the end is a bit too preachy and isn’t really necessary. See, don’t tell as they say.
Overall, Greenland 2: Migration is a rather exhausting watch as it rarely lets up and at times just goes too far in terms of threats; it does make the world feel like a genuine nightmare and I feel like the lucky ones die first rather than having to endure such an existence. There are plenty of set-pieces and destruction scenes here to keep it moving along, but I doubt I’d be in a rush to watch it again.