Movie 411 Review: Geostorm

Geostorm by Dean Devlin (Director)
on October 20, 2017
Genres: action, drama

The 411 Junkie Rundown

Imagine a world in which top notch scientist, world-wide control the weather. What started off as a service to all mankind on Earth becomes a weapon and it's up to the Lawson brothers--one a scientist, the other a government official--to figure out the what, the how, the why, and, of course, the who.

Screenplay by: Dean Devlin and Paul Guyot
Rated: PG-13

The Hook

• The whole man-playing-God plot.
• The “what if?” and the consequences behind that.

The Good

• The action. Action flicks are top on my list of movie genres to watch and this movie didn’t disappoint in that department. It may not have had as much action as others, but I liked it. It wasn’t overly done (if that’s even a possibility, because no movie jumps to my mind where I thought “gosh, they overdid it.” Feel free to enlighten me if you can think of one, or some).
• The international space station. Okay, I have to say, the set up of this international weather space station was impressive. The idea of the top scientists from around the world pulling together to create, manage, and keep up something that benefits the entire world is a pretty awesome concept (though improbable, as we see in the movie).
• The conspiracy. Conspiracy theory movies are also top on my list of movie genres to watch so, bonus! It’s your usual “high government treason because greed” plot, but it works. And I like how its applied in this movie.

The Not So Good

• Can I say it felt too predictable . . . even if I liked the conspiracy? It seems so contradictory when I say I liked the conspiracy theory, and it worked for this movie, but it was also too predictable. Maybe it’s because it’s a familiar angle? I don’t know. But whatever you make of it, too me, it felt like I’ve seen it before, except this one is in space.
• Gerard Butler, typecast. Don’t get me wrong, he did a good job in this one and I love almost all of his movies and I am a fan so I feel, again, contradictory when I put this under “the not so good.” It’s just, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Law Abiding Citizen . . . it just feels like one role. The same role. You know? (But I love those three movies as well).
• View Spoiler »and he doesn’t die at the end. I mean, it’s not like I hope the hero dies, but that’s what it used to be like, right? That the hero dies and makes the story memorable? Worth it? etcetera. But, he lives. And it’s good, but I wonder if that’s what would have made it great. « Hide Spoiler

With that said

It is a good movie and I liked it and I would watch it again. Aside from it feeling like “the same ol’, same ol’,” it was a good story and entertaining if you’re looking for something to pass the time. It’s worth at least watching once.

And the controlling the weather aspect of things was a pretty interesting theme to explore. With the way science has advanced and global warming/climate change, whose to say that a weather-space station isn’t too far away? Ethics and morality underlie the movie, which is why it’s a solid 3 stars for me and not less, and that “what would you do?” is something that lingers in your mind.