Greenland

Greenland

movie

PG-13, 2020, Action, Thriller

WISE
42%

WISE Score

77

Avg. Tomatometer

A comet apocalypse thriller where Dad races to save his family—intense, anxiety-inducing, and thoroughly exhausting to watch.

IMDb6.4
RT Critics77%
MC64
TMDB7.1
Common Sense Media
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Screenwise Verdict

Greenland is a perfectly serviceable disaster movie that does exactly what it says on the tin: comet hits Earth, family tries to survive, everything is terrible and stressful for two hours.

The good: Gerard Butler's dad character genuinely cares about his family, and the movie doesn't shy away from showing both heroism and human ugliness during crisis. It's well-made enough that critics liked it.

The bad: It's exhausting. The entire runtime is anxiety and peril, with brief moments to catch your breath before the next catastrophe. The child separation scenes are genuinely distressing, and the 'worst of mankind' angle feels more exploitative than insightful.

The verdict: If you're looking for family movie night fare, keep scrolling. This is for older teens (14+) and adults who want a disaster thriller that will leave them feeling wrung out. It's not terrible, but it's also not particularly enriching or memorable—just competently stressful. The Letterboxd score of 2.9/5 tells you what you need to know: it's fine, but nobody's rewatching it.

Age Fit

This is solidly 14+ territory—younger teens who can handle intense disaster sequences and emotional distress. The family separation scenes alone will be too much for most kids under 13. Adults might appreciate it as a competent thriller, but it's not exactly fun viewing.

WISE Breakdown
Wholesome
52

Disaster thriller centered on family survival shows strong parental devotion and family bonds, but the tone is relentlessly dark and anxiety-inducing. Models determination and sacrifice, but the overwhelming chaos, panic, and 'worst of mankind' elements (looting, violence, desperation) create an emotionally heavy experience. Not toxic, but far from uplifting or balanced.

Imaginative
35

Standard disaster movie formula with comet-strikes-Earth premise. Doesn't invite creative thinking or exploration—it's a straightforward survival thriller that follows genre conventions. The 'race against time' structure is competently executed but offers little originality or spark that would engage curiosity beyond the immediate tension.

Safe
45

Common Sense Media rates it 14+, and for good reason. Contains intense disaster sequences, violence (people fighting over evacuation spots), implied deaths, plane crashes, and scenes depicting societal breakdown. While not gratuitously gory, the constant peril, separation anxiety (child taken from parents), and human cruelty under pressure make this genuinely distressing. No sexual content or nudity, but the emotional intensity and violence earn the low safety score.

Enriching
48

Offers some conversation fodder about family priorities, crisis ethics, and human nature under extreme stress. The father's determination and moral choices provide teachable moments. However, it's primarily designed to generate adrenaline, not insight. The 'worst of mankind' angle is more exploitative than thoughtfully explored. Decent ratings (77% RT critics, 6.4 IMDb) suggest competent execution, but this isn't particularly meaningful or growth-oriented entertainment.

Parent Info
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Why It Might Be Great

  • Strong family-first messaging with a father willing to do anything to protect his wife and son
  • Competently made disaster thriller that keeps the tension high (critics gave it 77%)
  • Could spark discussions about crisis decision-making and what matters most when everything falls apart
  • Gerard Butler does his Gerard Butler thing—running, yelling, protecting—if that's your jam
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What to Watch For

  • Relentlessly stressful with intense disaster sequences, plane crashes, and violence throughout
  • Scenes of child separation from parents that will wreck any parent watching
  • Dark depiction of humans behaving terribly under pressure—looting, fighting, desperation
  • This is a 14+ movie minimum, and honestly, even teens might find it more anxiety-inducing than entertaining

Conversation Starters

  • "If we only had minutes to evacuate, what would we grab? What actually matters?"
  • "The dad makes some questionable choices—what would you have done differently?"
  • "Why do you think some people helped others while some people only thought of themselves?"
  • "How do you think you'd handle being separated from family in an emergency?"
Stills
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