Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Plot: As John Garrity (Gerard Butler) moves back into the family home in an attempt to mend his marriage with Allison (Morena Baccarin), the news of the impending landfall of Clarke the Comet floods all forms of media, but there are reassurances that no damage or loss of life will be suffered from the comet’s impact. However, a mysterious text and phone call from the government soon reveals that all is certainly not well, and the Garrity family has been chosen for selected shelter at an undisclosed military base. The family soon find themselves in a struggle for life as the clock races against them and their flight for safety before the largest asteroid since the extinction of the dinosaurs hits the earth.
Review: Gerard Butler has always had the knack for portraying strong, masculine roles and the take-charge-kind-of-guy that you could depend on when the chips are down. And that is definitely the case here. In his role as John he has to make some tough decisions in order to keep his family safe. It is during times like these that you see the desperation that comes out in people.
During a global crisis it can bring out the best and worst within us. The thing that makes this film resonate with its audience is the coincidental timing of what we are experiencing in terms of not only the pandemic, but increased natural disaster activity, the many sightings of meteorites moving in space and falling to earth, plus a series of explosions close to the sun. I get the feeling that this year has just been one of the most unstable for us on the whole.
Let me tell you if you’ve got anxiety, this movie really is going to test your threshold, because it really rubs you the wrong way when you see the lengths that people go to in order to save themselves. A few times I got a bit irritated with Baccarin’s character because I thought she spoke and revealed too much information to strangers, which does turn around to bite her in the butt during one of the most intense and uneasy-as-eff scenes of the entire movie. I don’t know if it’s just me because I am very paranoid by nature and I do not speak to strangers about my business. I can understand that maybe in order to ease your anxiety you need to feel that human connection, but increased caution needs to be exercised during these life-and-death situations because people have got that inner survival instinct that tends to be really raw when it kicks in.
In situations like this you just know that the destruction is going to be total, and it makes sense that the authorities would choose people according to their professional skills because obviously they would want to begin rebuilding things as soon as possible. Garrity is obviously chosen because he is a structural engineer and can be a great asset towards the planning and execution of any rebuilding projects.
While the pacing is a bit slow because it is not as action-oriented as Butler’s Fallen movie series, you get to see the hero at work nonetheless as he tries to get his family to safety no matter what. Let us just hope and pray that when a global crisis like this comes that we don’t end up at each other’s throats, because I saw particularly poor excuses for human beings during the film and I shudder to think of even crossing paths with the likes of them in real life.
If you like Gerard Butler and want to see a movie with him in all his heroic glory, and hear him in almost every shot with his sexy Scottish drawl, then this one’s definitely for you.
Alice’s Score: 7 out of 10
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Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.