Introduction
Geostorm is an American movie that came out in 2017. It is a science fiction film which revolves around a disaster, and it was directed by Dean Devlin, who made his first film as a director here. This film is a mix of a disaster epic and a political thriller, as it includes big government conspiracy theories which come with enormous destruction to the earth. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Skydance Media. Devlin and Paul Guyot were the writers of the script. With the incorporation of an advanced global political setting, Devlin Guyot tried to modernize the genre of disaster films.
The movie stars big names like Gerad Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, and Andy Garcia. Critics received the movie mainly negatively, as the writing and plot was fairly unreasonable. This movie, received publicity for its high-tech premise, special effects, and unique approach. Geostorm was produced with a whopping 120 million dollar budget, and earned 221 million which was considered a moderate success like the film it was.
Plot Summary
Geostorm displays the devastating climatical effects the world faces in the tail end of the 21st century, such as floods, fires, and bearic hurricanes. To help solve the problem, the United Nations plans to build a set of satellites to monitor and help squelch mother nature’s fury. The satellites were designed to deal with floods, hurricanes, and geological activity by zoning in danger and neutralizing it via preemptive strikes. The center for this operation is the International Climate Space Station, which serves as the primary monitoring and control center for the satellites “Dutch Boy” in orbit.
In charge of the “Dutch Boy” control center is Mat Lawson, a known to be hostile climatologist. He is played by popular actor Gerard Butler. In the movie, Mat gets replaced by his assistant, a known political dabbler named Max Lawson. Jim Sturgess, known for his work in the U.S. State Department, plays the role beautifully.
After three years, strange problems start to arise with the Dutch Boy system. An entire village in Afghanistan is flash-frozen. Desert temperatures drop to life-threatening cold. As weather-related disasters increase and evidence of sabotage surfaces, the world hangs by a thread of a global weather catastrophe, or what is ominously called a “Geostorm.”
Understanding the scale of the problem, Max makes Jake’s assignment to the Dutch Boy space station a matter of investigation. Jake reluctantly accepts and heads to space to troubleshoot the system. Meanwhile, Max is still on Earth, defeating political red tape while uncovering a deeper conspiracy proving that the system’s problems are purposely engineered.
The investigation uncovers that Dutch Boy has been turned into a weapon. Faults are being systematically induced to break the system by targeting specific cities. A conspiracy unfolds with high-ranking officials in the U.S. government who seek to eliminate adversaries by using weather as a weapon. The end goal is to shape the world into one where the U.S. faces no competition for dominance and global influence.
Along with his colleagues stationed in space, Jake finds some hints about a virus inscribed in the code of the system. Meanwhile, on Earth, Max with his girlfriend, a Secret Service agent, Sarah Wilson (Abbie Cornish), are trying to stave off further sabotage as they work to prevent a global chain reaction that could trigger an unstoppable geostorm.
The peak of the movie is around Jake trying to reboot the system from space as Earth is afflicted with severe weather calamities like Moscow experiencing a heatwave, tsunamis in Dubai, cyclones in Mumbai, and Orlando is plagued with a lightning storm. In the middle of all the chaos as infrastructure is crumbling and explosions surround him, Jake is able to transmit the kill code and halt the geostorm at the last moment.
The video ends with the Dutch Boy program being reestablished under international rule which signifies global unity after a second chance.
Main Cast and Characters
Portrayed with Jake Lawson, Gerard Butler acted alongside as a Climate Engineer who is an exceptionally gifted designer. However, he is rebellious and was put on the sidelines until he was forcibly put back to work to save the world from his own invention.
Jim Sturgess as Max Lawson: Jake’s younger brother, a political rising star, and is currently in a position to act. Struggling with filial piety to Jake and his responsibilities to the state.
Abbie Cornish as Sarah Wilson, A secret service agent, Max’s girlfriend, and an active participant in exposing the conspiracy and safeguarding important political figures.
Ed Harris as Leonard Dekkom, The U.S. Secretary of State, slowly revealing his motives and role in the sabotage.
ANDY GARCIA as President Andrew Palma, the U.S. President who becomes both a target and a central player in the conspiracy and crisis resolution.
ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA as Ute Fassbinder, a scientist on the space station who, along with Jake, works on diagnosing the virus threatening the station and attempts to save it.
Another supporting role is played by Zazie Beetz and Daniel Wu. Their roles, while smaller, enhance the culture of global politics and the concept of international cooperation.
Direction and Visual Effects
Devlin is best known as the long time producing partner of Roland Emmerich (director of Independence Day). Emmerich’s influence is obvious in Geostorm as the movie heavily relies on CGI, featuring destruction on a grand scale as satellites explode, water floods cities, and skyscrapers collapse. Disaster movies have always drawn an audience and Geostorm attempts to seduce the viewer by a slew of elaborate visuals, many of which were already used in older films.
The sleek and sterile aesthetic in the space station scenes combines zero-gravity effects with high-tech environments. CGI is used to portray weather anomalies on Earth and is, at times, overly convincing, though accurate. While the direction received criticism for being bland and unoriginal, the visuals for the extreme weather scenes are, without a doubt, some of the film’s most remarkable features.
Main Themes and Analysis
Technological Hubris
Geostorm centers on humanity’s dependence on technology, a theme the film focuses on. Dutch Boy, which was designed to protect the planet, is turned into a weapon due to human greed and ambition. It reflects classic tales that serve as a warning of the consequences of attempting to control nature.
Global Unity vs. Nationalism
Although the Dutch Boy system was conceived as a result of international collaboration, it is it is undermined by an internal sabotage fueled by American exceptionalism endangers the world. It serves as a critique of nationalist ideologies that prioritize one nation’s dominate over the common good.
Brotherhood and Redemption
The deeply rooted emotional conflict within Jake and Max’s relationship provides the film’s backbone. Their reconciliation serves as a restorative and political healing. It strengthens the idea that collaboration, whether personal or global, is critical for survival.
Environmental Awareness
Geostorm is a cinematic film that captures the attention and thoughts of audiences around the world. It represents the destruction of the world that would make humans go to the end of the world to protect themselves. This is a serious topic and is actually the sad reality of the world in which we live in.
Critical Reception
Geostorm is a film that everyone gets sad upon the watching the world’s destruction in a film. There’s a sad and uncomfortable feeling when familiarize yourself with it’s destruction. Critics have rated the film as it is boring and contains no imagination. The disaster epic has it’s own charm as it is loved to be watched in real life.
The imagination is what pulls the audience together in a film. Meanwhile, the plot of the film is what shapes audience thoughts. Despite the negative feedback from the critics and audiences, the spectacular visuals as well as the soaring action paid off in the end. This indeed highlights the shining features of the film besides imagination.
Conclusion
Everything has in it’s a creation has it’s own beauty, in this case the film Geostorm. Geostorm embodies the literal definition of a catchy phrase showcasing castles made of clouds which speaks of where imagination has no limits. The film captures a lot of negative aspects of the world, especially the misuse of political power and the lose control of technology. These issues are the major world centers and are sad topics that many people are afraid to elaborate on.
Despite its major shortcomings, Geostorm is a good example of the type of film with a high-concept, big-picture idea. The film captures the kind of globalizante catastrofic energy intended to meticulously, yet roughly, entertain the spectacle of Geostorm. To those with a large enough suspension of disbelief, the film is an engaging if imperfect exploration of a global, contemporary message concerning the natural and anthropogenic forces that put our world at risk.
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