The directorial debut of producer Dean Devlin (“Independence Day”) was always going to draw sneers from disaster-movie haters. Yet Devlin’s long-delayed, wannabe blockbuster “Geostorm” risks failing to live up to the presumably low expectations of fans of films like “2012” and “The Day After Tomorrow.”
“Geostorm” stars Gerard Butler as a scientist battling an environmental disaster caused by a malfunctioning satellite system. The real disaster, however, may have been the making of “Geostorm.” The film started shooting way back in 2014 and since then, it appears to have been a cinematic migraine its studio. The film endured a disappointing test screening and director Danny Cannon (1995’s “Judge Dredd”) and Jerry Bruckheimer joined the whole fiasco for reshoots that may have cost as much as $15 million.
Warner Bros. originally intended to release “Geostorm” in 2016. Now that it’s going to hit theaters on October 20th, you have to wonder whether viewers will tolerate a movie that appears to frame an epic disaster as entertainment during what has been a brutal year for hurricanes. Here’s the official synopsis, and you can watch the trailer below:
After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world’s leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong—the system built to protect the Earth is attacking it, and it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything…and everyone along with it.
Dean Devlin (writer/producer, “Independence Day”) makes his feature film directorial debut with suspense thriller “Geostorm,” starring Gerard Butler (“Olympus Has Fallen,” “300”), Jim Sturgess (“Cloud Atlas”), Abbie Cornish (“Limitless”), Alexandra Maria Lara (“Rush”), Daniel Wu (“The Man with the Iron Fists,” “Warcraft: The Beginning”), with Oscar nominees Ed Harris (“The Hours,” “Apollo 13”) and Andy Garcia (“The Godfather: Part III”).
Butler stars as Jake, a scientist who, along with his brother, Max, played by Sturgess, is tasked with solving the satellite program’s malfunction. Cornish stars as Secret Service agent Sarah Wilson; Lara as Ute Fassbinder, the ISS astronaut who runs the space station; Wu as Cheng, the Hong Kong-based supervisor for the Dutch Boy Program; with Garcia as U.S. President Andrew Palma; and Harris as Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom. The film also stars Adepero Oduye (“The Big Short,” “12 Years a Slave”), Amr Waked (“Lucy,” “Syriana”), Robert Sheehan (“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” “Season of the Witch”) and Eugenio Derbez (“Instructions Not Included”).
