‘Thrilling’ Or ‘Bland And Lifeless’? Critics Have Seen Greenland 2: Migration, And They’re Split Over Gerard Butler’s Disaster Sequel

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Gerard Butler is back as John Garrity in Greenland 2: Migration, a sequel to the 2020 disaster film Greenland. The movie picks up five years after a devastating comet strike and follows John, his wife Allison, and their son Nathan as they navigate a changed world. Early reviews are mixed, with critics offering differing opinions on the film, which is scheduled for release in 2026.

Gerard Butler is back for the new action movie, and Morena Baccarin returns as Allison. Roman Griffin Davis takes over the role of Nathan. The story follows the Garrity family as they leave their bunker in Greenland and try to rebuild their lives on a devastated Earth. Liz Declan from ScreenRant gave Greenland 2: Migration an 8/10, praising it for focusing on the challenges after the disaster – something many films in this genre ignore – and proving that the aftermath can be just as thrilling as the initial catastrophe.

This movie skillfully avoids the typical traps of its genre, where the focus is just on disaster for its own sake. It actually has something meaningful to say, and it delivers that message effectively without feeling forced or relying on tired clichés. While the underlying message isn’t groundbreaking, the film deserves credit for managing to be both thrilling and thought-provoking.

In a review for SlashFilm, Chris Evangelista gave Greenland 2: Migration a 7 out of 10, noting that although it occasionally feels like a typical disaster movie, it’s unique because it focuses more on the emotional impact of the crisis on ordinary people simply trying to survive, rather than on large-scale action. According to Evangelista,

Greenland 2 focuses on the emotional toll of a global disaster, but also delivers exciting action sequences. The movie is tense and dramatic, and thankfully, it’s a brisk 98 minutes long. For fans of Gerard Butler’s disaster films, this one is among the best.

According to William Bibbiani of The Wrap, Greenland 2: Migration is a solid sequel to the surprisingly good 2020 film. It features many thrilling action sequences, but it doesn’t quite capture the same emotional impact as the original.

While the Greenland films don’t always have a clear focus, they excel when showing the practical challenges of survival and the emotional impact it has on the characters. Similar to the first film, Greenland 2: Migration asks viewers to invest in its story and characters, and it largely succeeds. Despite some flaws, these movies are enjoyable – just not exceptional.

I recently read a review of Migration that wasn’t exactly glowing. David Ehrlich at IndieWire called it a “timely but tedious” follow-up to Greenland. He felt it traded in the compelling human drama that made the first movie so gripping for a lot more generic action. Basically, he thought it lost what made Greenland special, and he gave it a C.

The Garrity family feels underdeveloped, and their characters aren’t strong enough to handle the intense emotional stakes of this life-or-death story, which ultimately feels less meaningful than before. Despite the story feeling somewhat repetitive, it’s rare to see a mainstream Hollywood film so honestly portray migration as a courageous act of survival.

Josh Parham from Next Best Picture gave the movie a 4 out of 10, noting that while it has a few exciting moments, it’s mostly visually uninteresting and poorly made. He also felt the characters weren’t developed enough to make the audience care about what happens to them. Parham added:

The story is weak and the characters aren’t engaging, but even that could be overlooked if the action and destruction were exciting. Unfortunately, everything feels flat and uninspired, and the story and acting don’t help. A few visually impressive moments aren’t enough to make this movie worthwhile. It’s a shame, considering how surprisingly fun the previous film was, that this one turned out to be so ordinary and easily forgotten.

Reviews are mixed on this film, but it might be worth watching, particularly if you enjoyed the first one, which is currently a highly-rated pick on HBO Max.

If you enjoyed the movie Greenland, you can watch it on HBO Max. That might make you want to see the new sequel, Greenland 2: Migration, which comes out in theaters on January 9th.

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2026-01-09 02:39