Movie Review: ‘Greenland 2: Migration’

Gerard Butler does his gruff best to keep his family alive in the aftermath of an extinction-level event in the propulsive ‘Greenland 2: Migration.’

(L to R) Gerard Butler as John Garrity, Morena Baccarin as Allison Garrity, and Roman Griffin Davis as Nathan Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

Opening in theaters on January 9 is ‘Greenland 2: Migration,’ directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffin Davis, Amber Rose Revah, William Abadie, Trond Fausa Aurvag, Sophie Thompson, Nelia Da Costa, and Tommie Earl Jenkins.

Initial Thoughts

Gerard Butler as John Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

It’s hard to say what’s weirder: that a movie with the word ‘Greenland’ in the title is coming out right now during the current geopolitical crisis, that the movie is a sequel to a surprise COVID-era hit, or that the film it’s following is one of Gerard Butler’s better efforts.

Nevertheless, ‘Greenland 2: Migration’ is here, and we can tell you that it’s a worthy successor to the original Ric Roman Waugh-directed action disaster movie. Gerard Butler is back, of course, with his now-perfected balance of gruff hyper-competence and jarring vulnerability, and the film is the kind of fast-moving, no-nonsense afternoon-filler that Roland Emmerich wishes he could make.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Gerard Butler as John Garrity, Morena Baccarin as Allison Garrity, Amber Rose Revah as Dr. Casey Amina, and Roman Griffin Davis as Nathan Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

2020’s ‘Greenland’ was a tense, surprisingly emotional actioner in which Butler’s John Garrity, a structural engineer, is selected along with his family for emergency sheltering when it’s learned that a comet will pancake into the Earth in two days. The clan must make their way to an underground bunker in the title country, but even though they survive, the impact of Clarke -- as the comet is dubbed -- wipes out most of human civilization.

‘Greenland 2: Migration’ picks up five years later and jiggers the continuity a little: while the first film ended on a sad but cautiously hopeful note, ‘Migration’ finds the community in the bunker running out of food and resources while pieces of Clarke still fall from the sky, causing earthquakes, lava flows, bad air, and radioactive storms. There are rumors that the original impact crater in the south of France has become not just habitable, but is flourishing (due to some wonky, hand-waving science), although reports of war between the remnants of Europe and Asia make clear information hard to come by.

When one of those storms takes out the bunker for good, the Garritys decide to make their way to France and see if the stories about the Clarke crater are true. They and a small band of steadily dwindling survivors make their way in a boat across the Atlantic to a submerged Liverpool, and from there it’s onto London and beyond by whatever means possible. Along the way, the Garritys encounter both the best and worst of humanity on their presumed road to salvation, while we also discover that John is hiding a secret of his own.

(L to R) Gerard Butler as John Garrity and Roman Griffin Davis as Nathan Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

As with the original ‘Greenland,’ Waugh judiciously uses visual effects (some, like the submerged streets of Liverpool or a bent-over Eiffel Tower, are striking; others look a little too Volume-y) but keeps the focus on his human characters, which is what makes both movies work despite their familiar disaster movie beats. All the people in ‘Migration’ are recognizably human and doing what they think they must to survive, wrong or right. And it’s the very ordinary nature of John, his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their now-teen son Nathan (Roman Griffin Davis, aging up from the first film’s Roger Dale Floyd) that keeps us engrossed in their story and fate, even as implausible as some of it seems.

Even with the occasionally dodgy visuals and episodic script, the director consistently turns up the tension with his action set pieces, including a scary walk across a rope bridge and sudden bursts of violence from marauders, and the pace rarely flags, with the film even delivering a surprisingly moving conclusion. ‘Migration,’ like the 2020 original, knows exactly what kind of film it is, but aims a little higher nonetheless.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Morena Baccarin as Allison Garrity, Gerard Butler as John Garrity and Roman Griffin Davis as Nathan Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

There isn’t a ton of character development here, but this is Gerard Butler doing what he does best, playing a beefy, working-class kind of guy who’s good at everything but not so tough that he doesn’t get scared or hurt. He’s in his element here as Garrity, and if you’re already a fan you’ll find his solid performance as comfortable as an old shoe.

The always appealing Morena Baccarin (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) does fine work here as the dutiful and resourceful Allison, while no one else really sticks around long enough to make much of an impression, save Sophie Thompson as a kindly friend they catch a break with in London and William Abadie as a Frenchman who comes to their aid at a critical moment.

Final Thoughts

Gerard Butler as John Garrity in 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

What makes the ‘Greenland’ movies work are the fact that they’re centered on a single, relatable family, and that we see how humanity can both rise and fall without resorting to horror movie extremes (not that there’s anything wrong with those). No one’s going to mistake this for high cinema, but ‘Migration’ keeps its core elements in place while expanding its scope.

At a time when it feels like 2026 is kicking off with the world on fire (and not even a comet to get the flames going), the heartfelt sensibility of this film and its predecessor will take your mind off real world problems for a couple of hours. Not bad for a movie about the end of human civilization.

‘Greenland 2: Migration’ receives a score of 77 out of 100.

A scene from 'Greenland 2: Migration'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

What is the plot of ‘Greenland 2: Migration’?

Ten years after the Clarke interstellar comet destroyed most of Earth, the Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker and embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.