Review of “Geostorm”

n the near future of GEOSTORM, a global network of satellites is created to not just slow the effects of
climate change but actually control the weather. When the maverick genius who created the system gets
fired, accidents start happening -- with lethal results. But as these unexplained events grow in frequency, it
turns out that they might not be accidents after all. Can big-brained bad boy outsider Jake (Gerard Butler)
and his politically adept brother, Max (Jim Sturgess), solve the mystery before these events combine to
create one, unstoppable storm that could kill us all?

Geostorm lives and dies by its visual effects; disaster junkies will get their fix of Hong Kong, Moscow, and
other major cities getting destroyed by magic weather powers. But its true inspiration comes from
whodunits and '70s paranoia thrillers, as the good guys try to unravel a conspiracy before the manipulated
system creates the geostorm that will end us all. Bad boy Butler, who's becoming a bit of a warning sign for
ticket buyers, battles/teams up with by-the-rules Sturgess (in a non-administration-approved haircut) to
solve the mystery. Helping out are two criminally underused actresses, Alexandra Maria Lara as a space
station commander and Abbie Cornish as a powerful Secret Service agent, plus rising star/scene stealer
Zazie Beetz as a highly skilled IT tech. Beetz gets the laughs, Cornish provides the action, and the wonderful
Lara deserves more screen time. But that's it for the highlights, as Geostorm clearly wasn't thought through
too carefully. When things go wrong, instead of sending up 100 scientists to analyze it, the president sends
one man (guess who?); the most basic questions of the investigation come as a surprise to all; there are
one-passenger shuttle flights (think of the cost, even in coach); clumsy exposition hobbles many scenes; and
an attempt at brotherly drama goes nowhere. Even the CGI destruction doesn't satisfy. The only interesting
dialogue comes in one scene near the end, when the mystery is solved. The real mystery, though, is
whether disaster movies have run their course for now, as we've all become inured to VFX. That's a
question for another day, and Geostorm isn't the answer.