Gerard Butler might be known as a man of action these days thanks to films like Den of Thieves, Kandahar, and Plane, but that’s not to say the Scottish actor is beyond trying something different. Movies like A Family Man, How to Train Your Dragon, and Playing for Keeps have certainly shown his range as a leading man, but there was one film that was so far outside his comfort zone that it ended up being a critical disaster. Now, it’s finding new life on HBO Max, where it’s become a global hit thanks to viewers who can’t get enough of its timely message.
Released in 2017, Geostorm was a marked departure for Butler at the time, who had just come off starring in the fantasy action movie Gods of Egypt, as well as London Has Fallen – the sequel to his 2013 political action thriller, Olympus Has Fallen. The sci-fi disaster movie had him swapping guns for brains as he raced to uncover why a satellite network designed to shield Earth from climate change had turned its power on the planet, unleashing a wave of “natural” disasters.
Also starring Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, and Andy García, Geostorm hit theaters on Oct. 20, 2017, debuting to $13.7 million at the domestic box office. That enough to earn it second place behind Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, which earned $21.6 million. Ultimately, it would go on to earn a worldwide total of $221 million and lose about $100 million for Warner Bros., making the sci-fi disaster flick just that: a disaster. And to think it once showed so much promise based on its synopsis:
“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 something has gone wrong, as the system built to protect Earth is attacking it and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.”
Critics and Audiences Came Together for ‘Geostorm’
While a lot of movies in the same ilk as Geostorm that are critically panned end up being a big hit with audiences thanks to their effects, cinematography, and straight-up end-of-the-world plot, just the opposite happened with Butler’s sci-fi mistake. Both fans and critics agreed that this one was almost a complete waste of time, as is evident by its 18% Rotten Tomatoes score from pundits, and 35% score given to it by viewers.
“I’m generally okay with disaster movies being dumb, so long as they can construct entertaining action sequences with charismatic characters,” wrote Daniel Howat from Next Best Picture, who added for emphasis: “Geostorm has none of those things.” One RT user shared much the same view of the film, writing:
“If you possess just a thread of intelligence you won’t care too much for this disaster of a disaster film. I gave it 2 stars because the special effects were decent, and the acting was not that bad. It was the story writing that was just full of holes. You could get away with that kind of incoherent fiction back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, but not today.”
Still, Geostorm has managed to find a new audience thanks to its addition to HBO Max. Per Flix Patrol, it currently sits at #6 on their list of Top 10 movies globally, meaning people are eating up Butler’s sci-fi thriller even if it isn’t his best work. Sadly, if you live in the United States, Geostorm isn’t currently available on the streaming platform, but it is available to watch for those who subscribe to Paramount+.
