Greendland 2: Migration Parent Guide

People love predictable entertainment. You may disagree with that statement, because hey, who wants a boring, predictable story? But when people go to see a movie, they don’t want to roll the dice. They want consistency—the same reason they eat at chain restaurants—which is why sequels, adaptations and reboots are so very, very popular. Greenland 2: Migration delivers that kind of consistency by offering a product remarkably, and predictably, like its predecessor, Greenland (2020).

The original picture in this duology was named for the place being sought by its main characters, a family of three – John, Allison, and Nathan Garrity (played by Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin and roman Griffin Davis). Greenland was to be the place of refuge for a select number of people as the world was being destroyed by objects falling from space. In this sequel, the MacGuffin is, once again, a refuge, which the Garrity family are forced to seek when the bunker they’ve lived in for five years falls apart. The quest for that new home takes the family on a trans-oceanic journey to a Europe that’s been geographically transformed by huge impacts from space, and through storms, explosions, dangerous chasms, armed attacks, and a literal war zone. 

Along the way there are plenty of human failings, as well as a few moral dilemmas: How should a community barely supporting its own treat potential refugees? What’s the right thing to do when people who are escaping death don’t have enough life-saving equipment for all? How much killing is justified to save oneself and one’s family?

If you’re thinking of taking children to see this movie, remember that it’s a showcase of violence both natural and man-made. But the violence stops short of gore. There are also some moments designed to shock and frighten, and they succeed. But the scariness doesn’t include elements like the zombies we see in so many other post-apocalyptic films that have a special talent for worming their way into your mind and causing nightmares. Overall, I’d say the MPA got it right when they rated this picture PG-13; it’s the kind of film that, in the opinion of this critic, mature teens should be able to handle.

Greenland 2: Migration is not a bad film. And it certainly isn’t a boring one. Its action scenes are scary and thrilling, its special effects are believable, its dialogue is far from weak, its music is standard Hollywood fare, and its acting is, well, just fine. The problem is that it just isn’t a particularly great film, either. It asks its characters to do very difficult, very scary things, but it doesn’t ask them to undergo any mental or moral transformations. It doesn’t ask its audience to do much thinking. It doesn’t grapple much with big ideas, and when it does address moral questions, they tend to disappear pretty quickly—often without resolution or reflection. It shows human failings, but they don’t involve any wavering on the part of the main characters, who unfailingly make the choices that will save them as a family. In short, it’s exactly what you expect.

If you enjoy a standard action thriller, you’ll probably like this one. Especially if you liked its older brother. 

About author

Donald Bugg

Donald Bugg is an actor, singer, composer, choir director, writer, attorney, and retired military officer living in Utah. He is married to a beautiful Canadian, has six children, and has always loved movies.