Geostorm is a 2017 American disaster film that was co-written, produced, and directed by Dean Devlin as is feature film directorial debut. The film features stars like Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Abbie Cornish, Richard Schiff, Alexandra Maria Lara, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, and Andy Garcia. The plot follows a satellite designer who attempts to save the world from a storm of epic proportions that were caused by malfunctioning climate-controlling satellites.

Principal photography for the film began on October 20, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After poor test screenings, re-shoots took place in December 2016 under executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writer Laeta Kalogridis and new director Danny Cannon. The film is the first co-production between Skydance Media and Warner Bros. The film was released by Warner Bros. in the United States on October 20, 2017, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. It ended up grossing $210 million worldwide and overall received negative reviews from critics, with criticism focused on the “uninspiring” story and “lackluster” visual effects.

The Film Itself (2/5):

Geostorm had so much potential behind it.  With the promotional material that made its way through the television airwaves, I thought we were going to get a film that produced an insane amount of havoc as the global threats made their way.  Instead, we’re given a film that 90% origin story for the natural disaster and 10% insanity.  The story overall wasn’t terrible, but it really needed to have more of the advertised elements.

Picture Quality (5/5):

Presented in 1080p, Geostorm looked absolutely beautiful as it played out across my living room television.  Seeing every little nook and cranny of a given city that was the given focus of the scene really allowed for a stunning picture.  The effects that were used to make up the various disasters that unfolded allowed for them to look considerably real.  In fact, one of the better parts/disasters that happens in this film was as we see an ocean instantly freeze over and creep up onto the beach, risking the lives of those who are not only in the water, but those lounging on the beach to get some sun.

Audio Quality (4/5):

Packaged with an English DTS-HD Master Audio track, Geostorm does absolutely everything that it can within its power to offer an all out immersive experience for its viewers.  Doing a really great job at making use of the surround elements for the scenes, I can honestly agree that this was the right choice of audio track for this film.  Had they actually gone with more of the natural disaster scenes, they could have gone with a 7.1 or Atmos track; but since this film really doesn’t call for it, I can’t really complain too much.

The Packaging (3/5):

Geostorm comes packaged in your standard two-disc Blu-ray amaray case.  Within that case is the standard Blu-ray copy of the film as well as the standard DVD copy of the film; with neither of the discs featuring any artwork relative to the film outside of the standard release text.  A digital copy redemption pamphlet has also been included as well as a slipcover that’s been made available during the initial print run of the release.

  

Special Features (4/5):

Geostorm comes bundled with just enough additional content to satisfy the need to not only see some of the behind the scenes work that went into the film, but to explore the story just a little bit more.  While there are only three additional features included, the content within them is just the right amount.  Included with this release is:

• Search For Answers: Director Dean Devlin retraces the journey that led to the creation of Geostorm.
• An International Event: The cast and crew open up about Geostorm‘s cinematic global collaboration.
• Wreaking Havoc: Creating the chaos of ecological destruction using technology and cutting edge visual effects.

Technical Specs:

Video

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (29.89 Mbps)

Resolution: 1080p

Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Audio

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)

French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1

Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)

Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1

English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)

Subtitles

English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Runtime

Original Film: 109 minutes

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Geostorm wasn’t absolutely horrible as the story that we’re given with this movie was pretty decent.  However, I do feel that the movie should have included a lot more of the natural disaster as it was happening than it did.  The majority of the film was focused on not only the origin of the disaster, but the preventative measures that they were trying to take to stop its chaos from unfolding.  The visual and audible presentation of the Blu-ray release was really nicely done and offers an absolutely clean and crystal clear view in to the story that they wanted to convey.  While there’s only a few items that’s been made available as additional content, the materials that have been provided offers a really nice look into the work that went into this film allowing you to really admire and appreciate the work that the crew put into finalizing this film for release.  If you’re considering grabbing this film for your collection, I can only recommend grabbing it once it’s gone on sale.  Geostorm will be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.

Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.