Geostorm (film)

**Geostorm** is a 2017 American disaster/science fiction film co-written, produced, and directed by Dean Devlin as his feature film directorial debut. It stars Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Abbie Cornish, Richard Schiff, Alexandra Maria Lara, Robert Sheehan, Daniel Wu, Eugenio Derbez, and Andy García. The film was released in the United States on October 20, 2017.

## Plot

In 2019, following many natural disasters, an international coalition commissions a system of climate-controlling satellites called "Dutchboy". After Dutchboy neutralizes a typhoon, a Senate sub-committee reprimands chief architect Jake Lawson for acting without authorization and replaces him with his brother Max, who works under Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom.

Three years later, as a United Nations field team stationed in Afghanistan comes across a frozen village, Makmoud, an Indian engineer working on the International Climate Space Station (ICSS) steals data from the Afghanistan satellite shortly before being ejected into space. After convincing U.S. President Andrew Palma to conduct an investigation, Max convinces Jake to go to the ICSS and investigate. Another satellite causes temperatures in Hong Kong to increase, resulting in a "fire-nado" that nearly kills Max's college friend Cheng Long, the head of Dutch Boy's Hong Kong department.

Jake arrives to ICSS to examine the satellite that decimated Hong Kong with station commander Ute Fassbinder and her crew. A malfunction damages the satellite and erase its data. Back on Earth, Cheng discovers he has lost login access and warns Max of global cataclysm known as "Geostorm" if the malfunction continues. Max discovers he cannot access the satellites and his login access has been deliberately revoked. Cheng flees to the United States after evading a team of armed mercenaries.

Jake and Ute fly outside the ICSS to retrieve a hard drive which had been ejected along with the satellite engineer. They keep the hard drive secret from the crew, suspecting a traitor. Jake and Ute look for the source of the error but are blocked. Jake reports the findings to Max. The ICSS staff attempt to neutralize malfunctioning satellites by deliberately knocking them offline via collisions with replacement satellites. After Cheng attempts to tell Max something, an assailant intentionally causes Cheng's death in a traffic accident, but not before Cheng tells Max "Zeus". Max and Dana discover Project Zeus simulates extreme weather patterns to create a Geostorm.

Jake, Ute, and fellow crew member Dussette recover the copied log data from the dead engineer and discover a virus has wiped out everyone's login access to that satellite. Jake suspects the President is using Dutchboy as a weapon. He tells Max he needs to reboot the system, which requires the kill code, held by the President. Max asks his girlfriend Sarah, an agent of theUnited States Secret Service to help him to acquire it.

Max discovers Orlando is next in line for a superstorm after Tokyo is struck by a hailstorm and Rio de Janeiro is sprayed with ice due to a cold front. He requests Dekkom help secure the kill code from President Palma, but Dekkom instead tries to kill Max, unveiling himself as the saboteur. Max escapes and immediately informs Sarah. He and Sarah kidnap President Palma to protect him from other compromised Secret Service members and secure the kill code. They escape from a stadium as a lightning storm destroys it. Amidst the chaos, Max reveals their activities to President Palma. After outsmarting Dekkom's mercenaries, Max, Sarah, and President Palma confront Dekkom about his intentions: to wipe out all of America's enemies while taking out the line of succession to assure his ascendence to the presidency. When the authorities arrive, Dekkom is arrested and taken into custody.

On board the ICSS, the team loses control of all operations and is forced to watch the virus initiate the self-destruct program. As disasters strike the world, Jake realizes that software engineer Duncan was responsible for this and was an accomplice of Dekkom. In the ensuing confrontation, Duncan accidentally shoots at the window and ejects himself into space while Jake escapes. As the crew evacuates, Jake stays behind to ensure the reboot completes. Max and Sarah escort President Palma to Kennedy Space Center, where they learn the kill code cannot stop the self-destruct process.

When Jake fails to unlock a door again, Ute, who stayed behind, opens the door for him. They work together to reboot the system, transferring satellite control to NASA and preventing the Geostorm. The two take shelter in a replacement satellite as the self-destruction sequence completes and send a distress signal. A nearby shuttle picks them up, and they see Hernandez. Six months later, Jake works as the head engineer for a new system of satellites, which is now administered by an international committee.

## Cast

* Gerard Butler as Jake Lawson, a satellite designer, former ICSS commander and Hannah's father
* Jim Sturgess as Max Lawson, a State Department official who is Jake’s younger brother and Hannah's uncle
* Abbie Cornish as Sarah Lawson, United States Secret Service agent and Max's fiancée[7]
* Ed Harris as U.S. Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom.[7]
* Andy García as U.S. President Andrew Palma[7]
* Richard Schiff as Virginia Senator Thomas Cross
* Alexandra Maria Lara as Ute Fassbinder, the commander of the space station.
* Robert Sheehan as Duncan Taylor, a British crew member of the ICSS
* Daniel Wu as Cheng Long, the Hong Kong-based supervisor for the Dutchboy Program
* Eugenio Derbez as Al Hernandez, a Mexican crew member of the ICSS
* Zazie Beetz as Dana, a cybersecurity expert and good friends with Max[1]
* Adepero Oduye as Eni Adisa, a Nigerian crew member of the ICSS
* Amr Waked as Ray Dussette, a French crew member of the ICSS
* Talitha Bateman as Hannah Lawson, Jake’s daughter and Max's niece
* Billy Slaughter as Karl Dright
* Tom Choi as Chinese Representative Lee
* Mare Winningham as Dr. Jennings

Katheryn Winnick had been cast as Olivia Lawson, Jake’s ex-wife and the mother of Hannah, but during reshoots, her role was recast with Julia Denton.

## References

* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostorm
* http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981128/