I'm going to give Warner Bros. the benefit of the doubt on this one. They probably didn't think that the release date for Geostorm, a special effects bonanza about an artificially generated worldwide natural disaster, would be following on the heels of three devastating hurricanes in the U.S., earthquakes in Mexico, and other natural disasters around the world. I also can't really fault them for releasing the film since they've invested in its production and it's ready to go; it's the financially smart thing to do if not the emotionally correct one. And besides, you already lost me at "Gerard Butler stars as Jake, a scientist."

Dean Devlin (writer/producer, Independence Day) makes his feature film directorial debut with suspense thriller Geostorm, starring Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, with Oscar nominees Ed Harris and Andy Garcia.

Here's the latest trailer for Geostorm if you'd like to take a look, assuming you have electricity and aren't underwater at the moment:

Here's the actual synopsis of Geostorm:

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 now, something has gone wrong—the system built to protect the Earth is attacking it, and it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything...and everyone along with it.

 

Butler stars as Jake, a scientist who, along with his brother, Max, played by Sturgess, is tasked with solving the satellite program’s malfunction. Cornish stars as Secret Service agent Sarah Wilson; Lara as Ute Fassbinder, the ISS astronaut who runs the space station; Wu as Cheng, the Hong Kong-based supervisor for the Dutch Boy Program; with Garcia as U.S. President Andrew Palma; and Harris as Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom.

 

The film also stars Adepero Oduye (“The Big Short,” “12 Years a Slave”), Amr Waked (“Lucy,” “Syriana”), Robert Sheehan (“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” “Season of the Witch”) and Eugenio Derbez (“Instructions Not Included”).

 

The film, written by Dean Devlin & Paul Guyot, is being produced by Skydance’s David Ellison, Devlin, and Skydance’s Dana Goldberg. Herbert W. Gains and Electric Entertainment’s Marc Roskin are the executive producers. Rachel Olschan of Electric Entertainment and Cliff Lanning co-produce.

 

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Roberto Schaefer (“Finding Neverland,” “Quantum of Solace”), production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli (“White House Down”), costume designer Susan Matheson (“The Big Short,” “Safehouse”) and VFX supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still”).

 

A Warner Bros. Pictures and Skydance presentation, “Geostorm” is a joint venture between Skydance and Electric Entertainment, Inc. Set to hit theaters October 20, 2017, it will be distributed in 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX, by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.