2012 Review: Expect the Expected Dan Koelsch, November 13, 2009November 26, 2009 Let me start my review with a disclaimer that I love Roland Emmerich films. I’m not saying the guy is a genius, but he knows how to do big movies with big casts and at least make it fun to watch. So, I came into his latest film, 2012, ready to see basically Independence Day meets The Day After Tomorrow. And you know what? I got it. The film follows mostly two groups of people who are dealing with the end of the world in the year 2012. We start off with Dr. Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in 2009 learning that solar activity has caused the Earth’s core to heat up. We follow the next few years as he works with Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) on researching the issue and finding a solution (it’s just as enigmatic in the movie as it is in my description). Eventually we make it to 2012, where Helmsley and crew realize that things are going to get worse a lot quicker than they thought. Also in the title year, we meet Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), novelist and bad parent/husband, which explains why his wife lives with another man now. He takes his kids on a camping trip to Yellowstone, where he meets Mr. Charlie Frost. Frost is a self-proclaimed prophet who believes the world will end in 2012 because the Earth’s core will melt, leaving the crust to move around (“shift”), creating every known geological disaster at once. He also knows about a conspiracy in which spaceships are being built to save those with money to buy a seat. We soon realize he’s correct, and Jackson takes his family on wild ride to get to the ships. Before I get into plot or characters, I know everyone wants to know about the one thing you are really going to see the film for: the special effects. They were good, as to be expected, but they were mind-numbing at times. There was so much destruction going on that it was kind of hard to take it all in. Any scenes where people were involved in the destruction instantly became more interesting, and I thought as a whole they were done very well. Unfortunately, there were many less “Wow” moments that I would have thought to see in a film like this. I was simply underwhelmed. That being said, the plot for the film bordered on absurd. Sure, the technology and the natural disasters we see are explained in a way that makes them seem reasonable (as if that mattered to us), but I found it convenient that Curtis and crew were always one step ahead of the destruction. The probability of them surviving the trip they made from Los Angeles to China is so small, that if I made a bet on it, I could afford multiple seats on one of the ships. There are so many “well, that’s convenient” moments that you start to roll your eyes after a while. The overall story is pretty thin, but there’s so much action that you almost don’t even notice it. What you do notice, however, is the wide range in dialogue quality in the script. There are scenes (especially with Curtis’ kids), where they are very on the nose and almost Michael Bay-ish with the humor. However, there are some very touching moments between characters when they know one isn’t going to survive. Yes, at times the film is cheesy and unbelievable, but I have to admit that scenes like the one between Helmsley and his father definitely moved me. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say that one of the things that made me the most mad was the ending. Other than the fact that the end itself was very “and they all lived happily…”, the plot surrounding the climax was silly. The message was clear, but the results weren’t as satisfying as they made it seem. All in all, when you see 2012, you are getting what you paid for: Tons of CGI destruction, an ensemble of characters that come together at the end, and a big message about humanity as a whole. Oh yeah, and cheesy humor and unbelievable luck. Final Grade: C+ Reviews 2012
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Why cant people look at 2012 as lets say a warning?? Yea its base off of the mayan calendar, lets be real here people, it is a story come to life…just like lets the the bible…story thought up years ago and people today believe it…could it be that way with 2012?? Or is the bible real but at the same conflicting time so is 2012?? If your an open minded person, I would take this movie as not so much a warning but a notification for what “could” happen, as it made me think after leaving the theater. Just my opinion as with all of you. Dont be blinded by lies.
Film 2012 totally disappointed me. The theme and story was below average than expected. There were lots of discontinuity in the story and scenes throughout the movie. Full of unrealistic situations with low profile story filled with unwanted sentiments and comedy at wrong places. Graphic presentation was very good. In the movie, there was nobody to command the crews since president reluctant to escape with them. I never seen such a situation in a film like this, where the president unable to handle the disaster management system. Again, flying an airplane is not an easy task for an untrained person. But this task was easily handled by one ordinary man without much difficulty. I would love to see Arnold S. or Tom Cruz (Army men) flying an airplane in such a situation. Also this film has no proper ending. There was a low profile unnecessary mission at the end to add value to the hero was looks like an unwanted thing. A 10 year old boy was also involved in the mission to help his father was disgusting. It was clearly indicates that the credit given to other countries are meaning less. This film would have been a very good entertainer, if story along with a typical disaster management mission and add more realistic scenes (like Independence Day) in the movie. Any way, many thanks to the Movie creators and all crew members for their efforts for making such a film and entertain the audiance. Overall rating is 2 out of 5.
Critics are so up their own rear ends.So what if the film is a little weak in science, shallow in the dialog and unrealistic (IS it unrealistic? Given the 6 billion people trying to escape certain death, isn’t almost GUARANTEED that somewhere, someone will have several very unlikely survival experiences?). If you have enough opportunities, the very unlikely becomes likely. There were more than 6 billion “chances” for someone somewhere to have a very unlikely track to survival. Due to the large number of opportunities, that something like this happened to just a few people becomes far more realistic.Bottom line is that this film is FUN TO WATCH. How many “serious,” “grown up” movies are draining to the soul or chug along at a snail’s pace?2012 is a thrill a minute racer with just a hint of emotional dignity. And isn’t that exactly what it’s SUPPOSED to be?Films shouldn’t be measured by how they please snobby critics. They should be measured by how well they accomplish what the are designed to accomplish. As a film, 2012 accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. In that respect, I can’t help but give this move a GOOD rating.