The end of the world is something that most really do not think about. Many of us go on day by day with no thought that any second it can all end. Since the beginning of the 1900’s when a small asteroid struck Siberia and wiped out acres of forest land, did people start to realize that such a scenario could take place. Many looked for answers in religious scriptures, the Bible and other mystical texts, however, many of those so-called predictions have come to pass, and the next doomsday scenario is supposed to take place on December 21st, the year 2012. The date is in accordance with the Mayan Calendar in which this is the last date. Many believe this will be the day humanity steps down from it throne and is thrust into extinction. However, the Mayans themselves just looked at this as the end of a cycle in which the planets will realign themselves and a new cycle will begin.
Hollywood, of course, needs to capitalize on such a scenario. It has been the focus of many television shows on the History Channel and many books have been written on the date. So why not a disaster film based on this event that is supposed to take place two years from now?
2012 kind of has a story, besides being an over the top special effects extravaganza about the end of the world. The films stars John Cusack as Jackson Curtis, a failed Science Fiction writer. His book about the end of the world only has sold fewer than five hundred copies, yet it was enough for a young geologist named Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to have read it. He is one of the scientists who has discovered that the earth’s core is heating up and that the end of the world is at hand. Jackson is now a limo driver for a multibillionaire, but on the weekends, he takes his children from the home of his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) to go camping in Yellowstone National Park. While there, he takes the children to a place he used to take their mother when they were dating, only to find that the government has the place closed off. This does not stop them from sneaking into the site, and what they discover is gruesome. The lake is gone, and all the animals around it are dead. Hidden in the woods is a crazy guy named Charile Frost (Woody Harrelson) who is broadcasting all he knows about the end of the world from his makeshift radio station trailer. Jackson and his kids are caught by government agents. Before their fate is be decided, Adrian recognizes Jackson and releases Jackson and the kids. While in Yellowstone, Jackson meets Frost who tells him about the end of the world and the ships that are being built in China for the world’s wealthiest and other elite people to escape disaster. With this information, Jackson begins to put the pieces together, and after arriving back in Los Angles, finds that his boss is on his way to some secret place. When his kids tease Jackson about their living and his dying, Jackson springs into action, rescues his children, ex-wife and her amateur pilot/plastic surgeon husband and gets them to the airport and onto a plane just before the whole state of California sinks into the Pacific Ocean. From there, they find themselves on the journey of the lifetime, trying to escape death from all the is happening around them to find a safe place on the planet to wait out the disaster. However where they end up and what they find out is more than what anyone could have imagined.
The script for 2012 is one big disaster. The story is all over the place. Despite the big special effects extravaganza the film presents, the film tries not to be mindless, yet its story is scattered that it becomes confusing. The characters are dispatched all over the world, all in different places, all trying to survive however they can. The script uses many features of today’s religion and politics to keep the story current. A black president (Danny Glover), a greedy White House Chief of Staff (Oliver Platt) who only cares for the elite and wealthy, and how money buys a trip to safety (only in Euros). This is all tied in to the storyline, letting the people know that government is hiding secrets, and the only way to survive is to be filthy rich. The script, however, has some of the cheesiest scenes and one-liners in the history of cinema. Don’t go into this one thinking you’re going to get a serious disaster film with intelligent dialogue. The script plays like a big-budget B-movie minus the hot girls in bikinis and machine guns.
The film features many well-known actors all of whom give mediocre performances. John Cusack pretty much plays himself as does Danny Glover as the president. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton give the best performances. Also outstanding is Woody Harrelson as crazy conspiracy theorist, Charile Frost, although his scenes are limited. The rest of the cast includes Amada Peet as Jackson’s ex-wife, Oliver Platt, Zlatko Buric, John Billingsley, George Segal, Blu Mankuma, Beatrice Rosen, Thomas McCarthy, Liam James, and Morgan Lily.
2012 is a film that has a lot of production value that mainly was shot in front of a green screen. It has tons of visual effects; some believable, some less so. Many of the disaster scenes are over the top, especially one involving the limo in the streets of Los Angles. Running from the disaster becomes the theme of the film, but it seems that the disaster follows the characters only to their destinations, and airport runways always seem the last things to be destroyed. Leave it to writer/director Roland Emmerich to create another crazy disaster film. He is the king of crazy disaster films, having done The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day. Both of those films are superior to this one.
The Blu-ray disc does not have a lot of features, but does it does have the Blu-ray Live and Movie IQ feature so you can go online with the disc to experience many of the other features it has to offer. The Blu-ray does have a few features which include Picture in Picture: Roland’s Vision, Commentary and an alternate ending.
2012 is a film I had some fun watching. It has some heroic and sentimental moments between some of the characters and their families. I enjoyed the over-the-top special effects, yet the story and dialogue feel too flat for me to say that 2012 is a masterpiece of special effects cinema. The storyline is just all over the place, and I found myself wanting to see more disasters happen rather than seeing the characters nearly escaping danger with in every city in which they land. It’s fun to watch, but it’s long and gets boring at times. The effects-heavy scenes are a lot of fun to watch and that’s what makes the film bearable. If you’re a fan of disaster films, you’ll either like this one or agree with me. It’s a fun flick, but don’t expect a great movie.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
