Click to enlarge

Annihilatrix1138 |
Date: 2009-11-14

I think people judge these movies very unfairly. It surprises me when a movie like 2012 comes along and it's ripped apart before it's even released. "This movie's gonna blow, it's two and a half hours of things blowing up." I have to play back the sentence in my mind and figure out what was negative about that concept. These movies are meant to be fun, and usually nothing more than that.

I say "usually" because sometimes you get a movie that has absolutely no other reason to exist than to make things explode and momentarily lower your IQ (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Single-Disc Edition) is out now. Fun movie.) but occasionally you get something like 2012, which not only offers the calculated mayhem that fans of the action genre desire, but it also offers a surprisingly deep philosophical undertone. Go figure, right?

The movie opens with a fifteen minute montage that sets up the events that will eventually transpire on 2012, and gives us a look at the backroom dealings that occur in the wake of this disturbing discovery concerning the fate of humanity. Once that's over with, the movie picks up rather quickly, introducing us to the main character, Jackson Curtis, his more-than-dysfunctional family and a grab bag of supporting characters. After a botched camping trip, things kick off rather quickly.

What follows are two hours of absolute chaos. The CG in this movie is astounding, and I cannot stress this enough. The action is relentless, creative, and satisfying on the whole. The LA sequence alone will have you smiling, then you will realize you still have a lot more movie to go, and it never disappoints. The pacing is excellent in this regard. I was in awe the entire way through.

That's the bottom line: If you love action movies or a good old fashioned thrill ride, the disaster sequences alone are worth the price of admission (unless you're an astrophysicist, in which case you might be crossing your arms and groaning at this film all the way through).

But what I liked the most about this film was its underlying religious theme. People might be quick to pick up on the major references to this, such as (POSSIBLE SPOILER, though it's in the trailer): the crack forming between Adam and God on Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" at the Sistine Chapel, the destruction of Christ the Redeemer, Vatican City, and the Buddhist temple. With these and other biblical references that you will miss if you blink, Emmerich seems to postulate a world in which you don't need God for miracles, and where everyone is back on even ground again.

Another theme that Emmerich sets up is the social borders that divide us more than we think. In a world that is coming to an end, it's not the strong who survive, only the smartest and the wealthiest. The film argues against utilitarianism on several fronts, going so far as to say that to embrace such a concept to an outrageous extent, even to save mankind, would result in a race of humans deprived of its humanity.

Now, I could be wrong. I'm not saying that my interpretation of the movie is spot on, but the movie did make me think, and that's what I found remarkable returning home from watching a film in which I thought I was just going to watch things blow up for two hours.

I walked in knowing that no one makes disaster movies better than Roland Emmerich, but I ended up watching something that entertained me immensely, made me think, and spurred on a very long conversation between my friends and I. THAT'S how a movie more than earns the price of admission.

Joshua Alumbaugh |
Date: 2010-02-27

2012 is not about the storyline. 2012 is just about having a good time! Look back at all of the disaster movies...they are all about the jaw dropping special effect(Exception would be Titanic) I know the movie will not be as good on my home television as it was on the big screen, but I am still going to buy it. There is a decent story line but some parts of it are unbelieveable. Best advice for anyone sit back, shut up, and prepared to be wowed!

Michael Butts |
Date: 2010-03-06

I admit I'm a disaster movie addict: TOWERING INFERNO, POSEIDON ADVENTURE, ETC. And 2012 is the new standard for the genre. Yes the plot and characters represent all the cliches found in these kind of movies, but didn't we see this for all the mass destruction?
And wow---the effects are awesome! I don't know why Oscar only allowed 3 nominees for visual effects this year giving the nods to more critically acclaimed films. The effects in 2012 are definitely Oscar worthy and it's a shame Oscar overlooked this film's astounding visual effects.
I think John Cusack and cast did just fine; the musical score was commendable. If you look great disaster movies, you can't beat this one!

Julian Kennedy |
Date: 2010-03-20

2012: 8 out of 10: I love disaster movies. I love good disaster movies such as The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. I love bad disaster movies such as The Swarm and Independence Day. I even enjoy, if not love, Horrible disaster movies such as Syfy channel stalwarts Megafault and Magma: Volcanic Disaster.

2012 is solidly in the good disaster movie genre. As I have stated before in my The Core review Disaster movies always seem to do better when the disaster is local in scope. A city threatened by avalanche, a tower threatened by an inferno, a Poseidon threatened by an adventure, that kind of thing. Earth killer movies are always a harder road.

2012 dodges this bullet slightly by having neutrinos from a massive solar flare penetrate the Earth and cause the temperature of the core to increase rapidly. Like a microwave one scientist very helpfully explains. Of course why these same neutrinos dont cause the oceans to boil is a plot hole that the movie delightfully ignores. Still compared to The Core or The Day after Tomorrow, 2012s science is practically textbook.

Now since the core is expanding this causes the earths crust to erupt in different directions (think a Jiffy Pop container). This allows disaster footage from all over the earth. And we all know where disasters strike first. Thats right monuments. Vegas, Washington DC, Vatican City, Los Angeles, Yellowstone, Hawaii, and others get there turn in the special effects blender. The set pieces are generally well thought out often with sly commentary attached. (A giant rolling donut in LA, A slick atheist Where is your God now rub at the Vatican.). The special effects are all magnificent.

I will briefly talk about the actors in a minute (Generally speaking they all do fine) but the star is the effects. The detail work (as can be seen in the disaster porn pictures below) is simply amazing. Director Roland Emmerich puts his 250 million dollar budget on the screen. For once the buildings that collapse have people in them. The disasters do not happen in the rain or at night and the camera doesnt jerk around as if directed by an epileptic sugar glider.

The location work is creative as are the disasters. (Lets face it a tsunami driving an aircraft carrier into the White House is imagination at work.) In addition, the story is a fairly grounded version of that old When Worlds Collide plot where all the smart rich and good looking people get on a spaceship and escape Earth while all the less attractive people all die horribly.

The movie halfheartedly tries to address the unfairness of who gets chosen but we really didnt come for a civics lesson and honestly there are worse ways to go than just picking attractive rich people. We also didnt come for the acting, but unlike many of its contemporaries, the acting in 2012 seems solid across the board.

Some of the various side plots fall a little flat (especially considering the two and a half hour length, the old guys on the boat subplot could have been jettisoned in its entirety.) On the plus side Zlatko Buric as the Russian billionaire ex-boxer and Woody Harrelson as the crazy mountain man (doing his best Matthew McConaughey impression mind you) are the stand outs.

Overall we came for the disaster porn and simply put 2012 delivers some of the best disaster porn ever seen on screen, and manages this feat with fewer of the bad acting and horrible storyline distractions that usually accompany such films. Bravo.

sandmanfvf |
Date: 2010-07-22

First a rant about reviewers. Why do you review a movie, moan, piss, and WHINE if you know you DON'T LIKE that type of movie? Reviewing a movie to take cheap shots at actors, acting, etc. of a great movie is sad and pathetic. I don't review chick flick/romances because I don't like them, thus it would be unfair for me to whine like most do and review them. If you can't keep an open mind and review a film fairly, then shut up and quit reviewing movies badly.

Now the review: First off this IS a disaster/end of the world movie. There is sadness, death and destruction. BUT what I love about this director is that is is NOT all there is to the movie. Many things are just well written to show us how we are humans are flawed and when we come together it works out in the end. Just like The Day After Tomorrow, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and just doesn't stop. Really, this movie DESTROYS The Day After Tomorrow. I didn't think 2012 would be the best Disaster movie ever TO ME, but it is. It is a long movie and should be, to not rush the story. GREAT character development and shows who is "evil" and who is "good" and shows human nature. The religions tones are great and don't rub any religion the wrong way unless you are just to uptight and sensitive.

*BEGIN SPOILERS*
I see many whine on here about the government getting saved, well DUH! Who would pay for such an undertaking? You also see the evil people in the government get saved, the good people stay and help. The religious tones are GREAT. I loved the crack between Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel, which was just one that showed us that as humans we separate ourselves from each other and the divine and in the end, we should come together. Other religious places are destroyed not just Christian ones. Nobody should be insulted, it is a message to bring us all together.

The special effects are mind boggling, from volcanoes, to earthquakes etc. It is just awesome. Seeing the cities fall apart, dumping people, whole building and such around is destruction never seen on film like this before. Tidal waves are monstrous and all the ways the earth is ravished makes you just say "wow".


*END SPOILERS*

The only negatives is the science in the movie about HOW the earth is going to crap. Not really sound, but just ignore it as it is not there very long. The other thing the main characters cheat death a LITTTTLLLEE to much, not to bad, but it was like "Ok, yet another close call." Not bad, but maybe a few to many.


2012 is based on a real theory/belief that the Mayans thought the world would end on December 21, 2012. You don't have to believe it to enjoy the flix. Shut up, sit down and enjoy it on blu ray and turn the surround sound UP. Stop nit picking the movie and see the true meanings in it, and you will see the movies real meaning.