Review of 2012 (2009) by Mitchell B — 30 Aug 2014

2012 is the latest disaster film by Roland Emmerich. 2012 is essentially every disaster film ever made with all the clichés. I really felt like we've been here before. This feels like a rehash of Emmerich's previous disaster film The Day After tomorrow but that film, at least, had some characters I was invested in and moved at a brisker pace (at least it seemed to). It goes without saying that the very premise this is based on is false because we all know that the 2012 apocalypse is bogus. It's 2014 and the world is still here. So, with that knowledge, even the title doesn't make sense so I guess it fits with this film.

The story is very simple. In 2009 a scientist named Adrian discovers that the Earth's core is breaking down and that the world will end in the year 2012. He informs the government and for the next three years they build arks in secret to prepare for the disaster. You also have a man named Jackson (John Cusack) who's a failed author coming off of a divorce but is still in contact with his ex-wife and kids. Eventually the Earth literally begins to crumble under their feet. Now Jackson, his ex-wife and new husband, and children must outrun the end of the world which they unconvincingly manage to do.

The only thing going for this film is that the disaster scenes looked pretty good. Roland Emmerich really set out to make the disaster film to end all disaster films. Admittedly, I've never quite scene disaster scenes on this scale. The CGI I think is well-done. The only thing that's missing is giving a crap.

Nothing else is really good about this. The characters are nothing. I wasn't invested in a single one. The acting isn't that good either even from Cusack. The score is not that memorable. The best music is used in the trailer. It's too long as well. The pacing felt really slow especially at the end when they're all on the ark, which is maybe do to my lack of investment. The disaster scenes are cool at first but as it went on they got boring. This film is basically one giant disaster scene with hardly any breathing room. The minute they get out of one predicament there is another one waiting for them. Day After Tomorrow, at least, had some time to breathe and focus on characters and some I actually like.

Plus, there are many things that just make no sense and just took me out. For example, John Cusack and his family driving through a city that is literally collapsing around them but they are the only ones to escape. How does that work? They spot Yellowstone erupting but, somehow, make it out unscathed. Really? Yellowstone is a super volcano which is at least a thousand times bigger than a regular one. If it erupted near you would not live to tell about it. These scenes wouldn't bother me quite as much if I cared about the characters which, as I said, I did not.

Overall, there are much more enjoyable disaster films out there like Towering Inferno, Twister, Day After Tomorrow, or some giant monster movies like Godzilla just to name a few. This film is long, boring, and has no good characters. The special effects are nice but they get boring after a while too.