Director Roland Emmerich, famous for such movies as Independence Day, 10,000 BC and The Day After Tomorrow, stresses his fascination with world destruction once again through his movie release of 2012. Weeks after the premier of the movie, theaters continue to fill with multitudes of people who wait in line for a showing of Emmerich’s new phenomenon.
The movie is based on the ending of the Mayan calendar in 2012, signaling the end of the world. It is set in present day 2009, as researcher Adrian (Chiwetel Ejiofor) rushes to tell the president’s advisor Carl (Oliver Platt) of a natural disaster according to information he receives from a research project in India.
The earth’s erratic temperatures rise, and the possibility of earth’s tectonic plates shifting form a fear in diplomatic leaders, as several countries sketch out a plan to save the “important people” when the destruction begins. Because “the arks” can only hold so many people, countries keep it a secret from the public, while construction begins in China.
The movie switches to the year 2012, focusing on divorced writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), the main character. After being released for his writing, Curtis meets with broadcaster Charlie (Woody Harrelson), who continually tries to explain the circumstance of the world falling apart through the radio. However the broadcasting become ignored because of society’s ridicule against nonsense such as the world ending.
As the end of the year nears, Adrian realizes the fault of his research and suddenly notes the inaccurate predictions about the world’s destruction.
Emmerich truly portrays the human nature through 2012. When the world leaders agree to open and receive everyone waiting to board the arks, human compassion triumphs over self-preservation. All the while, the concept of an omniscient being is highly disregarded. Though a small mention of how the catastrophe is known to Christians as the rapture, no religious affiliations are truly noted as a conflict.
From my experiences of former apocalyptic movies, 2012 holds an invigorating plot designed to provoke action, suspense, fiction and a bit of romance. However, the journey with Curtis and his ex-wife seems to be a desperate attempt to include some form of romance. The small hint of a crush between Adrian and the president’s daughter seems inappropriate for the movie’s main idea as well.
Despite its entertaining qualities, many of the ideas are not fresh; the natural disasters include earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. The idea of the continents moving seem overly dramatized. Though somewhat plausible, it promotes the theory of continental drift. The movie also seems to exaggerate the ability of Curtis.
However, the actors and actresses chosen for the movie excel in their performances, especially the children who are able to pull off the agonizing scenes of loss so skillfully. Especially at such a young age, talent is surely needed to complete the raging emotions throughout the movie, as the characters lose one person after another.
Emmerich does a great job with the sequence of the film and its length works well with the movie. Emmerich never stays on a single scene too long. Instead, audiences are captivated by the continual peril the family endures.
Overall, the movie was enjoyable and it left me pondering what I would do if the world was really going to end in 2012. It is a great option for those looking for an innovative thriller.
2012 is rated PG-13 for language and intense disaster scenes.
