Movie Review: 2012
Thursday November 12, 2009
As far as disaster movies go, there will always be a place for the summer blockbuster with audiences continually flocking to cinemas to witness the incredible effects and scenes not possible in any other movie genre. The latest offering within this genre, 2012, will not disappoint for those seeking the rush that only comes with seeing total destruction, from the Sistine Chapel collapsing to the White House being demolished by swelling oceans and rushing debris (ironically by one of America's own giant warships, an accidental choice? I think not) 2012 provides a sensory feast unlike most other films. With a $260 million budget, you would expect no less.
More graceful then most other films in this same action/disaster genre which can be more an assault on the senses, 2012 provides special effects that are truly stunning to witness with the entire globe being subject to the amazing and terrifying force of nature.
Now to the story, if that's what we can call it. Essentially the year 2012 has been predicted as the time when the world will end, the planets will align and Mother Nature finally gets her own back. Really the explanation as to why this is happening is given perhaps five minutes screen time, which is fine in disaster movies that are all about the action. Well, that's what you would expect.
Enter our central characters. The reliable John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a divorced father of two of which he doesn't connect or understand. He is a writer who was once idyllic and optimistic but is now jaded with the world and so on and so on. Then we meet a few side characters that show the various positive and negative aspects of humanity with everyone fighting to survive the apocalypse.
This is where the 2012 may lose some people. While the catastrophic events being played on the screen are literally jaw dropping in their sheer size and destruction, is now really the time for the characters to discuss their divorce and how the children are feeling?
Continually throughout the film we are forced to watch a family trying to ';re-connect' with heartfelt discussions and analysis... the world is ending, reconnect later. Obviously every movie needs to have the central characters that we want to survive, they represent us and act as a microcosm for all of humanity, but maybe there is a time and a place.
Of course there are all the usual hallmarks of a disaster movie. An inspiration speech from the figurehead - the American President (Danny Glover no less), leading scientist, the father figure - yes, you get all three in this film, an "is he dead or is he coming back" moment, an existential reflection of how humanity can be both good and bad and the tearful goodbye for the person sacrificing themselves.
Written, produced and directed by Roland Emmerich, of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow fame, this film certainly provides all the excitement and thrills that you can get from watching the world literally fall apart around you, along with all the cliche dialogue and characters that accompany most disaster movies.
Share This