2012

According to the Mayan calendar, the world will come to an end December 2012. According to the movie 2012, the world will end in one huge, spectacular, special effects-laden extravaganza. Everyone who dies will give long, teary-eyed gazes contemplating their demise and a few sole survivors will be able to travel the world, narrowly dodging falling cities and cascading meteors.

2012 won’t win best screenplay, except maybe at the Razzies, but you don’t watch disaster films for their dialogue or plot structure. The special effects will certainly be up for contention at the upcoming Oscars, however; they are absolutely stunning. You get to see the Washington Monument crumble, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer topple and the Sistine Chapel split at God and Adam’s fingertips.

So, 2012 is based on the Mayan prediction that the world is ending. Solar flares erupt and subsequently make the earth’s core a giant hot tub. You hear rudimentary Geography 101 terms throughout the film, but you don’t really care. Tectonic plates shifting, tidal waves, volcanoes – they all mean the same thing…the end of the world.

Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a struggling Los Angeles novelist/limo driver who is divorced from his wife, Kate (Amanda Peet). They have two children who are enamored with Kate’s new boyfriend. Curtis takes his kids on a camping trip to Yellowstone where they run into Charlie (Woody Harrelson), an over-the-top conspiracy theorist who has a map of where the government has hidden “spaceships” that will house the “hand-picked” survivors. On the other side of the country, scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) warns U.S. President Wilson (Danny Glover) that the world is actually ending – he then falls in love with President Wilson’s daughter, Laura (Thandie Newton). Long story short, Curtis saves his family from Los Angeles’ demise into the Pacific Ocean and then travels to the hidden location of the “spaceships”.

2012 is the very definition of a popcorn movie. You don’t have to think, you don’t really care about the characters, you just want more action…and the movie delivers just that. Again, the special effects are just outstanding. Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) was given $260 million to make this montage of catastrophe. Before seeing this, I didn’t know what the world would look like if it ended, but now I think I have a pretty good idea.

At just over two hours and 30 minutes, you definitely get your money’s worth. However, if you are looking for a compelling story that evokes a true emotion with characters you care about, you will be asking for your money back.