It's The End of the World as We Know It

Disaster movies with “end of the world” scenarios have come in all shapes and sizes before. From having meteors hurtling towards the Earth or a new Ice Age, I thought I had seen them all. Give credit to producer/director Roland Emmerich for finding another one for his film 2012: the Mayan people predicted the end of the world would happen at around the date of December 21, 2012. So Emmerich proceeds to destroy the world once more and maps out how a few select humans manage to survive the coming disaster. Yeah, this isn’t exactly nuclear science.

In 2009, Dr. Satnam Tsurutani (Jimi Mistry) tells American geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) that the earth’s core is abnormally heating up, it sets into a motion a chain of events that they predict will culminate by the year 2012. Helmsley warns White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and subsequently, American president Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover). By 2010, Wilson informs other heads of state of the coming disaster is inevitable but that they can prepare for it by working together to ensure the survival of humanity. Unfortunately for Helmsley, his computations are off by a few months and the catastrophe starts happening early. Caught in the crossfire are struggling author Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet), their kids, and Kate’s new boyfriend Gordon Silberman (Thomas McCarthy). Can this ragtag group possibly survive the destruction of life on earth as we know it?

Make no mistake, I knew full well that watching 2012 would mean a whole lot of suspension of disbelief on my part. I mean, movies predicting the end of the world aren’t exactly the “smartest” movies out there. So yes, I tried to keep an open mind and lowered my expectations even before the film started. Director Emmerich already gave us Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow so he does have some experience in this genre. True enough, it’s pretty much the same as far as story goes. Emmerich tries to give us the “common man” point of view, that’s why he gave us Cusack’s character as well as their dysfunctional family.

The most impressive thing about 2012 is, of course, the special effects employed. CGI effects have gotten to the point that filmmakers can destroy practically anything they set their minds to, whether it be the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the White House, or even the entire state of Hawaii. The character moments in 2012 are few and far between, although they do try to give them to us through the Curtis family, the Russian mobster Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Buric) and his sons, the relationship between Pres. Wilson and daughter Laura (Thandie Newton), and Helmsley and his musician father Harry (Blu Mankuma). What was particularly entertaining for me though was to see Woody Harrelson portray conspiracy theorist and “oracle” Charlie Frost. Looking scraggly, demented, and paranoid, Harrelson stole every scene he was in, providing some of the memorable scenes of the film.

2012 is not going to win any awards. It’s not going to dominate the box office like previous Emmerich movies may have. It’s just a mindless film with great special effects that posits some interesting theories on how the world might end and how humanity’s spirit will find a way to survive it.