2012 – Movie Review

2012 Movie Review

Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson
Directed by Roland Emmerich

Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 158 mins
Genre: Action/ Thriller/ Drama
3.5 frames out of 5

Consider yourself warned…. As the movie poster and trailers tell us. If you are not familiar with the Mayan prophecy that the world is going to reach the end of it’s run on 12/21/12. Do some research – pretty interesting or depressing depending how you interpret it. All major religions tell us of some doomsday that if we don’t get out stuff together, too bad, so sad.

It’s now 2009, so if we are to go by what the Mayans tell us be basically have give or take 3 years until some cataclysmic event happens and wipes out the human race. Hollywood has given us our share of apocalyptic movies in the past such as Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow, Deep Impact, etc. But 2012 does it’s in a different way. It starts of in present day, 2009 where an Indian scientist has discovered that the Earth’s core is heating up at an alarming rate. This is brought to the attention of American Geologist, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) during a trip to India and he races back to Washington DC to inform his superiors. Now that the world’s government is made aware of the impending geological disasters, they don’t tell anyone. Fast-forward to 2012, more and more earthquakes are happening especially in the LA area. A out of work novelist Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is taking his kids on a trip to Yellowstone National Park for a weekend of fresh air & camping. While there he has a run in with the US Military and an unusual character that is spouting of conspiracy theories from the base camp of his Winnebego. When Jackson realizes that these so-called ramblings may be anchored in truth, he sets out on a quest to save his family and own life.

If the world is going to end by natural disaster in the next 3 years, I would consider this visually realistic. Of course, 2012 is not lacking in the cheesy sentimental moments to help break some of the high-octane intensity brought on by the Earth’s demise. This was definitely better on the gushy moments that other end-of the-world films ala Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay style have done in the past (cough, Armageddon, cough). This is due in part that better actors were cast and John Cusack is a complete badass. There are moments that are ludicrous but it helps in not becoming too depressing. It runs about 20 minutes too long, so if you bring small children be prepared for them to get antsy.

Things to watch for: Special Effects. The effects are too realistic and may strike a nerve by those that have been witness to events like 9/11. Woody Harrelson is going through a bit of a comeback and pops up as a crazy modern day prophet, spreading his word through the airwaves. Great performances by Cusack, Harrelson, Platt and Ejiofor. And yes…Pickles and beer.

Who should see this movie: Action movie lovers, fans of John Cusack, and believers in the 2012 theories.

See it in the Theater or Rent it on DVD: Special effects like this were meant to be seen on the big screen.