Movie Review: 2012 (2009)
90 minutes of silly entertainment and another hour of melodrama
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Roland Emmerich brought in aliens to destroy the world in 1996 with Independence Day. In 1998 he gave the keys to a giant mutant lizard trying to destroy New York City in Godzilla. Weather was to blame in 2004 when he directed The Day After Tomorrow and now, in 2009, the sun is the culprit as the Earth's core is heating up and 2012 will no longer be known as just another a year as much as it will be the year the Mayans predicted the world will end and Roland Emmerich gladly obliged for no less than two hours and 38 minutes.
2012 is a victim of its own ability to entertain. For 90 minutes of its running time it is a wild and insanely entertaining thrill park where limousines can outrun eroding fault lines and drive straight through crumbling skyscrapers just in time to make it to a twin engine prop-plane that will take off just in the nick of time. Don't worry, it's not a spoiler, the outlandish spectacle is the story here and once it's gone 2012 stops being fully aware of its own silliness, and attempts to make sense of it all. It goes from being a film where we are willing to follow its leaps in logic to one where we are given enough time to begin questioning them. In this sense, Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has a leg up when it comes to effects-driven behemoths. Bay heard the fan's cries for robots fighting one another and delivered, while Emmerich still felt it was necessary to get the destruction of the world over with midway through, and rely on technological gimmickry and character-driven mumbo jumbo for the final hour. Buh-oring and unearned is the only way to describe that decision.
The cast includes John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Lily and Thomas McCarthy. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"2012" is a Columbia Pictures release, directed by Roland Emmerich and is rated PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language. The running time is 2 hours 38 minutes.
Emmerich's unwillingness to let the film evolve causes it to fall apart. He is so determined you care about his characters to the point 2012 stops becoming an effects-driven monolith of cornball action and becomes a schmaltzy drama dedicated to characters you don't care a lick for. Sure, I cheered the little dog on as it performed it's highwire act with the dexterity of Philippe Petit, but at the same time I didn't care about the brainless owner calling for it. And why should I? It's not like it will get me anywhere as the final moments become a knock-off of Wolfgang Petersen's 2006 remake Poseidon dispelling any chance of redemption.
No one is to blame for 2012's eventual self-destruction other than Emmerich and his 2012 co-writer/composer Harald Kloser as they created a disaster epic with a story that can't pull itself out from beneath the rubble. John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover serve no real purpose other than to read lines and not get in the way of Emmerich's not-so-magic wand. 2012 is likely to enjoy a healthy opening weekend at the box-office and perhaps even prove to be a financial success, but overall it's just another Emmerich disaster film that can't pull itself together.
Perhaps one of these times Emmerich will take himself completely out of the writing process and hand off his admittedly fascinating ideas of world destruction to a more capable screenwriter. And hopefully one of these days the perfect storm of destructive directorial and capable screenwriting talent will come together for a film we can all get behind. For now we are stuck with a mildly satisfying film whose appeal wears off long before it's all over.
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seein it tonight looks pretty sick.
I didn't hate it. Which I guess is a positive review. But you are right, he falls into the same mistake he made on Day After Tormorrow, where he blew his effects load way too early. However, he did attempt to make a larger picture of what humanity is, which I admire. If Michael Bay had been involved, it would've been all destruction, and I like that Roland took some time out to discuss the moral implications of the end of the world. Though, he may have gone on a bit too long about it. I think the running time is what makes the movie suffer. The final moments played like a "what else could go wrong" sequence on that ship. If Roland only tightened the film up a bit he could've had a great film. I guess your right about handing the reins to another screenwriter. That limo scene is pretty awesome as well. Overall, I liked it better than Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow, but not as much as I liked Independence Day.
I absolutely agree – why can't he just bring in a proper screenwriter? Does he honestly think that the characters he creates are interesting, viable human beings that people will actually root for? Because they aren't.
I hope where not talking about that boring, bad movie "The Perfect Storm." The most ovverrated movie of all time.
Day After Tomorrow was great, Independence Day is still one of the best movies ever made, Godzilla should'nt have been called Godzilla but otherwise it was awesome.
I don't think this movie will be nearly as good as any of those, but I think perhaps it would work for the last hour or so to be slower paced, perhaps a situation of "after the destruction." Now I haven't seen it, but I think it's worked for other movies, like one (can't remember the name) where nukes are blown up all over the U.S. and then what follows is an "after the disaster part."
I just saw the movie, now I seriously don't agree w what was said before, u see not everyone goes to the movies on a schedule, I loved the fact, that I cried, laughed and was kept in the tip of my seat! Many unspected things happend and I think the character Adrian was very interesting and the day after tomorrow was another awesome movie… now I believe this movie should open the mind of many ppl! Make them question our goverment, set out to find out more about our planet, bc if u guys aint noticed, just like the movie, out planet is not doing too well! And is not how the movie was done, how long the movie was or the actors in the movie is about the statement behind it, if not then u might need to watch that movie Al Gore made about out planet…it might be old but it opens our eyes to how we are not taking care of our planet!!! By the way recycle and save energy!!
Saw it Friday, loved it for the ride it was meant to be, could have shown a better ending though(not bad, just needed something extra).
I agree with a C for some of the film, however, it takes an A+ for visual spectacle. Once again 'the critic' seems unable to see a film for what it is, over the top entertainment, nothing more. Many of us humans like this type of film! Have you not figured that out yet?
I defy anyone not to be blown away by the spectacle that Roland has given us.
Overall a B- is more like it.
Go see it people…
its really a great movie
u can watch this movie online for free at
http://www.webonlinemovies.com
Thanks for webonlinemovies.com
for making me to see this great movie