The Mayan calendar ends in 2012. Some people believe that on the winter solstice of 2012 a cataclysmic event will end the world as we know it.
That is the basis for the latest disaster movie from Hollywood: 2012. But we have come a long way from the Poseidon Adventure in 1972. If you are looking for a big blockbuster with all kinds of visual effects that show the destruction of our civilization, then this movie is right up your alley. As for me, for some reason I really enjoy seeing the violent end of our modern world. It is great fun to see the icons of our civilization like the Capital or the Eiffel Tower come crashing down. Or especially seeing Los Angeles slide into the Pacific Ocean. So I had a good time watching this.
2012 is from director Roland Emmerich who also directed Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004), two other movies that showed scenarios for the destruction of the world. Yo would have to say that he is the master of this genre of film. In Independence Day, the threat was aliens from outer space. This time it is the forces of nature. But today the CGI tools are more highly evolved than in 1996 and computers are much faster with more memory, so the effects are even more spectacular and believable.
I could praise the actors John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover and others who all did a fine job making the fantastic events believable. Woody Harrelson looked like he had the most fun with his character. But let’s not kid ourselves, the real “star” is the visual effects showing the fantastic events unfolding. Kudos to companies like Digital Domain, Double Negative, Sony Pictures Imageworks and many others that created the visual effects. Well done.
I don’t expect that 2012 will go down in history as one of the great movies. This is not Citizen Kane. And the Academy certainly won’t be handing out Oscars for best acting or best picture. Maybe it will win an Oscar for best visual effects. But as pure entertainment, you will really get your money’s worth in 2009 with 2012. So this is a must see.
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action-Adventure
Star Rating: 9/10
Here’s a link to some stills from the movie
2012 Photos
