MOVIE REVIEW: 2012 (2009)

2012 isn't the worst disaster movie I've ever seen, but it's definitely one of the dumbest. All scientific innacuracies aside, I'm generally a lot more willing to suspend my disbelief in the name of science fiction than the average American film critic usually is. With 2012 though, I'm highly distracted at the film's grating jabs at melodrama, which is worse than say, Titanic. Although the special effects are impressive, it's obvious where all the money went. If only they could have afforded a better screenwriter for characters, let alone, actors.

This latest entry, starring John Cusack and directed by Roland Emmerich, follows in the same vein as his previous films: Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow, which is to say: big, dumb, and filled with cookie-cutter characters of the disaster genre that are somehow intricately linked to one-another. Capitalizing on the upcoming 2012 phenomena, a group of geologists discover the apocalypse is immenent when cosmic conditions cause the sun to melt the Earth's core and cause "Earth Crustal Displacement" - which translates to massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions - basically bringing out the End of Days. Blissfully ignoring the fact that we'd probably all fry from extreme heat before "ECD", a downtrodden writer decides to take his kids camping in Yellowstone, I don't need to elaborate much more on the plot from there, except there's a little government conspiracy and human rights issues that eventually arise. These plot devices are probably the most thought-provoking thing in the whole film, it's a shame I gave up caring for the characters at this point.

In case you're THAT curious, scientific research has shown that the 2012 phenomena is no more valid than was Y2K, nearly ten years ago. I even have a whole FAQ page from NASA to back me up on this. Neverheless, it hasn't stopped a load of books from being written by religious figures, philosophers, and whackos alike. There are loads of sources dismissing the accuracy and interpretation of the Mayan calendar, which some belive was the first tip-off to the apocalypse, such as this one from The Guardian. But hey, in a fatalistic sense, if the world were to end on December 21, 2012, I sure as hell had a great time on it while it lasted...shame I wouldn't get to finish law school, though.

2012 does nothing more than fuel the fire for the belief that something like this could happen in the most scientifically innacurate way possible. It's a pretty package, but it's nothing extraordinary.

5/10

Peace,
- Jon