2012 : Movie Review

For some reason, we as a race are infatuated with stories detailing our demise.

With theories abounding of our fragile mind and it’s tendency to deflect existential terror, one would assume that watching a two-and-a-half hour-long that captures every conceivable natural disaster that our planet could inflict upon us would go against our primordial nature.

Alas, director Roland Emmerich ( Independence Day / The Day After Tomorrow) has gone and made the end-of-the-world movie to end all end-of-the-world movies…2012.

Budding young scientist, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) alerts staff at the White House that the earth’s temperature is rising beyond previously recorded levels, prompting the President (Danny Glover) and the US government to initiate a covert international operation to ensure the continuity of the species.

Enter Jackons Curtis (John Cusack) a talented writer whom success has so far eluded attempts to re-connect with his children who live with his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and her plastic surgeon boyfriend Gordon (Thomas McCarthy), takes them on a camping trip.

On their trip they run into a conspiracy theorist / rogue radio presenter Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) who informs Jackson of the earths impending doom and cover-up of the worlds government bodies.

Once Jackson realizes that Charlie Frost isn’t so crazy after all, we follow him on his heroic journey filled with nail-biting plane take-offs and admirable feats of human courage, to not only save his family, but to also salvage what remains of their somewhat broken relationship.

Apart from exploring the most cataclysmic event that could ever befall mankind, 2012 also raises questions of government transparency; namely, the ethical dilemma faced by those in power when weighing up the options of keeping people informed against ensuring the continuity of the human race.

The refreshing part of 2012 is the minimal amount of preachy-ness. There is a discernible lack of bad guys which ultimately makes the film a little more realistic. Of course there are those who are in control of misinforming the public, and those who are against it, but the lines are a blurred. In the blink of a moment, conflicting thoughts of selfishness versus heroics become increasingly fleeting. The moment anyone begins to ‘preach’ of the values of feeling “compassion for your fellow man”, we are hit with the stark reality of what the end of the world scenario would bring with it.

Aside from a few tediously drawn-out scenes of apocalyptic destruction (which we’ve come to accept is norm of any such movies), the over-the-top, no holds barred approaches taken to encapsulate such an overwhelmingly dire occurrence are well orchestrated and hold their place.

John Cusack as Jackson Curtis brings some much needed humanity with his ‘I don’t really want to save the world, but it looks like I have to” persona, and ultimately saves 2012 from turning into another intolerably empty series of visuals showing what certain landmarks would look like if they fell down. Cusack’s support cast of Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover also offer much in the way of bolstering the film’s credibility

Regardless of whether the events in of 2012 are actually based on any semblance of fact, it still does enough to rouse interest and make it an overall enjoyable watch. And with word that Emmerich, the self-labeled ‘master of the epic’, is staying away from the genre for a while, it may in your best interest to have a look before we are all wiped out in a few years time.

2012 opens in cinemas Australia-wide on the 12th November. www.2012Movie.com.au