2012 Movie Review

The movie 2012 hits the DVD shelves on March 2. If you love disaster movies and great special effects then 2012 fits the bill. If you prefer a good story, then eh - not so much.

The movie 2012 is based upon the premise that the end of the world will occur on December 21, 2012. We've heard it all before - the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and the poles shift causing massive and ultimate destruction.

In 2012, the movie, government scientists have managed to come up with a plan to save at lest some of humanity through a massive ark-like project. The movie focuses upon one man (Jon Cusack) as he tries to get his family onto one of the arks that are located in China.

On the special effects side, 2012 is a marvel. The action and effects are so real that I was on the edge of my seat and actually felt my heart racing. From massive earthquakes to volcanic eruptions and flooding and the resulting damage and destruction , 2012 had amazing effects that leave the viewer breathless.

Watching the main characters escape from L.A. in an airplane as California is coming apart at the seams was both nerve wracking and exciting.

While a disaster movie has elements of the fantastic and unbelievable, I felt that 2012 took this to a new level. Toward the end of the movie, it felt as though the writers said "We're not sure what to do with this, so let's just bend reality even further and make it work!" Case in point: (warning - spoiler!) The main characters are flying over the ocean trying to make it to China. They plan to set down in Hawaii to refuel. Problem: Hawaii has become a mass of erupting volcanoes. It looks like the end for our heroes and they prepare to set the plane down in the ocean, understanding that they are out of options and won't make it out of this situation alive.

But wait! Thanks to the shifting of the earth's crust, they are suddenly no longer over Hawaii - they are now over China! Woohoo! They have been saved!

I like the actors in the movie (John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson) but I found their characters a bit wooden and stiff, making it difficult for me to empathize and identify with them.

The movie 2012 was a bit long (running at about two and a half hours), and as long as the multi-holed story could be ignored, was worth watching for the special effects alone.

If you're looking for a disaster movie that has an excellent story as well as decent special effects, try Deep Impact. It won't make you roll your eyes.