Film Review: 2012

By John Shannon

Posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009, 12:39 am

“2012” is sheer cinematic lunacy. It is the movie that “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” should have been and “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra” wanted to be: a top-notch thrill ride with affable characters, witty tongue-in-cheek humor, and breathtaking sequences full of explosions and special effects. The “Master of Destruction” director Roland Emmerich is in fine form here, proving his previous films such as “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” were merely warm-ups for his disaster movie masterpiece.

Earthquakes, fireballs, tsunamis: You name it, and it’s here, out in full force and rendered beautifully while wiping out the human race. The science behind all this happening never makes much sense: something involving the sun melting the Earth’s core and the crust shifting as a result. Forget global warming, this is global microwaving, and it’s far too much fun to watch for one to pause to try and make sense of it all. “2012” had a pattern of “tearful goodbye, chase scene, escape, repeat.” It is simple, but it works. The film’s pacing urges audiences to go with the flow as the movie shifts from one disaster to the next with alarming speed.

The actors Emmerich has employed are all critically acclaimed characters — John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Chiwetel Ejiofor — and thankfully they know exactly what kind of movie they’re in. They don’t try to ham it up or bring a seriousness to the proceedings. They know they’re there to be fodder for the elements and not much else. But special mention must go to Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. Harrelson brings many laughs to the table as a wacked-out conspiracy theorist, and Glover grounds the insanity with some slight amount of dignity as the president. The rest of the cast acquit themselves admirably, but they know this isn’t the type of film to waste award-seeking acting on.

Emmerich is a filmmaker I greatly admire. I can forgive him for “10,000 BC” and for the god-awful “Godzilla” remake because he has also brought us “The Patriot,” “Stargate” and other good action films. He doesn’t use the kinetic quick edits like Michael Bay; he lets his shots linger, allowing the audience to know just what is going on and take in the full weight of what’s happening. His scripts are usually pretty weak, but his direction isn’t. He always draws out solid performances from his actors and his action editing is of the variety we need more of. He trusts the images to create a sense of dread and excitement instead of letting them flash by.

The images presented in “2012” are truly thrilling. If you plan on seeing it, I urge you to see it in a theater. This is a film that demands to be seen on the big screen, enveloping all your senses. Films of this sort are occasionally compared to amusement park rides, and this is one of the best. Exciting until the very end, “2012” is pure popcorn cinema, knowing exactly what it wants to be and succeeding tremendously.

Grade: B+