2012: The Year We Lost Contact
I honestly had no intentions of ever seeing the latest disaster flick, Roland Emmerich’s 2012, on the big screen. Had it not been for the recommendation to do so from fellow reviewer Bob Ignizio, then I probably would not have. I actually remember telling my co-worker Sandy this past Friday that there’s no way I will be seeing this. But, I was having a bad day, a somber time in class and I just figured what the heck…let’s watch some stuff get blown up! You see, I spent the greater half of the early morning skimming over all the critical reviews and the one thing that they all shared in common was the fact that the film was downright brutal in its depiction of the apocalyptic destruction and mayhem. I thought perfect. This will be a good antidote for my attitude as of late (watching these kind of films always makes you appreciate life ever so more).
However, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news (or good, depending on how you look at it), but all evidence points to the irreconcilable fact that December 21st through the 23rd of 2012 will come and go just like any other day. Mayans attest to the fact that their history has been misrepresented and the year 2012 is largely irrelevant. The scientific community has also chimed in noting that all the predictions of how the world could end have been rejected and suggest that they would go as far as to violate the laws of physics. So everyone out there racking up unprecedented credit card debt, hoping that December 2012 will be their undeniable solution to their financial woes, better wake up, smell the coffee and enroll in credit counseling today. A debt free solution is just a phone call away!
I was very surprised to see an enormous amount of human dialogue and exchange throughout the film. I mean, it makes sense given that this is a last stand for mankind in an apocalyptic end-of-the-world kind of flick, but given the most recent trailers, the movie seemed more about destruction/special effects than anything else. Maybe that was why I was initially turned off? Nah it wasn’t, but I will get to that in a moment. The movie employs some big names such as John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton (John Shearer’s favorite), Oliver Platt (this guy used to be so likeable…what happened?), Danny Glover and a surprise cameo by a big name star as of late whom I will save as a surprise for you. It does not take a college degree to figure out that the premise of the movie is about the end of the world, as the Mayans supposedly once predicted would happen, and the concurring events and disasters that will change forever the course of mankind and species around the globe. Given the fact that there is already talk of a television series sequel, I think you can clearly read between the lines and make the appropriate assumptions. I don’t believe assuming here would translate into that old sarcastic saying which is usually applicable in most cases.
So the film’s ultimate success really all boils down to the special effects. I mean that’s why we are all here reading about this movie isn’t it? Do you really think this movie could stand on its own merit without the studio’s gimmick of promising audiences over 2 hours of death defying stunts, explosive danger and tales of mass destruction? I don’t believe so. It would be an utter snooze fest and complete failure without the ferocious and heroic action sequences. Let me be the first to tell you, in case you did not know this about me, I am a very harsh critic of special effects. Special effects will either make or break a film in my opinion. A bad special effect can break the suspension of disbelief so necessary in today’s rich CGI-laden films and that could be the kiss of death. As I alluded to before, the special effects are the reason I initially wanted to stay away from 2012. If it was not for Bob’s advice of checking this out on the big screen, then I probably would have never given it a chance. All in all, I am very happy to report that throughout the entire runtime of 158 minutes I was only unhappy with a small handful of scenes. There were two that stood out in particular, but for the most part, the special effects were done pretty seamless. Sure there were more times than I care to even try to count of how ridiculous the action sequences were, but they were entertaining and fun nonetheless. When all is said and done I was happy to have seen this, but I could have gone either way. What I mean by that is if I had not seen it, it’s not like it would have been the end of the world for me (I know…bad joke!).
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Glad you liked it, Brian.