Sound? Check. Fury? Check. The above signifying absolutely nothing? Check. This is apocalypse filmmaker extraordinaire Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) newest work: 2012. It's a preposterous and bloated spectacle that gleefully destroys the entire world without examining the humanity behind it.
Geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and colleagues discover that the end of the world is near, which means that fantastic earthquakes will soon tear apart the Earth’s crust. John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a failed science fiction writer with questionable devotion to his kids and ex-wife (Amanda Peet), until he learns from a wack-job disk jockey (Woody Harrelson) that the apocalypse is imminent. He proceeds to lead his family in a fight for survival, while the geologists and politicians try to save the human race from the Earth’s dangerously shifty crust.
2012 arrives a few months too late, as it is nothing but a mindless summer flick with phenomenal special effects. For a movie about endings, it drags on interminably, and most of the time we are watching buildings fall on people.
Despite the movie’s overall unpleasantness, one thing that actually works in its favor is the unintentional humor that some of the stunts bring. Sending Jackson and his family over a ramp every time they step into a car becomes a running joke. But the actors are forced to struggle with clunky dialogue, suggesting that the writers did not much care for deep ruminations on the end of life.
2012
Directed by: Roland Emmerich Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet Rated PG-13, 158 min.
