New Review: "2012"

One way to fill up the seats in movie theaters is to make a big-budget, Hollywood blockbuster! I know, easier said then done. While not all filmmakers get the opportunity to make such a film... the ones that do will make lot's of money off of it, guaranteed. Why is this, you ask? Because people love to escape from reality and watch mindless action and special effects. Doesn't matter how good the movie is; the bigger the budget, the greater the crowd. This seems to be the motto of director Ronald Emmerich. Since his breakout film "Independence Day" hit theaters in the 90's... he's specialized in making large scale disaster films, including the re-make of "Godzilla" and "The Day After Tomorrow". His latest film "2012" deals with the end of the world, yet again.

Based on the real life predictions found within ancient ruins from around the world, the film discovers what will happen to our planet three years from now. Of course, I would say that the likely hood of the apocalypse going down the way it does in this film is very slim. But who cares? We're supposed to enjoy the amazing special effects and mayhem that explodes on screen...

However, there are two factors that prevent the film from being great. One is the script. Emmerich felt that since the movie was so large in scale, the storyline should be as well. Hence, we are introduced to TO MANY different characters. How can you feel a connection with anyone when there are so many of them? The film could have been more emotionally engaging if we focused on the two main families... not to mention it would have been much shorter.

Which brings me to the other problem... the length. I love epic movies as much as the next person... but if you're going to make a three hour movie, it has to earn those three hours. "2012" did not have to be a three hour movie... two hours would have been fine. If Emmerich took away half of the characters and pointless subplots... it could have been shorter, and it even would have had the potential to be a non-stop thrill ride. Alas, there are too many spots where the action and sense of urgency slows down, just so we can watch how scared and sad our 10 main characters are. It was too much.

Now to the positive side of the film. The CGI is simply spectacular! Out of all the films that depict the end of the world... the disaster scene's from this film are likely the greatest ever put on film. From the soon-to-be-classic scene where Los Angeles crumbles on top of itself, to the scene where Yellow Stone literally explodes... you will be blown away by the visuals. Towards the end, the CGI looks like something out of "The Day After Tomorrow", what with the giant tidal waves and all. But still... awesome effects. The score was also very dramatic/epic, and helped bring out the excitement in some of the sequences.

This is definitely a film that should only be viewed for the CGI. However, outside of that, it's not a great film, even with the A-list cast. The best way to view this film is in the theater so you can experience the full scale of the effects. If you don't see it in the theaters, then I would skip it out all together once it's on DVD. Just watch the Los Angeles scene on youtube or something.

My Rating: 5 out of 10