The apocalyptic fantasy may seem like an extremely dire genre at face value--after
all, what weirdo would want to watch a movie about the end of the world? Yet,
when you dig deeper, the ’end of the world’ film genre actually satisfies a need.
When you get right down to it, every sentient being who’s alive on this planet
is facing a dire apocalypse of their own: their death, which they know is coming,
and can’t be avoided. Part of the problem with death--other than the fact that
we end--is that the world will continue right merrily on without us, and that
really sucks. But the apocalyptic fantasy, by showing the death of a civilization,
offers a certain measure of satisfaction by having people who still survive on
their own. Outliving a civilization is probably the closest taste of immortality
people will ever have.
2012, director Roland Emmerich’s latest bombastic broadside on the box office,
takes the hysteria surrounding the Mayan Calendar--which stops in the year
2012--and runs with it. And Roland (who co-wrote the script) pretty much throws
in everything but the kitchen sink. John Cusack stars as a failed writer who’s
working as a limo driver--which is a great thing, because it’s Johnny’s mad
driving skills that wind up saving his family (along with Gordon, the geek that
Kate, his ex-wife, married). According to 2012, limousines are invincible, as we
see Cusack driving his limo through a rapidly crumbling LA in the midst of the
Big One--even driving straight through an office building that collapsed in his
way. And later in the film, when the supervolcano that’s disguised as
Yellowstone National Park finally blows its top, it’s an RV that takes the place
of the limo, and the RV proves to be just as invulnerable as it dodges flaming
chunks of Wyoming.
The level of disbelief extends even to a relatively calm scene with Amanda Peet’s
Kate and Thomas McCarthy’s Gordon in a supermarket. Gordon laments that there is
a divide growing in their relationship, just before the ground cracks open
between them (*groan*). And did I mention that Cusack’s onscreen son is named
Noah--in a film where he and his family race to get themselves on board an ark?
Cute, Roland…real cute…. At least the dude seems to be having fun. But what can
you expect from a film that hangs its entire premise on the relentless Mayan
Calendar hype, for which there is no real cause for alarm? After all, if the
Mayans were so supposedly adept at predicting the end of the world in 2012, then
why couldn’t they foresee the demise of their own civilization?
2012 is basically your classic dopey popcorn film that fondly recalls the
equally silly Irwin Allen disaster flicks from several decades ago. But although
the overall script and dialogue is very lame, the special effects in 2012 are
far superior to anything that Allen had, and they make 2012 enjoyable to
watch--especially on a big screen, high def TV. There are several good set
pieces to watch with your favorite brand of popcorn, such as the aforementioned
earthquake in LA, and the supervolcano--not to mention the climatic disaster at
the end. Who knew the world coming to an end would be so much fun? And who cares
about the multitude of people dying in the background, as long as our stars--and
that cute Pekinese dog--are safe and sound, right? Just put your brain on
autopilot, switch off your critical thinking, and you’ll enjoy all the cheap
thrills that 2012 has to offer.
--SF
Main Review Page | Fantasy Reviews |Buy 2012 on DVD Here
