2012

Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Action, Science Fiction
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: As the 2012 end date of the Mayan calendar approaches, physical forces threaten to destroy the Earth- and all of humankind.

Review:

Tim: Roland Emmerich is a director that either creates terrific movies (Independence Day, The Patriot, The Day After Tomorrow), or weak, disappointing ones (Godzilla, 10,000 B.C.). I love him for his successes, and I can tolerate the misfires. With 2012, he decided to do his last disaster movie- and to make it the biggest, end all disaster movie he could. And, truthfully, it would be hard to create a bigger disaster movie than this- Emmerich sets his sights on no less than destroying all of civilization. Unfortunately, this is not a great movie. Sadly, 2012 belongs in his misstep list.

I believe that Emmerich got so caught up in the actual disasters themselves, that he forgot to spend enough time crafting multidimensional, realistic characters. He got some great actors to play the parts, but the characters themselves were wholly underwhelming. The disaster scenes in his best film are great because we care about the characters caught in the middle of them. Here, it is extraordinarily difficult to care or get invested. This is the biggest, most fatal flaw of the film.

This is unfortunate, because the disasters are pretty amazing. We have California basically crumble into the ocean, see a supervolcano explode with remarkable power, unstoppable tsunamis, and the destruction of many of the world' landmarks, including the White House, Brazil's Christ the Redeemer, the Vatican, and others. The sheer volume of destruction Emmerich brings to this film is impressive. He basically set out to destroy everything. The special effects are incredible, and something to behold.

Regrettably, the characters are what ruin this film. I was so excited to have John Cusack star in a Roland Emmerich movie. Indeed, he is often the best part of the film. I really enjoyed his Jackson Curtis character, although I wish he was better developed and less of a movie cliche. Cusack does a good job, but it also felt like he knew this movie wasn't going to be a classic, so he held something back.

Amanda Peet was a good choice for Cusack's ex-wife, although she was given very little to do. She was almost an afterthought. I didn't care for the whole dynamic between Cusack, his ex, and their kids. We've seen the whole "bad" dad redeems himself with his kids plot in War of the Worlds, and it didn't particularly work there. It isn't great here, either.

The rest of the supporting cast have even weaker characters. Plus, there were so many different characters crammed into this movie that not enough time was given to develop any of them. I really didn't like the stupid Russian or his brat kids, and yet, we have to suffer through screen time with them, which takes us away from time for better, more interesting characters. This is a big flaw. I really like Chiwetel Ejiofor, and he does a very good job. I thought his character could have been stronger, and it felt like he was pulled in differen directions, with a pointless subplot about his father in one direction, and a potential love interest in another. Ejiofor could have been the best part of this movie, but the weak writing hurt him.

Thandie Newton and Danny Glover were fine as the First Daughter and the U.S. President, but again, neither character was fully developed. I liked their performances, but I couldn't care about their characters. I wasn't invested in them at all. Oliver Platt was fine- I suppose films like this need an unlikable character, although I was surprised how he started out only borderline unlikable, but got worse and worse as the movie went on. Woody Harrelson was enjoyable in a small role, and he certainly had some fun hamming it up. While the cast is great, there are too many characters, preventing any of them from fully developing. This is hugely disappointing.

I understand that being a Roland Emmerich fan requires that you ride out the disappointments to get the classics. This film could have been terrific, but I admit was disappointing. Even still, this movie does give us some memorable, amazing moments. Perhaps my favorite is the greatest actor-outrunning-an-explosion moment in movie history. John Cusack doesn't just outrun an explosion- he outruns the violent eruption of a supervolcano. Classic. Thank you, Roland Emmerich. Unfortunately, in 2012, the great moments are outweighed by the weak ones. After a string of great movies, Emmerich has now had two missteps in a row. I am expecting his next film to get him back on track.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 1408, Identity, Deep Impact