2012 is a Special FX extravaganza that can not be denied. But I can’t help but feel that if they put a little more money into.. Actors and script writing, it just could have been a lot better.
The story is simple. A lot of people (stupidly) believe that the Mayan Calendar predicts the End of the World in the year 2012. Now here it comes! Solar radiation has changed and is heating the earth’s magma layer, causing the tectonic plates to destabilize. Or something like that.. Even real life scientists agree that the movie-science is preposterous. Anyways.. Failed author turned chauffeur, Jackson Curtis, due to a bunch of random meetings of crazy people with conspiracy theories and military.. and my brain hurts.. figures out that the world IS indeed about to end. And spends the rest of the movie driving thousands of miles, in a matter of hours, all over the place, to save his family.
So, the driving bit.. I want to make clear.. Camping Trip, from Los Angeles to Yellowstone.. 1300 miles. They drove it in a day? Honestly doable, but it would have taken 21 hours, non stop. Then they turn around the next day and come back… but, hey, it’s a movie, right?
During a flight, they plan to refuel in Hawaii.. but the islands are ablaze with volcanic activity.. that’s not what I take issue with. They then try to go as far as they can, and as they’re running out of fuel, they prepare to crash.. only to find that china has moved (because of the destabilization) 1500 miles to the east. Let’s think about that. The total devastation we see in a 7.5 magnitude quake.. only moves the ground a few inches. 1500 miles?? Everyone, Everything, Everywhere.. Dead. there is no exception.
Now let’s talk about our “Protagonist”, Carl Anheuser.. He’s bossy, he’s arrogant.. and he’s 100% correct in every decision he makes. Whether you like it or not.
- He decides to leave his own mother behind to make way for someone more able-bodied
- The “Arcs” are filled with the Rich and Powerful.. why? because they’re the ones funding it. Without them, humanity as a whole is dead. The Arcs would not exist without them.
- When one of the water-tight doors fail, he orders the rest of the Arcs sealed, leaving thousands to possibly die. In doing so, he would save everyone else. He had to weigh the odds.. could they fix the door, or re-locate all of these people before the tsunami arrived? He had a choice. Sacrifice a few or screw everyone. He was right.
The logic in this movie is just mindbogglingly stupid. But, if you’re looking for a good disaster show.. this is the movie for you, and one of my guilty pleasures.
