A disaster film with a great sense of humor.

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2010)

Roland Emmerich has created a comic gem in 2012. He not only directed, he co-wrote it, with Harold Closer,He was (as all good directors are) very much involved in the music & editing as well as the special effects.
He fully realized that even tho the subject matter (global warming will eventually destroy us); a careful rational screenplay would not satisfy the the demands of an audience raised on special effects. He did create a screenplay full of humor & still had awesome special effects depicting the end of the world as we know it.
There have been a few films over the years about an ensuing apocalypse, Most of them were plain stupid, & utterly without any feeling of enjoyment.
NOTE: A DISASTER SPECIAL EFFECT LADEN FILM IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN.
We cannot take this type movie seriously.
What you need is a cast of some familiar faces, some new faces and who are for the most part all likable people. PLUS one standout role.(preferably near the beginning of film).
Woody Harrelson fits this role to a T. His role is a gem & it sets the the tone, of not taking the re of the film too seriously.
I for one was able to sit back & enjoy myself,I knew many of these nice people (in the cast & some others) would survive & the world would be saved.
The spirited, well acted & defined cast stars John Cusack & he is ably supported by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton,Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet,& Danny Glover, among others.
The special effects are fantastic, as one would expect.
The running time is a FAST 158 minutes., On the DVD there are a few good extras as well. This is not a masterpiece, just great entertainment & that is what we go to see movies for. AT LEAST I DO.
Ratings: *** (out of 4) 89 points(out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10)