Plausible, fun and clever

Rating: 9/10 (22 September 2010)

2012
Most of us are already acquainted with the theory of our planet going POP in the Winter Solstice of 2012, and for those of us who aren't, this film will certainly let you know. I was looking very forward to this film, and had doubts that it would be as bad as some critics said. I was right. Which is a first.
To truly admire this film as much as I have, you have to take away the layers and layers of exciting and beautifully orchestrated sequences of destruction, and look deep into the message that it leaves. But even if you can't be bothered to scan all 158 minutes of it in depth, it still makes a great popcorn film to watch at midnight if you want to be entertained. After showing this film to numerous amounts of people who thought it would be bad, they ended up enjoying it.
I personally am a big fan of Roland Emmerich films because of how charismatic and imaginative he is. And that's just what you get in the film too. Unlike its predecessor, 2012 doomsday, this film has a backed-up plot and naturally explains what is going on. It's so easy when making a film like this to get carried away with blowing things up that you completely forget to explain to the audience what is going on, and Roland has been careful to avoid writing a pointless film. It begins by explaining what could happen, and why. And Roland actually bothered to do his research too! The dates and disasters in the film are consistent with those in the prophecies, and I don't just mean the end-of-the-world date! From the word go I knew it would be good, and it just kept getting better.
Everything in this film actually happens for a reason, and it all flows well leading from one even into the next without losing continuity of having unrealistic timing. And the best thing about this film is it actually shows emotion and true Human aspects. We see order turn to chaos, greed, and self-centred behaviour. We see those who think it's all a conspiracy and those who want to help others. Essentially, we see the breakdown in Humanity. This film contains scarily accurate Human nature. Then we have the Governments, who are collaborating to build and ark (there are references to Noah's Ark in this, as the main character's son is called Noah), but want to keep the evidence of the end-of-the-world secret from the public as to not create chaos, and trying to silence those who are trying to make it public. In fact, the way the Government and everyone acts in this is extremely plausible and realistic.
The acting was also brilliant, with some very good supporting cast to add depth. Liam James played Noah Curtis amazingly with a great range of facial expressions, as he does in all other projects he works on. Amanda Peet (who I've been told makes very nice Maple Syrup pancakes) also does very well. We are provided with a wide range of different characters.
The thing I most enjoyed about this film is the suspense. The film doesn't follow trends, making it more exciting and original. I was on the edge of my seat watching this, enjoying all of the fun and action packed sequences. The only thing that could be criticised is the amount of lucky escapes, but this doesn't matter as it's still a well-crafted and enjoyable film for all the family to watch. It's had plenty of bad reviews, but only from people who either looks too deep, or too shallow.