The Trailer was a Masterpiece - The Movie, not quite

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2009)

When I first saw the Teaser for this film (way back in July), I had a feeling that this could turn out to be a masterpiece. The second trailer released later only seemed to strengthen my beliefs. It's only when I saw the five-minute clip that I started having my doubts - after all, I was seeing a scene play out from the movie (almost) exactly the way it was meant to be seen. My doubts were confirmed as I watched this movie today (as a matter of fact, I'm writing this review just an hour after I saw the film).
There's very little of a premise or plot here (which, though expected, is disappointing). An American scientist learns from his Indian friend that the Earth's crust is heating up and proceeds to warn the White House about the same. The U.S. President, together with the heads of the other nations chalk out a plan to assure the survival and existence of human species. Meanwhile we have Jackson Curtis, a writer cum limo driver who is going through a troubled relationship with his wife and kids. After some initial build up (as is the case with all of Emmerich's disaster films), the world starts coming to an end.
From here on, the film becomes more of a CGI spectacle with Curtis and his family escaping one disaster after another. And therein lies one of the fundamental flaws in the movie. The family manages to make many nail-biting escapes (as is visible in the five-minute clip) which, after a while becomes a bit tedious to watch. Sure Emmerich tries to make up for it by killing off some characters (which I would rather not reveal) but by then, you've already lost most of your interest.
Also, there's not much of a back story behind the doomsday and build-up to the D-day becomes a tad too predictable. It would have interesting to have got some more insight into the end-of-the-world prophesies. It almost feels as if the actors are trying too hard to be serious while none of it transfers to the viewer.
The performances come across as average although I really liked John Cusack as Jackson Curtis as the writer - limo driver. The effects are quite well executed and although at times you can make out it's CGI, I believe it is still the main reason why most of the people are seeing the film (and it better be the only one).
On the whole, although I liked the movie as a whole, I really hoped for it to be better (at least as compared to Emmerich's previous disaster flicks). Perhaps Roland's insecurity after 10,000 BC prompted him to cram this movie with as many effects as possible which makes it nothing more than an apparent excuse to make a disaster flick. So I suggest those who can be quenched by VFX alone, go for it. Expecting anything different would only be a disappointment for you.
Score:6.0/10