Roland's last disaster movie...a good one.

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2009)

In my opinion, director Roland Emmerich has not had a good streak of movies lately, such as "10,000 B.C." and "The Day After Tomorrow". But on a day I had nothing better to do, I decided to go see his "2012" on the big screen just for the kicks and to my surprise, I enjoyed this movie, and not just for the visual effects.
The screenwriters didn't just write page after page, "big explosions" and "humans running for their lives". There's some breathing room for likable characters and a somewhat interesting story. Yes, the story is unrealistic, but it is somehow believable, like it was in "Independence Day". And the fact that I cared for the characters, even feeling sad when many of them died, makes it a good film.
But the one thing that this film made me wonder is, if the world was coming to an end, would our government tell us? Unlike in "Independence Day", where the nation's government is depicted as the leading protagonist in the fight for survival, they are depicted as deceitful liars who only care for their own skin. The protagonists in this film are a combination of ordinary people: a middle-class family, a wealthy Russian and his mistress, two Jazz performers, an Indian Scientist and others. I found this rather interesting, the underdogs are where our sympathy lies.
Overall, "2012" isn't a bad movie. I wouldn't be antagonized by the 2.5+ hour length, for the film flies by. There are great action sequences, thrills, an interesting plot (though I think some more back story to the whole Mayan prophecy would've helped a bit), and the majority of the cast did a decent job. Each actor made themselves a character, and above all, they each express the fear of trying to survive and its uselessness against complete world destruction.
My rating: *** out of ****
Roland Emmerich says this his last disaster movie. If it is, it's a good ending.