The ultimate disaster film!

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2009)

I've recently watched 2012 during a press screening in Ramt Gan, Israel - and it's everything you can expect from a movie like this. The special effects are top notch. So breathtaking, intense and gripping that at times I found myself sitting at the edge of my seat. The main premise is the usual mix, with a family, a scientist and the president of the United States all struggling to make it through the end of the Earth. The latter two stories are filled with clichés and very predictable. However, I did feel emotionally connected to the angle regarding John Cusack and his on screen family's struggle to survive - and since they were the main focus of the story anyway, it worked well in my book. Also, throughout the film there is an incredible sense of urgency, which contributed greatly to the build up.
The story is your basic end-of-the-world chaos thingy. This time around, the Earth's crusts are shifting - causing earthquakes and volcano eruptions on a global scale, followed by unfriendly tsunami waves. The governments of the world have some sort of a solution, in the shape of giant ships located in China (not spoiling anything here, this is said from the beginning of the film and is indicated in the trailer as well), and the movie follows the family's journey towards their destination, en route to China. As expected, they manage to flee and escape most of the horrific events happening around them and stay intact. Meanwhile, we get to see most of the world's biggest iconic monuments get destroyed in vivid ways - including The White House, the Jefferson Memorial, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the Vatican in Rome and many many more.
As indicated earlier, a main reason the film worked for me was the emotional connection I felt towards some of the characters. The cast here is top notch, including some recognizable actors like Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet - and of course, John Cusack. The cast seemed as if they were having a great time shooting this film, including some necessary tongue-in-cheek implications. Never the less, many philosophical and emotional elements of redemption and survival of the fittest were also added into the mix - making 2012 a better film than it had the right to be. Sometimes, one might even forget that the chances these events will all happen at once are small at best. Now, if only the clichés were a bit less over-the-top and the premise less predictable, this could have been one hell of a masterpiece. But then again, even when 2012 doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, it's still one hell of a roller coaster ride – and an excellent winter blockbuster to close the year with.