Blah!

Rating: 5/10 (15 November 2009)

I really got to stop wasting my time and money on these kinda crapfests. I mean, I guess I deserve it. What was I expecting? The Dark Knight? But still, I had actually liked one of Emmerich's earlier movies, Independence Day. At least that had charming characters you rooted for.
This one was simply a CGI fest, and not too good also I felt. Somehow the effect of the world getting destroyed was just not there. This is what too much of CGI can do. Or it probably is just a vindication of the fact that no matter how much special effects you have, you cannot replace a good script and good acting.
I don't want to give the impression that I'm some sort of art house fanatic or that Cusack and Ejiofor are bad actors. I loved movies like the recent Star Trek and The Dark Knight. Its just that these guys were plain cheesy and over the top in this one. For starters, why the heck are we rooting for Cusacks family when the rest of humanity is going under? There is hardly any connect with the characters, which is required in this kind of flick which focuses on a group of survivors. I can get past the clichés of Cusack and co. escaping from every danger in the nick of time with hardly plausible scenarios. But this was plain bad. Even the supposedly "deep" scene between two monks near the Himalayas somewhere seemed laughably funny. Something about emptying your head and all. Yea, makes sense, if you want to enjoy this movie.
I guess I should not be ranting when it was pretty obvious what will be in the movie. But it is sad when these kind of fare make hundreds of millions and genuinely felt movies hardly rake in anything. I think I will be giving Emmerich's movies a break for some time now. Add that to the Michael Bay list (unless of course, he makes another Bad Boys, which by the sheer force of Will Smith's and Martin Lawrence's charm actually is quite enjoyable).