A highly exaggerated, unrealistic mess!!

Rating: 5/10 (14 November 2009)

When I exited the theater, I said to myself....REALLY?? Was this a film about the world ending in 2012 or was this a film about how 10 different close-call escapes from death are filmed and executed? I mean come on..seriously! I really cannot stand when close-call escapes are done, so out of of touch with the real world, that it makes me shake my head in such disbelief. I know it's a movie, but please...this looked like a roller-coaster ride, not a movie. Can a car escaping death and destruction by driving through a collapsing building as it's falling down and come out practically unscathed with no terror or expression by it occupants?? Or bridges falling around them or fireballs raining around them without the true human drama or scared facial expressions / crying..etc..?? Or heavy motor homes jumping 20 foot wide chasms in the earth, like its no big deal to them?? This isn't nail-biting action scenes, it's pure STUPIDITY on Hollywood's part and it shows!! How about the fear and chaos of the world ending...NONE shown by the general U.S. population or even world population for that matter.
All we saw, is squabbling by government commanders, little kids worried more about where their divorced father is constantly and some little mutt doing a high wire act to be re-united with it's owner.
This movie had no suspense in it at all..it was just drama about how the main characters can survive 2012...nevermind the 300 million others that live in the USA and what they were doing to prep for the world's end.
As for the actual disaster scenes..too short, not enough end-of-the-world destruction scenes. Each scene would begin and then cut out to what the main characters were doing instead...arguing, squabbling, doing unrealistic scenes and talking to each other about non-essential things, except what was occurring around them...the world ending, the earthquakes, the tsunamis..I mean WHO THE HECK cares about some stupid divorce??? in the middle of "supposedly" end of the world chaos? I didn't even feel for the characters....except the President staying behind and the trapped mom on the ark. Titanic was very moving, this was not.
The only thing that saves this movie into something halfway decent is the special effects....but once again, not enough disaster scenes were shown in continuity.
The special effects (CGI) were outstanding, the overall story and idea was good, the acting...just OK, the escapes scenes....far too excessive and very, very unrealistic and totally unnecessary in this film. When will you learn Hollywood?? It was not what I expected for an end-of-the-world film. Sorry! A generous 5 out of 10.