Don't expect much, but just enjoy watching the world destroyed

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2013)

I didn't remember what I had heard about this movie, but I knew from the TV listings that this was a movie about the Mayan prediction that the world would end December 21, 2012. There is the obligatory expert trying to convince those that can do something that this is a big deal. And the something they can do is prepare. This cannot be stopped. But as in the case of "The Day After Tomorrow", once it starts and cannot be stopped, it's happening too fast for anyone but a select few to survive.
And only wackos will believe it's happening. One in particular is a major focus of this movie. He is the standout performer by far, and not once before I saw the closing credits did I imagine this would be Woody Harrelson. He has too much hair to be recognizable, but still--this guy is good! With some sort of low-budget connection with the world to get his message out, he has a few followers. And he takes risks. When will he ever get another chance to see such calamity?
Danny Glover as the President gives a dignified and authoritative performance that made me think of Sidney Poitier. I knew he wasn't old enough and didn't look quite like the man.
Another standout performer is the quiet Tibetan holy man.
And of course the visual effects are nothing less than fantastic, if you had the ability to advance one frame at a time, which I didn't. It all happened too fast. And miraculously, almost every disaster happens in such a way that a main character or characters escaped JUST IN TIME! Yes, I said every disaster. This is not one disaster. This is many disasters, all over the world, happening in just a matter of days. Pick almost any world landmark (okay, that's an exaggeration--they picked about a dozen or so) and you can watch it crumble.
And then of course there are the people. Not a lot of quality performances, but a bad Lifetime movie where it just happens the world is ending. That's fine for me. I like having this dysfunctional family as a focus. A scared 7-year-old girl who is actually quite resilient. Her slightly older brother who resents that his father is no longer around, even though circumstances have sort of reunited the family. A pretty mom with an attitude. And a rich doctor whose contributions will prove invaluable. And let's not forget Dad, the hero of the whole picture--who knows how many lives he saves?
You have to look at this film with a sense of humor. For example, the couple in the supermarket is growing apart. And then, the floor cracks open and separates them--literally--and swallows the food on the shelves. Way too fast for me.
Let's not forget the obligatory speech toward the end by our other hero--the man who tried to warn everyone in positions of authority (as opposed to ordinary people, who the Glenn Beck of Yellowstone wanted to reach) but was pretty much ignored. Toward the end, he has to quickly change attitudes before the end of the world becomes something much worse (Worse? Really? Yes.). It's a corny but great moment.
This just keeps growing and growing. Just when you think it can't get any more complicated, it does. The end is very exciting, with deadlines that can't be moved, actions that have to be taken fast, with possible deadly consequences for those who do (but thousands more will die otherwise), arguments between world leaders, ethical dilemmas--you can't say it's not a thrill ride. Whether it's actually good--who cares? It's kind of scary watching everything blowing up, disappearing, thousands of unseen people surely dying, but you knew that coming in, right?
Just go with it.