2012-overhyped, under researched & total waste of space

Rating: 1/10 (14 November 2009)

So...I saw the 5 min 21 sec trailer on You Tube in HD, I watched that and thought, wow, from the maker of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, this is gonna be good. HOW WRONG WAS I! I drove down the coast to Miramar Cinemas, Malaga, Spain in anticipation. 3 of us had bought our tickets on-line to see the "V.O" version, ("Version Original") so, no subtitles in Spanish, just the film as it came from the distributor. There are versions called "V.O.S" (Version Original Subtitulado) - Subtitled in Spanish. As there are many English speaking people living in these parts, the theatre was quite full, all ages settled down and then the experience began. The opening scene includes an opening caption which is in the original film, placing us at present day, HOWEVER, the film had Spanish subtitles under that caption - IRRITATING, which will be very obvious later. My friend sat next to me asked what it was about, and I told him the film was based on prophecies and the Mayan Calendar, and we settled back to watch. My first issue, as is with most of these films, is why STILL after all that happened on September 11th, do American Studios STILL put the main film build up or explanations of things from a very biased US stand point. After 911 I would have thought the US would have "got it" as to why they were attacked - FOR ARROGANCE, yet here we get a portrayal of a 2009 where the US ONCE again is the policeman of the world, the wise older brother to the rest of the world, made out to look like morons. IRRITATED me intensely. The US President (a black one which I liked) of course is in charge and Europe as minions listen to instruction and do as they are told, as do Japan and China - IRRITATING. I was sitting waiting for some sort of scientific accuracy as to what happens in Tectonic movements, but they came up with some ridiculous "Nuclear" or "Neutrino" ray activity to penetrate the Earth, this weakening its core - RUBBISH. We move on swiftly to 2010 and now things have moved on way too fast with some kind of special vessels being built in a secret location, kept secret from the world. A world which is 2010 has such things as Twitter and MySpace as good communication tools, yet we are supposed to think that 8 massive structures being built somewhere secret will remain that way in this day and age when Iran's near revolution was broken on Twitter - IRRITATING. All the scientists are scurrying around building their humanity saving transport, with no regard to cost, that is just explained away as a "rich Russian" and a couple of caricature "Arabs" paid for the construction of these vessels - IRRITATING. The way this film just explains things so simply was MADDENING! John Cusack is a divorced man working as a chauffeur for rich, yes, you got it, Russians", how convenient. He slowly begins to see strange uttering between the privileged few who have "bought" their way onto these vessels for Salvation and wants to find out more. So, naturally he goes with his 2 kids to Yellowstone Park in his truck for a camping overnighter, he strays into a previously free to the public area, now fenced off, he jumps over the fence with absolutely no security there to stop him and wander into what was once a lake area. Here he is apprehended and meets the main Scientist who conveniently has read one of his books - IRRELEVANT - now is apparent to the plot is completely awash with errors and forgotten loose ends that aren't tied up in any way later on in the "film". Why bring things in if they had no intention of developing the fact that John Cusack's character was a rather under rated author, after this mention, the matter of him being an author and actually a chauffeur as a supplementary job, goes out the window - PLOT IRRITATION.