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2012 
Actors : John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson, Tom McCarthy
Director : Roland Emmerich
Studio : Sony Pictures
by Sony Pictures
Brand : SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
Release Date : 2010-03-02
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 0043396275171
UPC : 043396275171
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 451 reviews)
List Price : $28.96
Our Price : $10.89
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Adventure, Action, Science Fiction Exhilarating and Jaw dropping.
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Description |
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From Roland Emmerich, director of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and INDEPENDENCE DAY, comes the ultimate action-adventure film, exploding with groundbreaking special effects. As the world faces a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions, cities collapse and continents crumble. 2012 brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover. |
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Shoppreview.com |
Now this is how you destroy the world. Roland Emmerich's 2012 pounces on a Nostradamus-style loophole in the Mayan calendar and rams the apocalypse through it, gleefully conjuring up an enormous amount of Saturday-matinee fun in the process. A scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) detects shifting continental plates and sun flares and realizes that this foretells the imminent destruction of the planet. Just as the molten lava is about to hit the fan, a novelist (John Cusack) takes his kids on a trip to Yellowstone; later he'll hook up with his ex (Amanda Peet) and her new boyfriend (Tom McCarthy) in a global journey toward safety. If there is any safety. The suitably hair-raising plot lines are punctuated--frequently, people, frequently--by visions of mayhem around the globe: the Vatican falls over, the White House is clobbered (Emmerich's Independence Day was not enough on that score), and the California coastline dives into the Pacific Ocean. Unlike other action directors we could name, Emmerich actually understands how to let you see and drink in these vast special-effects vistas--and they are incredible. He also honors the old Irwin Allen disaster-movie tradition by actually shelling out for good actors. Cusack and Ejiofor are convincing even in the cheesiest material; toss in Danny Glover (the U.S. president), Woody Harrelson (a nut-bar conspiracy-theorizing radio host), Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt, and you've got a very watchable batch of people. Emmerich hasn't developed an ear for dialogue, even at this stage in his career, and the final act goes on a bit too long. This is a very silly movie, but if you've got a weakness for B-movie energy and hairbreadth escapes, 2012 delivers quite a bit of both. --Robert Horton
Stills from 2012 (Click for larger image) |
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A beginning to end thriller-- for its appropriate audience. |
Before I begin my review, I must introduce myself as an optimist and a very emotional, sentimental person who usually prefers happy endings. I cry at episodes of cartoon shows, and I tend to become very emotionally invested in anything I watch or read. Despite this, I have a soft spot for disaster movies, the more over the top the better. I went into this movie already having enjoyed Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, but unsure how I would receive this. The trailer wowed me, but I was unsure if I could handle a film of this magnitude.
The title of my review ought to speak for itself: far too many come into this film expecting something that is obviously not part of the Roland Emmerich-disaster-film package deal. You ought to know by now that this is Hollywood: there will be contrived coincidences, bogus science and one-in-a-million-chance events happening every time they need to for the purpose of the story. I pity those who snookered themselves into expecting anything less, and do sincerely hope they find the perfectly realistic, even-tempered and dead-serious film about global apocalypse they seemed to have come looking for, even if it hasn't been made yet.
I'll begin with the story: It's an adequate vehicle to carry what we all came to see: the world as we know it coming to an end. As I said, I tend to be sentimental, so I teared up at parts, but most probably will not. The characters are, at least, an interesting array of players and most of the ones that we intimately get to know throughout the film will survive through to the end (I'm also not big on character death, so this was fortunate for me). In addition, Emmerich, fortunately, must have heard the legendary Alfred Hitchcock proclaim that even when you're writing drama and suspense, one must, while winding up the viewer tighter and tighter, let them a little loose with a joke otherwise you'll wind them too tight. Now, this is paraphrased, but my point is is that I appreciated the sporadic, but generally well-placed use of the occasional one-liner to let a little tension out. The pacing of the movie left a little to be desired, as while the film got to the action quickly and delivered relentless one-two punches of scenes of destruction and the "ark" scenes were good, the epilogue was far too short, and I ended up wanting a little more exposition on the future of mankind.
The science, or lack thereof, behind the movie: Who cares? It's a film. I happen to be a big fan of science, but one should never let it get in the way of a fun story. Moving on.
The special effects: Generally, they're well done but can be rather overwhelming. Although, I suppose that was to be expected. Most of the best scenes of destruction were in the trailers, so if you've seen those, you've probably seen most of them. Still, don't let that discourage you: it really is how the scenes are framed that provide much of their impact. It is a decent example of stunning visuals supplemented by the writing behind it. The scenes that existed were stunning, but I couldn't help being hungry for a bit more.
The score: I'm a bit of a music geek, so I tend to comment on a film's score as one of my first reactions to seeing it. At all times, the score was appropriate and adequately written, but rarely provided anything exceptional or out of the ordinary for a film score of this variety. It earns a passing grade, certainly, as it does what any film score is meant to do: to elevate the emotions behind the visuals and the writing.
To sum up, any viewer coming into this film really ought to know what to and what not to expect. If you know what to expect, and what you're expecting is what you're hoping to see, you will not be disappointed. |
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Skip it. |
I was in the mood for a wild, special effects extravaganza - but I didn't know I'd be renting this bomb of writing, directing, and choice special effects.
The director is Roland Emmerich - you'll know him for 'excellent' fare such as Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, The Day After Tomorrow (only Roland would make a global-warming movie about the earth freezing!), and so on. What these movies all have in common is an incredibly-hard-to-swallow over-the-top Karmic irony which sees bad character punished by random, action-oriented coincidence. Horrific disaster is treated like a sort of wonder-of-nature amazement (drinking game: every time they say something like, "you gotta see this!"). You can see the special effect coming from a mile away! The dramatic irony isn't subtle or thought-provoking, it's just obnoxious. One of these days, one of Roland Emmerich's films is going to come true, and he's going to rightfully say, "YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!" |
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MAYAN PROPHECY MEETS HAB THEORY PLUS BAD SCIENCE |
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The theory of shifting crusts is not new, but if it did occur, the theory also states that the crust shifts around certain centers which will be unaffected by the shift. Mutating neutrinos? What is that? Once you get by the gibberish, you get into a bad script. The actors did what they could to save it, but when the script goes south, Cusack couldn't carry the load. There are long drawn out ridiculous scenes where Cusack barely saves his family as the world collaspes only inches behind him. Limos and Winnebagos do not handle like NASCARs. Woody Harrelson as a modern day conspiracy prophet gave us some good moments, they should have killed off Cusack instead and kept him. This movie plays on the hype of 2012. It is for suckers. |
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Popcorn + End of World = Emmerich |
Years ago, when Independence Day came out this end-of-the-world genre was mind blowing for me. Now it is what you expect from director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and Godzilla): paper-thin story sets up massive destruction and devastation across the world, while one small group struggles to survive. If you arent familiar with the genre this movie probably isnt for you. For the rest of us who know what to expect the movie performs well.
Who cares about 2012? Who cares about Danny Glover or the scientist that was so important to me that I can't even remember his name? Who cares, really, about John Cusack, who after a while you start to feel that maybe he would be Better Off Dead. (I couldn't resist!) What people who watch this film care about is seeing the world get destroyed. (As an aside, I believe that Emmerich's goal is to cinematically show every major city or landmark destroyed in one his films - and I was glad to see Los Angeles get the treatment this time.)
Get some popcorn and clear 2 hours for a complete waste of time. In a good way. |
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Mass murder, beautifully rendered |
We all know the plot by now: the world as we know it ends by 2012. Exactly why or how it ends is irrelevant - it ends and Roland Emmerich has used this opportunity to combine every one of his previous disaster movies into one big orgy of destruction.
2012 takes two divergent paths: that of the people in power (the upper class) and that of everyday folks just trying to get along (the middle class). John Cusack is Jackson Curtis, author of a prophetic book titled Farewell Atlantis, has fallen far short of his dreams. He's a limo driver for a Russian billionaire, is divorced from his wife, and estranged from his kids. Calamity strikes while Curtis is on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park with his kids, and it just so happens that he finds a prophet of the apocalypse (Charlie Frost, played by Woody Harrelson) Park is the site of a government coverup. Armed with a map of the elites' plan for survival, Curtis returns home to rescue his wife from certain doom by driving a limo across gaping chasms, through collapsing buildings, and around thousands of dead bodies.
Sorry, did we not mention the dead bodies? With all the talk of how fun and exciting the special effects are in 2012, it's easy to miss that the film depicts thousands of people dying. They fall off boats, plunge out of buildings, get hit by cars, are crushed by tsnumais, and burned by explosions. They are all displayed in tiny, minute detail by Emmerich's special effects team. This is mass murder, beautifully rendered.
Meanwhile, the heads of state from around the world plan to escape - not by spaceship, but by ark, just like Noah. The American President (Danny Glover) acquits himself admirably but his minions do not, and it's a dog eat dog battle as politicians vie for dominance over the military. There's also the matter of having to buy a ticket to get on the arks, fewer than planned because the apocalypse came a bit earlier than expected. The irony is that the only country capable of marshalling this level of manufacturing might is China.
2012 seems to run out of ideas about halfway through and then just starts recycling them. There isn't one but two races for survival as improbable vehicles jump gaping chasms (first a camper, than a limo). There isn't one but two planes escaping from collapsing ground and dodging falling debris. 2012 has one shtick - escape by the skin of your teeth - and plays it over and over.
When that gets tiresome, and without the special effects on the big screen it gets tiresome quickly, issues are invented. The improbable climax in the ark rivals the stupidity of everything that's gone before, including: a huge gear that powers a titanic door getting stuck by a power cord, the ark is built so that "if its doors aren't closed the engine won't start," and the fact that, in light of a scientist's plea to treat the unruly masses left behind more ethically, even more die as a result of his altruism.
Emmerich has a point to make, and he makes it by blowing up religious and political icons everywhere. The President won't save you. America won't save you. Even God won't save you. The only thing that will save you is a little luck, a lot of perseverance, and Roland Emmerich as your director.
This isn't really a film so much as a series of set pieces. Every disaster is choreographed in slow motion so we can take in every detail. As a special effects demo it's great, but as a movie it's merely mediocre. |
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