Year of release: 2009
Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Thomas McCarthy, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Liam James, Morgan Lily, Beatrice Rosen
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Synopsis:Roland Emmerich is back and with him a new example of big spectacle and special effects. After the dismal "10000 BC", "2012" follows more the vein of his other film "The Day After Tomorrow" that chronicled the events of a new Ice Age on Earth. "2012" is very similar to "The Day After Tomorrow" in the sense that it follows a shift of the planet's core and how that changes the magnetism that holds the planet and the tsunamis and earthquakes that follow. The film focuses on the family of divorced father Jackson Curtis and also on Adrian Helmsley, a scientist who raises the alarm to the American Government of the upcoming meltdown. Curtis accidentally becomes aware of the impending destruction of the planet when camping with his children upon which they all try to flee the big cities and head towards China where there's salvation waiting. The film makes no excuses for what it wants to present. It comes in the line of destroy films from the 70s, namely "Earthquake" which featured big stars and bigger special effects and set pieces. Where "2012" really fails is the quality of it's screenplay. It's all about recycled stories who have been seen over and over again, cliche-ridden dialogue and some mediocre acting. The special effects also oscillate between state of the art and some who just look plainly cheesy. John Cusack doesn't do much, neither does Thandie Newton or Chiwetel Ejiofor. To sum it up, "2012" is not as dreadful as Emmerich's previous film, but not much better.
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