|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
2012 |
  |
|
Roland Emmerich's last film was "10,000 BC" in early 2008. It, like most of his
films, was preceded by much publicity and pomp. It was also a dud. Before that he helmed "The Day After Tomorrow" which posed a like
scenario for the end of the world as we know it. It was interesting with the giant hurricanes freezing everyone
except for a few people who huddled in a library burning books. Beyond that, it was only interesting. It
failed to stir the imagination enough to get the teeming millions to stop global warming. It also didn't make much money. Emmerich also gave us "Godzilla" in 1998 and "Independence Day" in 1996.
Of all of his disaster movies, only "Independence Day" stands out - of course many would argue it was because
of Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum |
|
|
|
|
|
Now here comes Emmerich again with yet another end of the world
scenario, "2012". This time it's not because of global warming, aliens form outer space, monsters from the deep
or jitter came from Hollywood. "2012" is based on the fact that the Mayan calender happens to end in 2012. That is bolstered by the galactic alignment that will put
maximum pressure on the Earths crust - due to all the planets conspiring to whack us all. Scientist foresee
all this and have prepared a special place to put a select few - high in the Himalayas in "Arks". So we have about thirty minutes of build up and then 2+ hours of CGI effects. |
|
|
|
|
|
Consistent with previous films, Emmerich doesn't mess around. No
UNESCO World Heritage Site is spared. Everything is destroyed! I enjoyed watching the Sisteen Chapel get split right bewteen God and Adam.
Who doesn't like seeing the Empire State Building and Washington DC get wiped. I mean we all know that if a disaster is heading to Earth, it would
be unwise to be on the East coast. Much like his previous films, Emmerich focuses on a few folk. There is
Jackson and Kate Curtis (John Cusack and Amanda Peet) as the everyday people who will dodge every kind of bullet to
survive til the next scene. Then there is the important folk headed by President Wilson (Danny Glover) and his
Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) whose main interest is to save the rich folk. "2012" was inspired in part by the book Footprints of the Gods, a sci-fi novel
that cites Charles Hapgood's 1958 theory of Earth Crust Displacement. And that is what we get. Crust flying everywhere. During the course of
the crust displacement, a whacked out prophet with his own radio show named Charlie Frost "Woody Harrelson"
sits inside Yellowstone National Park broadcasting a play by play of the disaster. His is the same part as Randy
Quaid in "Independence Day".
The Jacksons meanwhile avoid getting crushed consistantly - whle everyone else in the
world croaks. But will they make it to the "Ark"? Do we care? Unlike Irwin Allen, the late great true master of disaster,
Emmerich fails once again to get us even slightly interested in the paper thin characters. He convolutes story line with
special effects. "2012" is not boring; it's just very shallow. There will be tons of folk who will love 2012 - they are the same people who made
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" a major money maker this year. They basically like things that go bang. Okay, send them to Afghanistan and let them indulge themselves. But please,
lets try to use the next $250 million given to Roland Emmerich for a real film. --GEOFFREY BURTON
|
|
