Movie Review: 2012

By FOX43tv.com's Film Reviewer, Stephanie Cooke

Watch the trailer!

As a film critic, I know what to look for in the nuts and bolts of movie making. I like to pick apart a movie and see how it came together and whether or not the director did it well. Once in awhile a movie comes along that makes me want to overlook the less than spectacular special effects, the not-so-great acting, and the preposterous predicaments the characters find themselves in. That happened to me with Armageddon and again with 2012 . The difference is that I get to live in the Armageddon scenario and not so much in the 2012 storyline.

2012 is built on the premise that the world as we know it will no longer exist because of heating neutrinos. It all starts with massive solar flairs in 2009. The heating below the surface causes the earth's crust to shift massively in 2012 . Cue death and destruction and the most implausible escaping death sequences I have seen in a movie in a long time.

World leaders collaborate to save choice things on the planet in an elaborate plan spanning three years that is leaked to almost no one! And the people who know about it and try to talk are killed. But in the age of twitpics and facebook status updates? Are you kidding? Not one picture is leaked from this massive undertaking? Peeshaw!

Then there are the human elements. There's the geologist trying to warn the world of impending doom, only to end up falling for the President of the United States' daughter; and there's the writer (John Cusack) trying to reconnect with his kids post divorce and realizing the ex-wife's new boyfriend is honing in on the dad territory.  

The writer puts two and two together with the end of the world scenario and begins to understand what's happening. He sets his family, including the boyfriend ,on a path to intintercepthe plan" and save their lives. They defy death so many times it is crazy!

Let's talk about the acting: Danny Glover plays the President and I was so disappointed. He was just not good here. John Cusack not so strong. Amanda Peet had some almost good scenes. Woody Harrelson had an interesting part as the guy screaming government conspiracy that everybody thinks is crazy. The only acting worth really noting is the evil side of Oliver Platt as the President's Chief of Staff.

I was disappointed in some of the special effects.  Some were ridiculously insulting to an audience that's become acuaccustomed only the most realistic stuff.   This is like bits and pieces of all the doomsday, disaster flicks that have come before it rolled into one mega doomsday movie.  You could say it was a best of for Director Roland Emmerich.  After all, this is the Director who brought us such disaster films as Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and Godzilla. 

If you like adequate explosions and edge-of-your-seat action, you'll probably like 2012.  There are a lot of vehicles crashing and buildings falling and earth cracking and shifting, there's even a ship rolling over. Seems like every major landmark is destroyed in the film.  It's one-of-those-large-than-life, can't-believe-it's-happening kind a movies.  But when it's all said and done it comes down to humanity.  And ohhhh the humanity.  There are speeches on humanity that are so cliche you have to roll your eyes!

It sounds like I hated 2012 .  But actually I didn't.  I let go of the movie critic for much of the movie and just sat in it.  I became engrossed in the story and in the end, I was satisfied.   Movie-goers will love it enough to put it at the top of the box office until Twilight: New Moon hits theaters.