2012 – Roland Emmerich

First Review:I think people judge these movies very unfairly. It surprises me when a movie like 2012 comes along and it's ripped apart before it's even released. "This movie's gonna blow, it's two and a half hours of things blowing up." I have to play back the sentence in my mind and figure out what was negative about that concept. These movies are meant to be fun, and usually nothing more than that.

I say "usually" because sometimes you get a movie that has absolutely no other reason to exist than to make things explode and momentarily lower your IQ (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Single-Disc Edition) is out now. Fun movie.) but occasionally you get something like 2012, which not only offers the calculated mayhem that fans of the action genre desire, but it also offers a surprisingly deep philosophical undertone. Go figure, right?

The movie opens with a fifteen minute montage that sets up the events that will eventually transpire on 2012, and gives us a look at the backroom dealings that occur in the wake of this disturbing discovery concerning the fate of humanity. Once that's over with, the movie picks up rather quickly, introducing us to the main character, Jackson Curtis, his more-than-dysfunctional family and a grab bag of supporting characters. After a botched camping trip, things kick off rather quickly.

What follows are two hours of absolute chaos. The CG in this movie is astounding, and I cannot stress this enough. The action is relentless, creative, and satisfying on the whole. The LA sequence alone will have you smiling, then you will realize you still have a lot more movie to go, and it never disappoints. The pacing is excellent in this regard. I was in awe the entire way through. That's the bottom line: If you love action movies or a good old fashioned thrill ride, the disaster sequences alone are worth the price of admission (unless you're an astrophysicist, in which case you might be crossing your arms and groaning at this film all the way through).

But what I liked the most about this film was its underlying religious theme. People might be quick to pick up on the major references to this, such as (POSSIBLE SPOILER, though it's in the trailer): the crack forming between Adam and God on Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" at the Sistine Chapel, the destruction of Christ the Redeemer, Vatican City, and the Buddhist temple. With these and other biblical references that you will miss if you blink, Emmerich seems to postulate a world in which you don't need God for miracles, and where everyone is back on even ground again.

Another theme that Emmerich sets up is the social borders that divide us more than we think. In a world that is coming to an end, it's not the strong who survive, only the smartest and the wealthiest. The film argues against utilitarianism on several fronts, going so far as to say that to embrace such a concept to an outrageous extent, even to save mankind, would result in a race of humans deprived of its humanity.

Now, I could be wrong. I'm not saying that my interpretation of the movie is spot on, but the movie did make me think, and that's what I found remarkable returning home from watching a film in which I thought I was just going to watch things blow up for two hours.

I walked in knowing that no one makes disaster movies better than Roland Emmerich, but I ended up watching something that entertained me immensely, made me think, and spurred on a very long conversation between my friends and I. THAT'S how a movie more than earns the price of admission.

Category: Action
All Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriler
Release Year: 2009
Country: USA
Runtime: 158 minutes
Rating: 6.9/10
Languages: English

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Sound: Dolby Digital, SDDS, DTS

Writing by :

Roland Emmerich
Harald Kloser

Produced by:

Aaron Boyd
Roland Emmerich
Ute Emmerich
Volker Engel
Larry J. Franco
Mark Gordon
Harald Kloser
Marc Weigert
Michael Wimer
Kirstin Winkler

Music By:

Harald Kloser
Thomas Wanker

Cast:

John Cusack - Jackson Curtis
Amanda Peet - Kate Curtis
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Adrian Helmsley
Thandie Newton - Laura Wilson
Oliver Platt - Carl Anheuser
Thomas McCarthy - Gordon Silberman
Woody Harrelson - Charlie Frost
Danny Glover - President Thomas Wilson
Liam James - Noah Curtis
Morgan Lily - Lilly Curtis
Zlatko Buric - Yuri Karpov
Beatrice Rosen - Tamara
Alexandre Haussmann - Alec
Philippe Haussmann - Oleg
Johann Urb - Sasha
John Billingsley - Professor West
Chin Han - Tenzin
Osric Chau - Nima
Chang Tseng - Grandfather Sonam
Lisa Lu - Grandmother Sonam
Blu Mankuma - Harry Helmsley
George Segal - Tony Delgatto
Stephen McHattie - Captain Michaels
Patrick Bauchau - Roland Picard
Jimi Mistry - Dr. Satnam Tsurutani
Ryan McDonald - Scotty
Merrilyn Gann - German Chancellor
Henry O - Lama Rinpoche
Patrick Gilmore - Ark Communications Officer
Dean Marshall - Ark Communications Officer
Ron Selmour - Ark Boarding Officer
Viv Leacock - Ark Boarding Officer
Chris Boyd - Ark Boarding Officer
Donna Yamamoto - AF1 Science Officer
Doron Bell - AF1 Science Officer (as Doron Bell Jr.)
David Orth - AF1 Lieutenant
Lyndall Grant - Governor
Jason Diablo - Ark Tech Officer
Ty Olsson - AF1 Officer
Zinaid Memisevic - President Sergey Makarenko
Vincent Cheng - Chinese Colonel
Igor Morozov - Russian Interpreter
B.J. Harrison - Woman Comforting Child (as BJ Harrison)
Dominic Zamprogna - Paramedic
Karin Konoval - Sally - President's Secretary
Mary Gillis - Jackson's Neighbor
Rick Tae - Megaphone Officer
Parm Soor - Saudi Prince
Gerard Plunkett - Isaacs - MI6 Officer
Paul Tryl - Zultan
Andrei Kovski - Zultan's Trainer
Val Cole - News Reporter - Tikal
Eve Harlow - Cashier
Sean Tyson - Interrogating Officer
Leonard Tenisci - Italian Prime Minister
Michael Buffer - Boxing Announcer
Daren A. Herbert - Ship Waiter
Craig Stanghetta - Vegas Rescue Worker
Mateen Devji - Ajit - age 5
Qayam Devji - Ajit - age 9
Jody Thompson - CNN Anchor
Tanya Champoux - Mrs. Birnbaum
Frank C. Turner - Preacher
Kinua McWatt - Yoko Delgatto
Laara Sadiq - British Newscaster
Gillian Barber - Cruise Ship Lady
Candus Churchill - Cruise Ship Lady
Beverley Elliott - Cruise Ship Lady
Agam Darshi - Aparna
Raj Lal - Gurdeep
Pesi Daruwalla - Dr. Lokesh
Jacob Blair - AF1 Steward
Jay Williams - AF1 Steward
Scott E. Miller - Arc Naval Officer (as Scott Miller)
Anna Mae Routledge - Officer Tay
John Stewart - Pilot
Ryan Cook - Surfer
Brandon Haas - Surfer
Eddie Hassell - Surfer
Betty Phillips - Elderly Driver
Georgina Hegedos - Elderly Driver
Luis Javier - Vegas Tow Truck Driver
Dean Redman - Vegas Fireman
Gordon Lai - Security Commander
Mark Docherty - Field Reporter - Tikal
Mark Oliver - Fundraiser Security
Andrew Moxham - Policeman
Alexandra Castillo - Paris Reporter
Farouk A. Afify - Saudi Senior Security
Shaun Wilson - US Army Worker
Leo Li Chiang - Chinese Soldier (as Leo Chiang)
Elizabeth Richard - Queen Elizabeth
Kyle Riefsnyder - Cho Ming Platform Officer
John Mee - Angry Billionaire
George Trochta - American Ark Steward
Geoff Gustafson - Ark Bridge Crew
Alex Zahara - Mr. Anton
Jason Griffith - Ark Bridge Crew (as Jase Anthony Griffith)
Jill Morrison - Ark Bridge Crew
Thomas Parkinson - Ark Bridge Crew
Leona Naidoo - Ark Bridge Crew
Quentin Guyon - Ark Bridge Crew
Nicole Rudell - Ark Bridge Crew
Chad Riley - Ark Bridge Crew
Simon Leung - Ark Bridge Crew
Kevin Haaland - Ark Bridge Crew
Leigh Burrows - US Army Worker
Eddie L. Fauria - Sgt. Lourke
Ayana Haviv - Singer (voice)
Marco Khan - Preacher
William Myers - DoomSayer
Michael Karl Richards - Wil Delgado
David Richmond-Peck - Political Aide
Joshua Salvati -
Jerome Young - Tony
Peter Arpesella - Italian Prime Minister (voice)
Chris Arreguin - Doomsday Protester
Sahar Biniaz - Showgirl
Anthony Bonaventura - Riot Motorist
Lea Deesing - Doomsdayer
Norman Deesing - Doomsdayer
Abigail Delves - Little Girl
Paula Elle - Woman
Gladis Giada - New Age Hippie
Jacob Goodall - Doomsday Man
Ric Govea - City survivor
Ashley Hand - Deck 44 passenger
Erik Kowalski - Protestor
Jonathan Lane - Guy in street
Tom MacNeill - Deck 44 passenger
Robert Malina - CNN Reporter
Jessica Provencher - Doomsdayer
Larry Purtell - Protestor
Charlie Robson - Air Force One Tech
Richard Schimmelpfenneg - Protester
Eric Shackelford - Crazy protester
Patricia Shih - Violinist
Robyn Jean Springer - Doomsdayer
Michael Stevens - Shuttle Officer
Dale Tarrant - Motorcycle cop
Ian Thompson - Motorcycle Cop
Derek Versteeg - Scientist
Yuel Yawney - Violinist

Official Website: Visit Website

Plot: In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley travels to India to meet his friend Dr. Satnam Tsurutani, who has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are acting as microwaves and causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase rapidly. Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser and US President Thomas Wilson that this will instigate a chain of events that will bring about the end of the world. At the G8 summit in 2010, other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation. They collaborate to begin a secret project intended to ensure the continuity of human life, strategically choosing 400,000 people for admission on a series of gigantic ships to be constructed in the Himalayas. To help fund the venture, additional individuals are allowed to purchase tickets for one billion euros apiece.

In 2012, Jackson Curtis is a writer in Los Angeles who works part-time as a limousine driver for wealthy Russian businessman Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate and their children Noah and Lily live with her new boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon Silberman. Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, where they meet Charlie Frost, a conspiracy theorist living as a hermit and hosting his own radio show live from the park. Charlie supports a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012, and claims he has knowledge of the secret "space ship" project and possesses a map of the ships' location. The family returns home as cracks begin to develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in the San Francisco Bay area. Upon being informed by Yuri's sons that they had tickets for a special ship whilst he would be left behind to die, Jackson grows suspicious and rents a private plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it collapses into the Pacific Ocean.

As millions begin dying in apocalyptic earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. The group narrowly escapes as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to make a live broadcast of the eruption, is killed by the blast. Realizing the ships are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas (destroyed by a chasm that cuts through the Strip, and an ash cloud from the Yellowstone eruption), where they meet Yuri, his twin sons, girlfriend Tamara, and pilot Sasha. They join the group and secure an Antonov An-225 to head across the Pacific where they pass Hawaii already obliterated by volcanic eruptions. Also bound for the ships aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Adrian, and First Daughter Laura Wilson. President Wilson chooses to remain in Washington D.C.(already hit by massive earthquakes, one that destroys the Washington Monument) and is soon killed by a giant tsunami that sends the USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President dead, his helicopter having gone down near Pittsburgh, and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser appoints himself acting US President.

Upon arriving in China in a crash-landing that kills Sasha, Yuri and his two sons are taken to the ships, stranding the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara, all of whom do not possess tickets. Jackson and the group witness helicopters carrying multiple animals to the ships' location which Jackson later reconciles as "arks". After leaving the crash site, the abandoned group is picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk. Together, they begin sneaking onto an ark through its hydraulics chamber with the help of Nima's brother Tenzin, a welder for the ark project. Meanwhile, Satnam and his family are stranded with the fleeing masses in India after their airlift failed to arrive. In his last moments, Satnam calls Adrian to inform him that a previously uncharted tsunami is engulfing India from the East and heading towards the arks. Learning of this, Anheuser orders the arks be sealed, trapping thousands outside. Adrian manages to convince the other G8 leaders to let the remaining people on board. As the ark's tailgate is lowered and then raised, Yuri falls to his death getting his two sons on in time, and both Gordon and a large electrical power drill fall in between the gears. Gordon is killed, and the lodged drill prevents the gate from closing, rendering the ship unable to start its engines. The tsunami arrives and begins to flood the ark, setting the ark helplessly adrift. Jackson and Noah work together to free the drill and its cable from the closing mechanism. The gate closes and the crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest.

When the floodwater from the worldwide tsunamis eventually recedes, satellite data shows that Africa rose in relation to sea level, and the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu Natal are now the highest on the planet. As three arks set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, Jackson reconciles with his family, and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The movie ends with a view of the Earth revealing a geographically different African continent, which evidently was where mankind was born.

Goofs:

• Revealing mistakes: When Jackson shows his driver's license in Yellowstone Park, his name appears on the card as "Jackson, Curtis." It should be either "Curtis, Jackson" (Last name, First name) or be written without the comma.
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: It's explained that the events are happening way before schedule, so this was not taking place in December 2012, but earlier in the year (most likely the summer). Therefore the summer Olympics in London could indeed be happening at the time.
• Plot holes: There is a brief glimpse of a news broadcast, showcasing a story about a Mayan mass suicide. The newscaster states they killed themselves because they apparently believe in the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012. The Mayans do not believe that the world will end, and in fact Dec. 21, 2012 is simply the end of a calendar cycle. The idea of the world ending on that day is actually a mistaken myth brought about by Western cultures.
• Factual errors: The term "mutating neutrinos" is incorrect as mutation is a biological process. The correct term that physicists use is "decaying neutrinos".
• Factual errors: The aircraft carrier USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) is seen capsizing and spilling aircraft off her flight deck as she crashes into the White House. In reality, the ship was decommissioned and mothballed in 2007 and is now tied up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (about 130 miles from Washington, DC).
• Factual errors: As the USS John F Kennedy capsizes onto the White House, the ship's name and number (CV-67) are visible on her flight deck. No US aircraft carrier has its name painted on its deck in this manner; only the number '67' was painted on the deck at the extreme forward end of the ship.
• Plot holes: Sasha plans to refuel the Antonov on Hawaii, but since Hawaii is destroyed and they don't have enough fuel they have to do a water landing. Gordon mentions they lost the landing gear when they took off in Vegas so that won't be in the way. How, then, were they planning to land to refuel and take off again like originally planned?
• Errors in geography: You cannot drive from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, to Manhattan Beach, California, in a single day (as John Cusack's character does). Nor can you helicopter from Washington D.C. to Yellowstone National Park in less than a day as Chiwetel Ejiofor's character does.
• Revealing mistakes: If you were looking out to the solar system from an orbit around the sun (as the film's opening shot depicts) you would not be able to see the planets as anything more than bright stars in the distance.
• Factual errors: No aircraft could function with an atmosphere choked with volcanic ash, which would cause engine seizures.
• Factual errors: Arnold Schwarzenegger's term as Governor of California ends in January, 2011.
• Continuity: When the decision to open the bays of the arks and let in the crowds of people, the scientist tell the captain to open the bay door, and the clock says 14:39 until impact. The camera then switches angles and the captain responds, the time then says 14:42 until wave impact.
• Errors in geography: As the tsunami bears down on the Indian Subcontinent, it is reported to be 1500 meters high, which is about 5,000 feet. The water hits the three "Arks" at an undetermined elevation, but we learn the Ark is about to crash into Mount Everest at 29,500 feet. (Everest is only 29,029 feet in reality). The mile high wave, the 5.5 mile high mountain, and many hundreds of miles the wave would have to travel simply do not add up.
• Factual errors: When a tsunami is formed the best place to be is in the middle of an ocean, because the water height whether increased or decreased is not noticeable, and nor are the effects of a massive tsunami felt in the middle of the ocean; therefore, the cruise liner would not have tipped over if it was a real tsunami. It would have only tipped over if it was very close to shore.
• Factual errors: During the ark scenes, the giraffes are shown to be making sounds. Giraffes have no vocal cords and cannot make any sound.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Yuri refers to the An-225 is Russian. It is in fact Ukrainian, built by the Antanov Design Bureau during the Soviet Era.
• Factual errors: When the camera pans to Caesar's Palace before the boxing match, you can see for a small moment the Las Vegas Strip and the Caesar's Palace marquee showing Bette Midler's "The Showgirl Must Go On" poster. Midler's last show is slated at the end of January 2010.
• Plot holes: Near the beginning of the movie, a massive and sudden tide hits the ocean liner Genesis while she is preparing to sail, making her collide against the docks quite hard. Such an impact would have caused significant damage to the ship and the need for immediate repairs; yet the trip is neither delayed nor canceled. (Furthermore, when we later see the Genesis at sea, the ship shows no signals of having crashed.)
• Plot holes: At the end of the movie, people get to know that Africa rose in relation to sea level, and therefore has not been flooded. Satellite images show the continent still has the same outline as before - you would expect that at least something changed, unless the continent rose *exactly* the same as the sea level, but that's rather unlikely.
• Continuity: When the children are on the camping trip they are bitten by mosquitoes. Both have several fairly serious bite marks on their faces. However in the scene in which they return home (the following day) their faces appear unblemished.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Sasha crosses oneself while flying the Antonov, but he does it like the catholics, from left to right, while over 97% of Russians are Orthodox, and they do it right to left. Yuri Karpov also makes the same goof.
• Factual errors: There is no such thing as an Antonov AN-500. However there is an Antonov 225 Mriya. This might deliberate from the filmmakers since the AN-225 does not have a read loading door like the AN-124.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Aircraft flying to China from the continental United States fly north following the Great Circle route. This would especially be true if Sasha expected to make a fuel stop. Even from the western United States, flying via Hawai'i is the longer (and slower) route to China. A better fuel stop would be at Anchorage, Alaska, where many intercontinental flights do. (However, while Sasha is a trained pilot, he is not necessarily skilled in navigation, and could be unfamiliar with commercial flights.)
• Continuity: When the cruise liner rolls over, Tony (who is holding onto a table) falls into some cupboards, however in the next scene he is still holding onto the table.
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The flight range of the Antonov AN-225 Russian aircraft is 15400 kilometers, which is way more then enough to reach China. Considering the panic on the ground the plane is not necessarily fully fueled when they leave, however.
• Factual errors: The luxury ocean cruise liner wouldn't be sailing in the middle of the ocean as its top heavy superstructure makes prone to capsize in the heavy seas. Such ships typically travel close to the shoreline.
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): A scientist says the size of the tsunamis is proportional to the magnitude of the quake but the Richter scale is logarithmic, not linear.
• Continuity: When the arks have launched, the camera pans across them and it is obvious that one is missing, the door that it should appear from shows "5", however it is Ark 3 that did not launch.
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The Antonov in which the main characters flee to China crashes because of empty fuel-tanks. But the explosion when it finally hits the ground after falling of the cliff indicates a large amount of fuel left. However, the Antonov was carrying a large number of cars. While there may be no fuel in the airplane tanks, doesn't mean that the automobile tanks were empty, and as so often in Hollywood films, a car crash provides as big as explosion as any.

Trivia:

• The title refers to the end-date of the current (13th) b'ak'tun of the Long Count calendar, used by the Mayan Meso-American civilization. In their creation myth, we live in the fourth "attempt" at creating the world, while the third attempt was dismissed as a failure after its own 13th b'ak'tun. Though Mayan documents contain no such information, popular culture and certain religions predict an apocalyptic event at this date. It is popularly misunderstood that the calendar "ends" on this date, however the Long Count calendar can express dates from approximately 3000BC (their date for the creation of the current world) to approximately 40 octillion years in the future. It is almost impossible to express this date in a mortally comprehensible fashion.
• The doomsday theory has sprung from a Western idea, not a Mayan. Mayans insist that the world will not end in 2012. The Mayans had a talent for astronomy, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon. The next time that will happen is on December 21, 2012; which happens to be the same day the Mayan calender expires. In addition to the Mayan calendar, the modern doomsday myth is bolstered several ostensibly scientific reasons for a disaster. Examples include a pole shift, the "return" of Planet X or the Sun's sinister counterpart Nemesis, a galactic, planetary, or other celestial alignment, global warming, global cooling, a massive solar flare, a new ice age, and so on. None of these have any basis in respected science. For example, the "galactic alignment" between the sun, Earth, and galactic center happens every December. The best alignment was reached in the 1990s and was accompanied by its own set of doomsday theories. Alignments since then have been increasingly poor.
• The President's first and last names are the same as the 28th President in real life. Woodrow Wilson's first name is actually Thomas.
• In an interview by USA Today, Roland Emmerich has stated that this will be his final disaster film: "I said to myself that I'll do one more disaster movie, but it has to end all disaster movies. So I packed everything in."
• At 158 minutes, "2012" is Roland Emmerich's second-longest film, behind The Patriot (2000) starring Mel Gibson. Coincidentally, Gibson directed the Mayan-themed movie Apocalypto (2006) which was also cinematographed by Dean Semler, the cinematographer for this film.
• Some cinemas are showing the film at 20:12 (12 minutes past 8), in keeping with the title of the film.
• The first name of the curator of the Louvre in this movie is Roland, which is the same first name as the director of 2012, Roland Emmerich.
• The character Jackson Curtis is the real name of 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) backwards.
• Jacksons' son's name is Noah, an obvious reference to the biblical story of Noah's ark.
• Roland Emmerich told MTV the cover-up name for this film was "Farewell Atlantis", which is the title of lead character Jackson Curtis' book.
• Wisconsin is mentioned three times in the film. Executive Producer Michael Wimer (Roland Emmerich's friend and business partner) is from Neenah, Wisconsin.

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