2012

“Don’t you see the signs?”

Swift shot: Dynamic special effects dominate a terrible landscape of destruction and demise.   The characters gradually become compelling and the story is interesting; what you won’t find shoved down your throat is the conspiracy theorists rantings, it is addressed but not overdone – well played by the director.  There have been enough shows on Discovery and the History Channel postulating what might happen – this film shows you what WILL happen!  Ok, perhaps nothing will happen, but either way, this film can stand on its own as an impressive natural disaster thriller.

What do you grab as the embers burn around you?  What is the thing that defines you, what are you willing to let go of when the final bell tolls?  These are questions that will haunt you throughout Roland Emmerich‘s latest natural disaster epic, 2012.

I am assuming most know the Mayans predicted the end of all time to be December 21, 2012.  So, how will it all end, what will be the final stroke that does in humanity?  I won’t ruin it for you by giving it away (as there is a slight twist), but I will give you a hint. . . the human plan for survival is nothing incredibly novel.

The storyline centers around a broken family, struggling to come to terms with roles and identities undefined.  John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a small-time, albeit published author of a novel that swallowed his marriage.  He of course is broke and trying to prove to his now somewhat estranged children that he is still their father.  He wants to hate the new beau in his ex-wife’s life – and I wanted to hate him too – but he serves his purpose and is an honorable character.

On one of his “super dad” trips to Yellowstone Park, they happen across a drained out lake as some whackadoo (Woody Harrelson) observes his family get detained by the US Geological Department.  Of course they are advised to vacate the area but are never told why.  Jackson discovers the nut-job broadcasts a radio program from a trailer in Yellowstone – and at first he blows him off as another conspiracist freak.  But, what do you do when the freaks with the cardboard signs are right?

In a race to escape the end of the world, Jackson manages to gather his family, including his replacement, to a beyond top-secret escape plan set out of China.  In a twisted Bondesque setting, a secret international society will stop at nothing to protect the secret.  Flanked by sub-plots galore, reminiscent of Independence Day, the characters come across as a tad melodramatic – but not to the detriment of the audience.

What makes this film so interesting is speculating your own role in your family, your country, your very existence – when the stakes are nothing short of the entire Earth, what would you do to survive?  Would you sacrifice yourself so that others may live?  What values truly make us humans?  These questions are answered throughout the film.  I was incredibly entertained and compelled to follow the life-paths of these characters well after the final credits faded out.

If you wait to rent this one, shame on you, the special-effects alone demand you enjoy this in theaters.  I was amazed at how interactive the crowd was throughout this film.  I remember when I saw Independence Day, surrounded by fellow jarheads – and how we cheered as the Marine saved the day.

This film lets everyone play Marine!  See, worth isn’t measured by wealth or what color your nation’s flag is or what your medals say about you . . . it is measured by your actions regardless of personal danger.  Anyone can be a hero, it just takes a compassionate heart and the courage to stand up.