2012 (aka things blow up)

For those of you who don't know, 2012 is the year according to the Mayan calendar, Nostradamus, and a bunch of other sources, that the world is going to end...at least, as we know it. I've known a few people who actually think the world is going to end in this year. I think that's a bunch of crap, though I think we are damaging the planet to the degree that at some point, either we're going to be wiped out like the dinosaurs, or we're just going to make this planet uninhabitable. In either case, I don't think you can pinpoint 2012 as the year we're all going down, but hey, Hollywood needs a reason to pour $150 million into effects for another movie, so it's as good a reason as any.

The plot for this movie is about as bad as you would expect. The U.S. President nobly stays behind to die with his people, rather than get his ass out of danger (and you know that Barack Obama would do the same in real life...yeah, right), Woody Harrelson stays behind to watch a volcano erupt, and blow flaming chunks at him...because he predicted it would happen (uh-huh...I've heard of people going to lengths to prove they were right, but...), you have plastic surgeons who can fly planes with minimal experience, and of course, you have the altruistic scientist, who uncovers a sinister government conspiracy to make sure that only rich people would survive the apocalypse (and people do survive, the entire race isn't' wiped out...which is a pretty far leap, when you consider the nature of the earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in the movie)

This is a visual effects movie though, and the effects are good, as you would expect. Nothing beats the harrowing flight through a crumbling Hollywood, with subways, houses and other obstacles being thrown at our hero's plane. The cast, lead by John Cusack, are serviceable, and at least didn't piss me off. I did like the fact that movie at least admitted that only the rich would be allowed on the arks being built by the government to save the populace, and didn't give me a line about the best "genetically" viable people being saved. I mean yeah, if the apocalypse happened, heaven forbid we didn't take the politicians, then who the hell would swindle us in our new society?

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

I bid thee a fond goodnight

- Stephenstein