2012

Roland Emmerich’s 2012 is not as disastrous a disaster flick as one would think.

In 2009, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a prototypical apocalyptic movie scientist, discovers that the rising heat of the Earth’s core will cause the world to end in three years. He warns the American president (Danny Glover), who bands together with world leaders on an ark-building crusade (what subtle use of symbolism!) to save as many billionaires as possible. Meanwhile, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a struggling science fiction writer who plans to see his family through the coming cataclysm, hoping his heroism will rekindle his relationship with ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet).

The plot, of course, is a paper-thin excuse to get to what people really came to see: the complete obliteration of historic structures. On this front, the film delivers. The CGI effects are spectacular, and the sand-castle kicking child in all of us can’t help but feel giddy delight while watching the Washington Monument crumble to the ground or the Sistine Chapel collapse with the Pope still inside.

The most visually arresting moment comes from an overhead view of Hawaii as it is completely engulfed by volcanic eruptions.

To its detriment, the script is poorly written, and the events play out quite predictably. The actors impart us with such gems as “The world as we know it is coming to an end,” and “We have to stop this madness!” There’s even a homeless man with a cardboard sign that reads “Repent! The end is near.” Similarly, the movie ropes in an impressive cast, but how much acting skill does it take to sit in a boat watching the world end?

But it’s hard to have any qualms with these setbacks when the movie’s main attractions are executed so masterfully. 2012 is exactly what it promises to be: a montage of mankind’s greatest architectural achievements being destroyed in glorious CGI.