FILM REVIEW: 2012 (12A)

2012 (12A)
Cast: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Jimi Mistry, Woody Harrelson
Running Time: 2hrs 35mins
Director: Roland Emmerich
Out Now

LOVE him or loathe him, Roland Emmerich does disaster on a grand scale.
He adds another “end of the world” movie to his repertoire, this time based on ancient Mayan prophecies that predict apocalyptic events set in . . . you guessed it, 2012.
As usual some poor family gets embroiled in the unfolding chaos – this time being John Cusack’s (Runaway Jury, Con Air) failed writer Jackson Curtis, with ex-wife (Amanda Peet, The Whole Nine Yards), their kids, and her new boyfriend – as oceans rise, earthquakes shatter, volcanoes erupt and whole continents shift.
These seismic anomalies – caused by Earth’s core-boiling solar flares from the sun – are revealed to the President (a quite unconvincing Danny Glover) some three years earlier by a young scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Serenity), but are far worse than first feared when the date comes around.
If you’ve seen Emmerich’s previous work with Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, this borrows heavily from both without being as good as either, as bigger unbelievable action (see Cusack’s car getaway with LA crumbling beneath) and disaster (entire populaces disappearing underwater) set-pieces take centre stage – with a bit of the 2006 remake of Poseidon thrown in to boot.
The only problem is its all been done before, and after the initial wow factor of the decent, sometimes breathtaking, special effects, it’s left to the likeable presence of Cusack and Ejiofor to keep your attention through a mundane middle third that unnecessarily drags out proceedings.
At the end of the day you know exactly what you’re getting with this type of movie, and does just about enough through the long run-time to make it a watch on the big screen – even though it does have a distinct lack of heart.
Cusack’s always good value, and – along with the human instinct to watch carnage on an unthinkable scale – makes this apocalypse more bearable than it could have been. Which is nice.

ESP RATING: 3/5

Gavin Miller