'2012' film boasts global warming fears, ends in disaster
I was originally planning on seeing "Pirate Radio" this week, but since it was only showing in Indianapolis, I saw "2012" instead. It was worth the extra gas money to go Downtown. It was one of the most cliché ridden films I have ever seen, but I should have seen it coming. This movie is the apocalyptic tale of what the Mayans predict will happen during the winter solstice of 2012. The Mayan belief is that the planetary alignment, which is calculated to take place during that ominous year, will result in global catastrophe. It’s easy to guess that the world will be destroyed, but of course, the main characters will live. John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a single dad who is struggling to connect with his children. Not surprisingly, the stress of surviving, bonds are created and everything on the family front becomes peachy. Anyway, scientists figure out the core of the earth is heating up rapidly and cause global destruction. Predictably, Jackson is the "everyman" who is able to beat every obstacle in his path. This film tries to put the viewer on the edge of their seats so much it becomes laughable. Every time the characters stopped at a new location, they had about five minutes before that area began falling apart. But they always escaped danger by the hair of their chinny chin chin. Big surprise. The acting in the first 40 minutes is great. Cusack plays the familiar, lovable slacker and Woody Harrelson contributes as the wacky "end of days" conspirator. But once the world started falling apart, so did this movie. Danny Glover is less-than-believable as the president of the United States. It seemed like he just decided to do this movie after hearing they weren’t going to make "Lethal Weapon 5" or "Angels in the Outfield 2." No one can escape death as many times as Cusack and his crew did, not even a cat has that many lives. Moviegoers will walk into the theatre knowing the bulk of the story and leave wishing they just read about the Mayans on Wikipedia. I’ve seen many catastrophe movies. I sat through "War of the Worlds," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "I Am Legend." This movie is by far the worst, but that’s like saying someone was voted "worst-dressed" at a Wal-Mart. Even in this genre, this movie is a disaster.
