2012
This holiday blockbuster-to-be has Roland Emmerich doing what he does best- destroying the shit out of the Earth. Whether it’s “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and- regardless how awful- “Godzilla,” Emmerich knows how to cause chaos.
It was only a matter of time before Emmerich made one of his patented disaster epics inspired by the ancient legend of the Mayan calender, which infamously stopped at December 21, 2012. Here, he and his co-writer/composer Harald Kloser speed up the timeline, starting in 2010 with the discovery of massive solar flares and showing us key events leading up to the titular year.
This is when we catch up with sci-fi author Jackson Curtis (John Cusack, slumming for a paycheck, but with his wry wit and charisma), who’s late to pick up his children for a camping trip to Yellowstone. Maybe not the best time to go on a vacation, with the timeline for disaster accelerating by the day.
Emmerich has done “smaller” films in his career- like “Universal Soldier” and “Stargate”- and unorthodox epics from the good (“The Patriot”) to the terrible (last year’s “10,000 B.C.”), but when it comes to flicks like this, he knows what you need to deliver the goods. A Rogue’s Gallery cast of cross-section characters. A tantalizing central concept.
And some impressive damn visual effects. Like his other films, suspension of disbelief is more than a recommendation- it’s a necessity. Emmerich makes mass destruction completely implausible to survive, but also thoroughly entertaining to watch. For “2012,” he’s raised the bar. We’re not just talking your usual movie logical holes, but damn near impossible situations averted. I counted at least four in the first hour-plus.
However, the movie the film best reminds me of isn’t one of Emmerich’s, but “Deep Impact.” A doomsday scenario of startling plausibility. A black President (Danny Glover here, Morgan Freeman in “Impact”). The leaders of the world with a way to survive.
This is one of Emmerich’s most elegant films, which is an odd thing to say. But he uses his effects to create some truly haunting images. A dust storm over D.C. that is reminiscent of the images of 9/11. People in prayer in Vatican City and elsewhere in the world. A Tibetian monk ringing a bell as a Tsunami arrives his way. There’s poetry in destruction in Emmerich’s biggest film to date.
It’s not his best, though- “Independence Day” and “The Patriot” still hold those titles. Why? The character stories were more compelling. And well thought out. Here we get Cusack and ex-wife (Amanda Peet) trying to lookout for their children, with Peet’s boyfriend Gordon in tow. This is the most compelling one, as is Chiwetel Ejiofor as a scientist that knows exactly what is to come, and would rather see us act humanely than selfishly. Oliver Platt- as Glover’s chief of staff- falls flat as a human antagonist, and is drawn as a cartoon politician. As for Woody Harrelson as a conspiracy nutjob? It kind of undoes a lot of the good will I had for him after “Zombieland,” although every Emmerich film has at least one character that toes the line between fun and grating (remember Randy Quaid in “ID4?”).
Still, “2012’s” effectiveness as the epic to end all disaster epics (we hope…) remains intact, even if it does go on for a butt-numbing 2 1/2 hours. Still, it shouldn’t be surprising when a “master” of his moviemaking domain swings for the fences. He’s bound to hit a few fouls before nailing that dinger.
