2012

US, 2009, 158 minutes, Colour.
John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Tom Mc Carthy, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Liam James, Morgan Lily, Beatrice Rosen, Zlatko Buric, John Billingsley, George Segal, Lisa Lu, Blu Mankuma, Stephen Mc Hattie, Patrick Bauchau, Jimi Mistry.
Directed by Roland Emmerich.

The end is near!

And, according to 2012, it is much nearer than we thought: 21/12/12. Apparently the Mayans knew this a long time ago but historians and scientists did not. What is going to happen – and will 2012 make enough at the box-office before there is no more box-office!

Roland Emmerich loves disaster films. He has already destroyed Washington DC (in Independence Day), New York (in Godzilla) and the whole of North America (in The Day After Tomorrow). Now it is Los Angeles, overwhelmingly spectacularly, and glimpses of the collapse of Rio de Janeiro, the Vatican and Washington again.

In fact, 2012 is a welcome throwback to those disaster movie highlights of the 1970s and has Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, Earthquake all rolled into one plus ingredients from the 90s Deep Impact and Titanic. If it is spectacle and effects on an apocalyptic scale you want, then 2012 is your movie.

The staging of the quakes, eruptions, chases, crashes, shifting tectonic plates and giant tsunamis keeps us watching, mesmerised. It is the central human plot that is gripping at an immediate 'what is going to happen next to these nice people?' level but it quickly pushes all the expected buttons rather than dramatically provocative buttons. It is a 2009 version of the old time serials with their successive cliffhangers (and there is a literally belief-defying cliffhanger with John Cusack in the middle of the film). John Cusack is the nice but novel-writing-absorbed, now-absent father. Amanda Peet is the nice wife and mother. Tom Mc Carthy is the nice new father-figure who, fortunately, has had a few flying lessons which enable some survivors to fly to China!!

The other human story is more interesting, with gripping moments because it is the science and politics story. Chiwitel Ejiofor is a good enough actor and strong screen presence to make us believe that the alignment of the planets is causing new atomic particles to bombard earth and make the crust crumble with giant fissures in LA streets and down supermarket aisles while hills and mountains can rise and re-shape the land masses and coastal suburbs can upend and slide into the sea.

Oliver Platt is the literal heavy, a pragmatic politician who is not too strong on humanity or compassion. And who better than Danny Glover as the president to make the sad announcements about the end of the world and show heroic personal self-sacrifice (well, maybe Morgan Freeman who had to do all this with great gravitas in Deep Impact)?

As with the older disaster movies, there are some oldies (George Segal) and a nice president's daughter (Thandie Newton) but there are some newer aspects including Tibetan monks, a selfish (overweight and rude) Russian billionnaire and Woody Harrelson (mad again!) as a wild mountain man who broadcasts revelations about disaster before he is whooshed away into eternity. There is even some underwater swimming heroics reminding us how much we liked this in The Poseidon Adventure.

While 2001 was something of a spiritual space odyssey, 2012 is quite a secular tale (though with its arks to rescue the chosen ones – and some airlifted giraffes, elephants etc – it has Chiwitel Ejiofor becoming a new Noah who wants to save as many people as possible and start a new world). Interestingly, no blame is laid for the disaster. It is nature, not a punishment from God, and, except for the ruthless politicians and the selfish rich, most humans are deep down nice.

Roland Emmerich knows what he wants to do and does it with spectacular panache. To make his next movie more of a classic of special effects, it would be good if he could do some more work on making the human story more interesting and dramatically complex.

1.The perennial popularity of disaster films? What if…? The excitement? Identifying with the characters and the situations?

2.Roland Emmerich and his destruction disasters? His capacity for creating disaster movies, spectacle? Pessimism? Hope?

3.The special effects for this film, the technology? The building up of excitement, mesmerising effect on the audience? The credibility of the credits and the sun scenes, the cracks in the earth’s crust, the destruction of Los Angeles, the supermarket, homes, streets, buildings, the city sliding into the sea? Yellowstone Park, the volcanoes, the land rising, explosions, the soaring flames? Driving, flying? Asia and the land mass, the water, the tsunamis? The destruction of Rio, Washington and the wave, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel? The land-shifts, the huge arks? The dangers, the crashes? The overall impact of watching such destruction?

4.The musical score, atmosphere, the final song?

5.The science background, the tradition of the Mayan calendar ending in 2012? Buddhist teachings? The sun, the alignment of the planets? The scientific information, Adrian going to India, the copper mine, the technology, the investigations, the computers? The predictions, the changes in the predictions? The government collaboration throughout the world? The building of the arks? The land displacement, the Nutrinos? The effect of the tsunami, the changing shape of the world, the emergence of Africa? The overtones of the Noah story, Genesis, the ark, the animals into the ark? New life?

6.The human stories, life, threats, plans, coping, not knowing what was happening, panic, suffering, mass destruction, the selection of survivors, the ark and the future?

7.Charlie, mad, in Yellowstone, watching Jackson and his family, broadcasting the news on the radio, discussions with Jackson, the information, the maps? Going to the top of the mountain, watching the end of the world, being swept away?

8.The human story of the Curtiss family? Predictable, the father, absorbed by his novel-writing, chauffeuring Russian billionaires, separated from his family, Gordon taking his place as the father figure, his wife and her love for her children, blocked out from Jackson’s life? Going camping, the son not wanting to, the father’s relationship with the daughter? Their deciding to trespass? The mystery, the lake gone, the heat? The encounter with Adrian, Adrian having read his novel, the discussion? Jackson and his friendship with Charlie? The aftermath of the supermarket fissure? Returning the children, warning them, the house and its destruction, the car, the escape, the airport, the ride and dodging all the falling buildings, the small plane, Gordon and his ability, landing in Las Vegas, the encounter with the Russians? The crash? Flying, going to Tibet? The family saved? The Curtiss family as characters, Jackson and his blocking out his family, his wife and love, Gordon and his support for the children, the boy and his devotion to Gordon? The family themes, Gordon’s death, the fears, the angers? Working together?

9.The Russian billionaire, the fight at Las Vegas, his fighter being knocked out, having paid for an escape on the ark? Tamara, her going to Gordon for surgery? The message to leave, his getting his children, the ticket? At Las Vegas, escaping in the plane, the flight? At the entrance to the ark, the officials not letting him in, his punching the official, getting the boys? Rushing to the ark, his saving the boys, his death? Tamara and the irony of her being saved and her finger to him?

10.Tamara, her relationship with the pilot, Yuri not taking her, the dog, being with the Curtiss family, getting onto the ark, her being trapped, her death?

11.Adrian as the hero, the scientist, the background story of his father, his phone calls, the books, the ice cream reward, the tests? Going to India? His friendship with Doctor Tsurutani? The evidence, the mine? The scientist? His hurrying to Washington, gatecrashing the fundraiser, his discussions with Anheuser? Going to the president, the seriousness of the situation, the plans, the continually changing predictions, the variety of discussions? His assistants, professors? The shortening days? Talking to his father on the phone (and Anheuser knowing this)? Finally talking to the president, going onto the plane, Laura, the bond between them? The clashes with Anheuser? The appeal to humanity, to let the crowd of people and the workers in? As a person, in Yellowstone and the discussion with Curtiss about his novel, the friendship with Laura, in the ark? The danger with the door not shutting, Jackson and his saving the situation? The future, Laura reading the book, optimism?

12.Anheuser, the bigwig in Washington, the fundraiser, his manner, not wanting to talk with Adrian, reading the celebrated, going to the president? The plans? Selling tickets to the billionaires like the Russian, the Arab? Desperation? The evacuation, the president remaining, his being in charge, his lack of humanity, not wanting the people to be saved?

13.The president, age, noble, making decisions, his love for his daughter, telling her the truth, talking with Adrian, the decision to stay, going out into the streets with the people, dying with them?

14.Laura, the sequence at the Louvre, the packing of the Mona Lisa, the substitute? The director of the gallery? The phone call, the cover-up, the murder in the tunnel where Princess Diana died? Discussions with her father, her being on the ark, the phone call to her father and farewell, the friendship with Adrian? The end and the reading of the novel?

15.The work being done in China, Tibet, the welder, his brother and the discussions with the Lama? The grandparents and their being saved, the plan? Encountering the family, the grandmother urging them in? Getting into the ark, the gate, the malfunction, the welder and his injury, Gordon and his help, dying? The family being saved?

16.Doctor Tsurutani, his family, the experts, the promise that they would be saved? Their work in discovering the truth? The phone call about the tsunami, their deaths?

17.The overtones of the ark, the animals being ferried by helicopter?

18.The captain, tough, responsibility, the gates, the cog, finally allowing the engine to start?

19.Mr Helmsley, his friendship with Tony, their going on cruises, singing? Tony and his phone call to his alienated son, hearing the disaster? Adrian talking with his father? The overtones of the huge ship and the Poseidon and the Titanic?

20.The humanism of the film? God not being blamed for the disaster? People not being punished? Acceptance of the science? Selfishness – but the film showing the best in human nature?