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2012

2012

By Patrick Samuel • November 9th, 2012
Static Mass Rating: 3/5
2012 (MOVIE)
Columbia Pictures

Original release Date: November 11th, 2009
Running time: 151 minutes

Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser

Cast: John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oliver Platt, Thomas McCarthy, Jimi Mistry

2012

As we begin our gradual approach to December 21st, 2012 many of us will be reflecting on some of the doomsday scenarios that have been presented in recent years and wondering how much weight should be given to them. With the downward spiral of our society, economy and spiritual development, together with geological changes, cosmic alignments, an increase in UFO sightings and the phenomena of crop circles throughout the world, it would seem that something cataclysmic or transformative could really be on the horizon for us.

As scientists and commentators get busy with debunking the onslaught of theories ranging from a collision between Earth and a planet called Nibiru, solar flares from the Sun and a theory that the universe will reach a singularity resulting in everything imaginable occurring simultaneously, filmmakers have been just as busy presenting their own scenarios. The first of these was presented by none other than Roland Emmerich, who’s no stranger to disaster movies. 2012 sets out to explore how the world, or rather our governments, would cope when prophecies which foretell of the end of the world, begin to come true.

The writing is absolutely ghastly and the characterisations are very poor, making it impossibly hard to care about what’s happening to the people we see on screen. Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a writer/chauffeur who’s divorced from Kate (Amanda Peet). Together they have two annoying children. While escorting a Russian billionaire’s gruesome twins to a private jet he finds out about the arks the government are building for those important and privileged enough to have earned or bought a place on board. As the disasters begin to strike one after the next, Curtis is determined to get his family to safety, even if that includes Kate’s boyfriend, Gordon Silberman (Thomas McCarthy) and travelling with the Russian family.

2012

Danny Glover plays the president, but he’s not as convincing as previous presidents in Emmerich’s movies (Bill Pullman in Independence Day and Perry King in The Day After Tomorrow). It’s hard to feel anything for his character which I found dull, underwritten and uninspiring. The same for Oliver Platt and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the entire political side of the film was already covered in The Day After Tomorrow. But quality writing and extraordinary character acting isn’t why you’d want to watch 2012, it’s because of the incredible special effects. There are some amazing sequences involving a high speed drive through a cataclysmic earthquake. We see skyscrapers and bridges collapsing into newly opened canyons as well as the sea rising up and heading towards Washington with an ocean tanker in tow.

After Emmerich has either burned or drowned most of the world, shifted any remaining continents and brought new land out from under the ocean, there’s not much left to do but leave it to the cast to waffle on about new hope and new beginnings which is where the movie should have long ended. Beyond this point there’s nothing left to see.

I hoped 2012 would offer more explanations on the confusing aspects of the 2012 prophecies, sadly it doesn’t it. A couple of mentions by Woody Harrelson but in a 158 minute long movie this just isn’t good enough and for that reason it could have been called anything else but 2012. In effect all it leaves you with, apart from the initial amazement of the special effects, is another reason not to take the prophecies seriously.

Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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