2012

[EthanRunt]

Any consensus from anyone else yet?

Just back from a rainy Romford after catching a screening.

My goodness was it long, 25 minutes of ads and 10 mins of trailers before the film to boot.

The film started ok actually, Chiwetel Ejiofer and Jimi Mistrey discussing huge changes, build up to the event, all stupid but they definitely made it semi-believable...

And then the necessary all American all white family with a divorce issue to drive the film worldwide as disasters strike.

Some of the moments work well, tidal waves, aircraft carriers into the White House, lots of flying and trying not to crash, but ultimately whilst it tries desperately you're never that invested with John Cusack enough to really feel the intense situations as anything more than someone's dilemmas.

Some great CGI mixed with awful screenwriting make it a mixed bag, but when it's this long, you're p*ying for a comfy seat and shelter from the rain anyway.
5/10

[TheBoySeggy]

Looks like Day After Tomorrow to me... same director too so no surprise there!

[lovesitx]

I actually really liked it, much prefered it to The Day After Tommorrow and apart from having too many adverts at the start, (not even film trailers just regualr ads) i have no complaints, i didn't even realise that i had been in the cinema for 3 hours, the best bits were definately in the limo or the plane when everything is falling apart around them. There were some funny moments too, loads of people in my cinema were laughing, but maybe us Sheffield folk are just easier to please than others.

[Beate]

We caught it at 5pm at the Picturehouse Greenwich (free vouchers of course) and really loved it. They had put it in their biggest screen for a total of 14 people, LOL. We had the whole row to ourselves, and the nearest people were two rows in front!

The film tires you out, it's very long and the action and the emotions are very intense. The first real earthquake doesn't start until 45 minutes into the film but boy does it make an impact then as the special effects are amazing! You just sit there open-mouthed. Of course it's all highly implausible, but it's exciting, and you are really rooting for the people to make it! I can happily report that the Queen does get rescued. With her corgies. Apart from that I won't tell you who made it and who didn't, altough to be honest, it's no brainer to figure it out more or less from the start.

8.5/10

[Beate]

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/2012- ... ewsletters

The ViewLondon Review

Review by Matthew Turner
12/11/2009
Opens Friday 13 November 2009

Four out of Five stars
Running time: 158 mins

Hugely enjoyable, impressively directed disaster epic with state of the art special effects, thrilling set-pieces, superb performances, a decent script and, oh yes, a bit with a dog.

What's it all about?
2012 begins in 2009 with an Indian geologist (Jimi Mistry) explaining to US scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) that solar flares have destabilised the earth's core and that, as a result, the world will come to an end in 2012, just as the Mayan calendar predicted. Adrian swiftly becomes chief advisor to both the president (Danny Glover) and his chief of staff (Oliver Platt) and the three of them set about making contingency plans for the end of the world.

Flash forward to December 2012, with divorced novelist-turned-chauffeur Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) meeting nutcase Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), who broadcasts his 'the end of the world is nigh' messages from his trailer in Yellowstone Park. However, when the earth's crust starts to collapse, Jackson realises that Charlie knows the location of the government's emergency operation, so he frantically tries to rescue his kids (Liam James and Morgan Lily), his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and her new husband (Thomas McCarthy) and get them to Yellowstone before LA falls into the ocean.

The Good
Director Roland Emmerich is famous for blockbuster disaster movies with great special effects and thrilling set-pieces but he's really outdone himself here; the film is worth seeing for the limo drive through a collapsing LA alone. Other highlights include: Jackson and family outrunning an exploding volcano with a Winnebago; a plane crash-landing on an ice cliff and the bit where an aircraft carrier and a tsunami take out the entire White House.

Cusack is terrific as the world's greatest limo driver and there's strong support from Peet, McCarthy, Ejiofor and the always-reliable Platt, whilst Harrelson, Glover, Mistry and Thandie Newton (as the president's daughter) are equally good value in smaller roles. The sharply written script wisely strips down the traditional disaster movie's huge cast in favour of focussing on a handful of characters we really care about.

The Great
Despite its whopping 158 minute running time, 2012 never drags, largely thanks to Emmerich's pacey direction and the engaging characters.

Worth seeing?
2012 delivers everything you could possibly want from a blockbuster disaster movie, though you have to wonder how Emmerich is going to top the end of the world. Highly recommended.

[Imran5]

I have to say in terms of special effects.. It is absolutely epic.. One of Emmerich's better efforts.. Nothing can beat Independence Day though! ;-)

[tonethestone]

Truly awful film, story and acting so incredibly bad, the effects are pretty cool, but get boring after 10mins of constant destruction, all looked same. Consensus from what I heard coming out of the screening was not good. One of the years worst. 1/5.

[Sydney_Bristow]

we loved it! 9/10 from us loons - saw it over the weekend with pals who loved it too! It's unanimous!

[angelacarr]

I went to see this on Saturday (not free!) I thought it was far too drawn out and could have been done in half the time, most of the audience seemed to have lost interest after a couple of hours & were fidgeting. Although I did like the ending!

[andrews]

Up 500% in popularity this week, according to imdb.com. No accounting for tastes - we're all different, and enjoy different films, which is just the way it should be.
The running time is 138 minutes. Value for money?