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Bookmark this page2012 (2009)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Movie review
From Time Out London
Read the director's guide the perfect disaster movie hereLet’s get the sniffy movie-snob protests out of the way. Yes, ‘2012’ is infantile. Yes, it treats the deaths of six billion people as little more than a tragic footnote. Yes, it’s about as interested in subtlety, narrative invention or character development as the Corkscrew at Alton Towers.But what a ride. There are moments – sights, sounds, special effects – that have never been seen or imagined before, sequences of staggering complexity, immaculate detail and breathtaking scale. In summary, it may seem like just another disaster movie, but this one is bigger, louder, crazier and more wildly exhilarating than anything previously attempted, even by Roland ‘Independence Day’ Emmerich’s own smash ’n’ grab standards.
The plot is little more than a framing device, the MacGuffin something to do with sunspots, plate tectonics and the Mayan calendar. The closest we have to a hero is John Cusack’s shambolic failed author Jackson Curtis, whose attempts to save his estranged family from a fiery death somehow involve Russian plutocrats, Himalayan plane crashes and Woody Harrelson in a fez.
But nobody goes to a movie like this for the storyline. This is disaster porn, and unashamedly so: pavements crack, buildings topple, crowds flee, planes plummet and world leaders scramble to save their own skins as the planet goes to hell in a handcart. Posterity will not be kind to ‘2012’ – and it definitely won’t work on DVD – but catch it on the biggest, noisiest screen available and approach it on its own terms, and it’ll knock your socks off.
Read the director's guide the perfect disaster movie here
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 2047: November 12-18, 2009
User reviews of this film
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- Emily age 15 said...
- Posted on Feb 02 2010 14:48 I cant wait until the end of the world, finally everybody will get what they deserve, Save me a job xx xxx xxxx KISS KISS SLIT YOUR WRIST
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- Thomas Noctor said...
- Posted on Jan 01 2010 15:51 Jocklett I do happen to go cinema for visual, but the cgi was worse than Playstation 1 graphics! I was looking forward to this film for years and I don't enjoy slating it but I found it rubbish and rushed. Earthquake scene was funny tho!
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- puffbother said...
- Posted on Dec 31 2009 22:32 predictable but soo much fun. It's loud gets your heart going, adrenalin rush and whoosh your part of it. lol
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- max said...
- Posted on Dec 31 2009 10:44 this should not be a 12a it should be at least a 15 it scared my sister (11)
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- ANDI said...
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Posted on Dec 22 2009 02:29
could not agree more with jockcelt.Its just big loud fun.I have not stood over a volcano either and maybe t noctor has.glad ther are others like me who just love films for the spectacle and not the politics...oooooh everyones a critic.
stop your moaning youtwo.like the others said enjoy it for the fun!! my 12 year old loved it!!! and so did I.
if you dont like it then dont go.or just dont bore us with it..he he. - Report as inappropriate
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- ANDI said...
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Posted on Dec 22 2009 02:28
could not agree more with jockelt.Its just big loud fun.I have not stood over a volcano either and maybe t noctor has.glad ther are others like me who just love films for the spectacle and not the politics...oooooh everyones a critic.
stop your moaning youtwo.like the others said enjoy it for the fun!! my 12 year old loved it!!! and so did I. - Report as inappropriate
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- jockcelt said...
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Posted on Dec 21 2009 01:33
Will you two get a room!!!!
AND when did I claim to be a man!!
You presume much Kate, and I am not english either!!!
I am still DELIGHTED by the fact we all have differrent views so that real film fans can laugh at you two with your !"NOT ENOUGH PLOT, or THE VOLCANO WAS NOT REAL ENOUGH REVIEWS!!!!!!"
Really? how many volcanos have you stood over mr noctor!!!I am not rude, I am realistic and honest!
This movie was visually stunning and made many millions smile,you need to relax and ENJOY films!!
and stop going to OUR theatres!!!
Who? for f***s sake checks out a blocbuster for its script?? I'm sure your 13 year old did not.
I suggest you go away and learn about cinema.
BOTH OF YOU!!
I'm off to watch a Michael Bay triple bill!!!!! - Report as inappropriate
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- Kate said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2009 22:34 Rubbish but fun, I've already said it all on 21 November. My 13 year old son had a wicked time. But it is the WORST script EVER on a blockbuster.
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- Thomas Noctor said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2009 20:32 Thanks Kate, good to see someone who has the sense to appriciate the views of everyone! Terrible Movie tho!
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- Kate said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2009 12:22 Thomas Noctor's review of the film was perfectly valid and jockelt your reply was unpleasant and uncalled for ... and all this from the man who on 4th Dec posted 'I am delighted we all have different views'. People think they can be so rude when hiding behind the internet screen. I agree with Mr. Noctor. Grow up!
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- Thomas Noctor said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2009 03:32 As you said yourself Jockey or sorry Jocklett? We all have different views and I am a film fan, but this was pathetic. That volcano would have killed him not to mention the 'earthquake' it was funny, but in a bad way. Teenagers will love this. Real film fans will not only see how bad the cgi was but how badly this crap was, and to think I was looking forward to this for a year! So maybe its you that is the bufoon, and sorry for having an opinion, and I'm not British, I'm Irish. Everyone has they're own opinions so grow up!
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- jockcelt said...
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Posted on Dec 20 2009 00:53
clearly Thomas noctor should leave britain and stop using up the seats reserved for film fans.You are an idiot!
Go and watch high schoo; musical you utter buffoon! - Report as inappropriate
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- Thomas Noctor said...
- Posted on Dec 16 2009 16:12 I'm being genourous with 1 star here! Playstation 1 graphics for CGI and a boring no plotter, always escaping fires or water by a millimetre? This was the worst film since Drag Me To Hell!
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- natureboy95 said...
- Posted on Dec 15 2009 19:36 visualy spectacular but that the only positive thing i can say about it really, charaters,plot and anything else that goes into making a film great were not there but good entertainment in a 'leave yer brain at the door kind of way'
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- J4B3D said...
- Posted on Dec 11 2009 20:35 J4B3D IS DA BEST IN DA NORTH N WIDE WEST
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Cast & crew
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Rated: 12A
Duration: 158 mins
UK Release: Nov 13 2009
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