Tyler's Blog Death of Destiny

2012 (2009)

On Saturday, I went to see 2012 with Scott M, Emilie L, Deanna L, Ryan S, and Jon V.

The movie follows Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his family as they try to survive the end of the world in 2012. This end is attributed to an increasing onslaught of neutrinos from the sun which have somehow evolved into other particles which in turn heated the Earth's core to a point that it has melted the Earth's crust. And thus, earthquakes and volcanic activity plague the planet prior to subsequent tsunamis wiping out any survivors.

As described by the papers, a big pleaser of this film is the special effects, and many famous structures are destroyed throughout the movie (and likewise, many people obviously have to die--it is the apocalypse). However, I disagree with many movie reviews in that I did see a plot in 2012 (though not necessarily a strong one); I think that the movie offered more than simply special effects. The plot of the family fighting to survive was as already stated present, and was overall an engaging plot. The only thing that really bugged me about the plot was that too many things just happened to work out too perfectly (eg. planes being where they're supposed to be, people happening to be standing in the right places at the right times, cars missing cracks and surviving against impossible odds, etc). However, there were a few other minor things in the plot that I thought were interesting/important.

First, as first seen in the title, 2012 helps to notify the world about December 21, 2012. I won't go on about this, but this new Y2K is becoming the focus of many people's attention as the year of supposedly impending doom approaches. Personally, I doubt anything significant will happen. If anything significant does happen, I don't really care because we aren't exactly significant ourselves.

Second, although just a brief scene, 2012 shows a conflict between China and Tibet. Although not necessarily noticeably (and probably not obvious to those not already aware), the scene illustrates part of the conflict between China and Tibet (one aspect of which is illustrated in "China Terrorizes Tibet" by the New York Times).

Third, the movie caters to believers of government conspiracy theories. The movie shows how the biggest governments of the world worked together to hide this impending doom from the entire planet, and furthermore went onto killing people (even if they were important people) who planned on revealing the truth. Sounds oddly familiar to Confessions of an Economic Hitman, in fact.

Fourth, the movie illustrates the gap between the rich and the poor, and how governments, businesses, etc. are impossibly biased against the latter. The fact that rich groups of people favor other rich people is not an unknown fact. However, I doubt some people would acknowledge the extent to which rich people are favored. I think the movie accurately portrays this contrast, with the auctioning of the right to life.

Fifth, the human condition is explored by 2012. The movie explores, although in a slightly cliché way, how humans interact during a crisis, and the value of human life. However, it also explores many of the faults of the human race (including those mentioned previously) including the saving of famous artworks rather than attempting to save more people.

Overall, I think the movie was good. The special effects will attract some people, and the ideas held by the plot will attract others. Although I wouldn't call the movie amazing (especially the ending), I wouldn't definitely say it's better than a lot of the negative movie reviews I've read about it.