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Roland Emerich’s disaster movie
2012 touches a new high in FX wizardry, says Ervell E. Menezes
WITH a body of work which began with Independence Day and includes biggies like Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow, director Roland Emerich could well be called the father of the disaster-doomsday movie. And in 2012 he picks up from where he left off in those earlier blockbusters but the accent is purely on the visuals and the computer-generated special effects.
You have Los Angeles collapsing like a pack of cards, then Yellowstone National Park, Las Vegas, Washington, the Vatican, India, Tibet and finally a giant cruise ship all in various forms of disintegration. Our hero Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) has his plane flying precariously between two falling skyscrapers (like James Bond’s automobile squeezing between two colliding obstacles) and all kinds of edge-of-the seat-thrills but its 168-minute duration seems much too much to take. There are not enough pauses for the story to sink in and touch those grey cells and then for that matter there isn’t much of a story at all. Harold Kloser script touches on the demolition drive on the basis of an interpretation of the Mayan calendar that points to an earthly catastrophe in the year 2012 and those familiar with the prophet of doom Nostradamus will find things familiar. It is all about man’s abuse of nature and its resources and it is a domino effect cascading to its inevitable doom. And guess what, it all begins its foray into the future deep down in a Naga copper mine in India where Indian astrophysicist (Jimmy Mistry) shows US scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) the disturbing evidence of the heating up of the earth’s core. Helmsley reports back to US President Wilson (Danny Glover) warning him of an imminent global catastrophe. How world leaders react to the situation is somewhat simplistic but not surprisingly they decide to rescue only a small percentage of human population and this includes the rich and powerful. Naturally there is a conflict over this and with the case of the underdog brought to light there is the expected conflict. China is no small power in this race for survival. Meanwhile, Jackson Curtis and his family are doing their bit and disaster follows disaster with amazing regularity to very near numb the senses. And just when one wonders how all this will end, it happens but by that time one hardly seems to care. It is a case of overkill but for those who lap up visual razzle-dazzlery, the fare is likely to up their street. John Cusack has most of
the action but very little by way of acting. Amanda Peet as his wife
is just marginal. Thandie Newton, as the President’s daughter is
impressive and so is Chiwetel Ejoifor but Woody Harrelson is purely
academic in this action-heavy entertainer. 2012 is no doubt a
new high in FX wizardry but it is somehow lacking in soul.
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