Movie Review: 2012

How many times have we heard of doomsday being prophesied like a broken record? The Day After Tomorrow and Knowing were all hugely popular blockbusters, featuring one grand theme and subliminal message aimed towards the general public — that the world is coming to an end, and we should all prepare accordingly. Similarly, 2012 heralds the end of the world by introducing onslaughts of natural disasters and geological catastrophes following an eerie prediction of the Mayan calenders centuries ago.

In this movie, we are able to witness the inner good and bad of mankind brought to light — of desperation and deceit, of hope and despair, of vice and virtue, of love and hate, and of dedication and disloyalty. We are able to see the true selfishness of those whose mind are preoccupied predominantly with thoughts of themselves; yet at the same time, true heroism and glory in those who place their families before everything else. Love prevails in the midst of darkness, and patriotism shine where hopelessness reign. We see humanity at its noblest, while viewing mankind at its ugliest.

A futuristic reincarnation of the classic Noah’s Ark tale, 2012 has its share of ups and downs, yays and nays. Although remarkably visual, I get the feeling that the movie went a little overboard at times, to the point of it being unrealistic. Most of the time, the computer-generated graphics were jaw-droppingly incredible, though there werecertain moments that ruined the entire movie and made me wish I could just wring my popcorn and dunk it onto the screen in frustration.

In terms of sound effects, I’d rate the movie a fantastic. Brilliant music was placed at the most appropriate times, and it does help ignite an emotion within the audience. Throughout the two-hour screening in the cinema, everybody laughed along, cried along, gawked along and showed signs of generally positive responses towards the movie.

Character progression is one area I wish the director could have improved at, or addressed further. The characters were very driven and passionate and firm with their beliefs, good or bad. However, by the end of the movie, I found myself drawn to characters whom I have previously dismissed, and at the same time, I found myself repulsed by some characters I initially took a liking to. I wonder if it was meant to be that way, or perhaps I was too quick with my first impressions?

All in all, I’d rate this movie a seven, mainly because of the angst that I found so irritating and the odd timeline (and timeskips) of the movie — no matter how discreet it was being presented, I found it incredibly disconcerting all the same. Other than that, it was a two hours well spent indeed.

To those who are interested, I’ve enclosed a trailer.

Conclusion:

Rating: 7/10

Concept: 6/10

Trailer: 7/10

Acting: 8/10

Sound effects: 9/10

Visual effects: 8/10

Did I get my money’s worth? Yes

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