Gamertell

Title: 2012
Format: *Blu-ray, DVD, PSP, Digial Download
Price: (SRP) $39.95 (2-disc Blu-ray), $38.95 (1-disc Blu-ray), $28.95 (DVD), $24.94 (PSP/UMD), $14.99 (iTunes)
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Publisher (Distributor): Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 for intense disaster sequenes and some language.
Pros: Amazing special effects, a lot of great cameos and bits of decent acting. A decent test of your HD TV.
Cons: Trite and overly punny dialog, sketchy science and primarily predictable plot.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb down; 76/100; C; * * 1/2 out of five.

You’ve got two more years, buddy, because the world is going to end in 2012. No, really. Everyone says so.

In the science fiction disaster movie, 2012, the entire planet is in danger thanks to a massive neutrino burst warming the Earth’s core. And guess when it’s all going to go to pot? (Hint: Read the @#$%! name of the movie.)

Explosions, volcanoes, fireballs hurling from the sky, massive earthquakes, outrunning explosions, ginormous tidal waves, mass hysteria, dogs and cats living together, it’s all in here. And in high definition.

The Ragu of Disaster Movies

After a scientist alerts the US President (Danny Glover) that the Earth’s upcoming doom, a secret plan is formulated by the world governments to save the human race, 99.9% of which have no idea what lies ahead.

Enter down-and-mostly-out writer, Jackson Curtis (John Cusak), who happens to have written an unsuccessful book about people trying to survive during a major disaster and stumbles on this ultimate secret. And there just happens to be a map to salvation in the hands of a crazy guy (Woody Harrelson) broadcasting a pirate radio show about, of course, the end of the world.

Naturally, because no one can have anything going well for them in a disaster movie at any level, Curtis is also divorced, his wife (Amanda Peet) is remarried (Thomas McCarthy) and his kids (Liam James and Morgan Lily) are being a bit cranky towards him.

Most of the movie is filled with reverse chase scenes with the cast dodging giant disaster after disaster and trying to get to the next supposedly safe spot on the globe. With so many actors in this movie (I left out Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, John Billingsley, George Segal, Patrick Bauchau and many, many others) you can bet that at least one is expendable per big-action sequence.

If Everyone Jumped At Exactly the Same Time…

The film’s premise is quite a bit of science fiction, fully embracing the idea that neutrinos short from solar flares would cause the Earth’s magnetic poles to rapidly swap which, in turn, would result in instant doom for everyone on board. If you can get passed the sketchy premise, you’re left with an intense action film with a few layers of character development and subplots which all eventually collide.

Nearly all of the special effects are truly amazing and the fact that you can see all the effect in high-def at home is a definite plus. They are often so good, in fact, (save some of the waves late in the film) that the acting often does not offer equal justice to the horrors, instead seeming more like people simply amazed at the really cool effects they are seeing off camera.

Unfortunately, the film’s dialogue doesn’t help, often cliche and packed with blatant foreshadowing.

There are, however, several pockets of decency. The fact that they got Harrelson to put on his crazy suit is pretty funny. Cusak does a good job with his usual semi-muttering, pseudo-cranky nice guy shtick which may not immediately put him at the top of the action movie list yet works pretty well here. Ejiofor’s scientist offers the film’s strongest, and most crucial, performance, making even this ridiculous premise seem plausible.

A Disk is Not Just a Disc

Since this is a Sony product, you can get the movie not only as a Blu-ray but also as DVD, digital download and even UMD (and the press sheet says you can download from the Blu-ray disc to your PSP via PS3 that I have yet to try thanks to Sony’s pricey memory card).

The Blu-ray comes with a few exclusives including in-movie trivia (“movieIQ”) and a picture-in-picture comparisons to story boards and pre-effects visualizations. Most are fair although the film’s final effects are often far more interesting.

More Ka-Boom for Your Buck?

There are really only two reasons to get this movie: The amazing special effects and the leapfrogging between Cusak’s and Ejiofor’s decent performances.

At it’s best, 2012 is an in-your-face action disaster movie with special effects you’ll love to watch - and pause here and there - and a few small surprises. At its worst it is unnecessarily filled with sap, gratuitous cameos (read: lackluster performances) and trite dialogue you’ll want to slap in the face.

This one really is only for those who need a modern, high-def disaster movie in their collection to plunk in when there’s nothing else to watch or to test their new HD TV.

Read [Alternate Disc-Tractions @ Gamertell] Site [2012]