Post by Rain on Dec 6, 2009 11:20:05 GMT -5
Just thought I would do a little film review. I seen 2012 last night so it's pretty fresh in my head.
SPOILER WARNING! DO NOT READ IF YOU STILL WANT TO SEE THE FILM!
STORY: (again stressing spoiler warning. Detailed synopsis below)
The film is set in the year 2012 and is based on the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world on December 21st 2012. There are several key plot lines in the film.
The first details the story of a limo driver and struggling author Curtis Jackson (John Cusack) and his desperate struggle to get his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and two children Noah (Liam James) and Lilly (Morgan Lily) along with Kates new boyfriend Gordon (Thomas McCarthy) out of California and to safety.
Upon getting a map from a slightly odd hermit conspriacy theorist named Charlie (Woody Harrleson) he discovers that there are several arks being made within the Himalayas in China. After escaping the eruption of the super volcano at Yellowstone the group makes for China, but they have to stop soon after in need of a bigger plane.
Here they encounter Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Buric), who is Curtis' boss, his two sons, his girlfriend Tamara (Beatrice Rosen) and the pilot of Yuri's private plane Sasha (Johann Urb) whom Tamara truly loves. Sasha presses that they need a co-pilot, and when Curtis tells them that Gordon is a pilot Yuri agrees to let them on board.
The group then make their way to China but have to drive out of the back of the plane in one of Yuri's cars, whilst Sasha tries to stabilize the plane, ultimately sacrificing himself whilst the others survive.
Some time later the group notices helicopters flying over head carrying various animals to the arks. One of the helicopters pilots notices the group and lands besid ethem. He asks for their boarding passes (tickets for the ark) and Yuri says he has a pass for himself and his two boys, before departing in the helicopter leaving the group along with Tamara behind.
The second plotline focusses on the scientific advisor to the President Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is one of the few who have read Curtis' novel, and has been inspired by the selflessness of the characters, often exhibiting this humanitarian attitude in his own actions. After visiting his good friend Satnam (Jimi Mistry) an Indian scientist who is the first to discover the Earths core heating up, Adrian takes the news to Carl, the Presidents Chief of Staff, who then appoints Adrian Scientific Advisor.
The President (Danny Glover) then informs the other world leaders, and work on the arks begins. When the cataclysmic events begin to unfold, the Whitehouse is evacuated, with most going on Air Force One which is bound for China, including Adrian, Carl and the Presidents daughter Laura (Thandie Newton). The President stays behind however, and makes the public aware that the world is ending. He, along with those who have sought refuge inside the Whitehouse die when a the U.S.S John F. Kennedy, which is riding on a tsunami, crashes into the building.
After saying goodbye to his father for the last time, Adrian organises for Satnam along with his wife and son to be picked up. This never happens however, and the three die in an embrace when a tsunami hits India, much to Adrian's dismay.
After some bonding between Adrian and Laura, the grup finally arrive at the arks. Adrian and Laura are disgusted to find that only the richest of the rich have been allowed on board, with even those who constructed the arks not being allowed onboard. Adrian is further angered when he discovers that his room alone could hold at least ten people. After seeing a live feed of the hundreds of people trying to get on to the ark he along with Laura helps convince the leaders to lower the gates and allow the people on board.
The third plotline ties in with the other two. It involves a Tibetan family. At the beginning of the movie, a buddhist monk name Nima (Osric Chau) and his grand-parents are taken out of their village, leaving behind Nima's brother Tenzin (Chin Han) who then becomes one of the welders in the construction of the arks.
Tenzin discovers what the governments are hiding and informs his brother Nima, who then visits the Dalai Lama who imparts some wisdom and gives Nima the keys to an old vehicle he owns. Tenzin forms a plan to get Nima and his grand-parents on one of the arks.
As Nima and his grand-parents travel to Tenzin they encounter Curtis, Kate, Gordon, Noah, Lily and Tamara and decide to bring them along. When they arrive, Tenzin says his plan will not work with so many people, and Kate proceeds to beg him to take her children, and he is eventually convinced by his grandmother to let them all on board as she says, "They are all children of the Earth."
They sneak through a maintenance tunnel at the back of the ark, and see the hoards of people trying to get on, that are unable to because the gates are closed. Tamara spots Yuri and his sons in the crowd, and her dog Caesar. She stops, whilst the others continue on, and the hatch begins to close. She whistles and Caesar hears her, running from the crowd and travelling across a pipe to reach Tamara, who then makes it inside just in time.
The group continues along the tunnels which are below the animal cages, but the gates begin to open (thansks to Adrian and Laura convincing the G8 leadrers to let the people on board). Due to this the platform shifts and Tenzin and Gordon fall down, spotted by Curtis. Tenzin's foot gets crushed to pulp in the gears but he manages to hoist himself up. Curtis tries his best to save Gordon, but he falls into the gears and dies.
Meanwhile as the gate sbegin to close again and the platfrom rises, Yuri helps one of his sons onto it. He then sturggles to get his other son up, but eventually manages to, sacrificing himself in the process. The gates then begin to close, but are stopped from closing fully due to a drill that Tenzin dropped getting caught in the gears. Thus the ships engines cannon start.
When a tsunami eventually hits, the ark begins to flood and each section at the back of the ark seals off one by one. Curtis manages to get Tenzin back to the group but then one of the doors seal, causing Tamara and Lilly to be separated from the rest of the group. Another doors behind them begins to close. Tamara helps Lilly over, then, realizing that she herself will not make it over, saves her dog Caesar by throwing him over just before the door closes. She then drowns as the water floods the compartment. Adrian and Laura find Lilly, who enforms them that her family is trapped two sections away. Adrian establishes contact with the group via video link and as their compartment is rapidly flooding, Curtis decides to dive down and try to remove the drill.
As Nima, his grand-parents and Kate are busy trying to prevent Tenzin from losing too much blood, Noah siezes the oppertunity and swims down after Curtis. Curtis cannot dislodge the drill, and it is only when Noah discovers a section of cabling that they manage to dislodge it. The arks engines can then start, and they reverse just in time to stop the ark from crashing into the peak of Mt. Everest.
One month and 27 days have passed and, still aboard the ark, Laura has finished reading Curtis' book. She then tells Adrian that she liked it, and which point he asks her out on a date. The two then share a kiss.
On the bridge Carl is informed that the waters are receeding much faster than expected and that whilst the rest of the world sunk, Africa actually rose, and thus was not affected by any of the catastrophes. The arks captain announces that there are clear skies for the first time (similar to the ending of The Day After Tomorrow), and the hatches are opened for those on board all three arks to go outside. We see Nima and his grand parents, along with Tenzin who had survived despite his rapid blood loss. Also present are Curtis, Kate, Noah and Lilly, along with Yuri's sons and Caesar,
The captain then reveals they are setting course for the Cape of Good Hope, and the film closes with a view of th Earth, in which Africa is the only visible continent.
Throughout the story we see mini relationships changing an unfolding. For instance we see Noah try to convince Curtis and Gordon to get along, and they eventually do reconcile shortly before Gordon's death. We also see the relationship blossoming between Laura and Adrian, and the development of Tamara as she reveals she loved Sasha and how Yuri forced her to have plastic surgery. All these little elements just add that extra bit to the plot.
ACTING:
Acting is one of the more important elements in a movie. A movie can have a rubbish story, but it is redeemable if the acting is good.
With 2012 I felt the acting was of a very high quality. Danny Glover done well, putting lots of emotion into his character, who was effectively the last ever President of the USA. Thandie Newton also was great as his daughter, Laura. Amanda Peet was good, and Thomas McCarthy provided some humour in his role as Gordon.
I do however think that John Cusack was a bit off at times and maybe wasn't the best choice for the lead role.
But for me, there were three stand out performances in this film:
VISUALS:
OK so this film maybe over-done it a bit in terms of the special effects, but said effects were some of the best I have seen. Again this ties in with acting, as the actors done a great job of making themselves believable with all that bluescreen.
There is one scene however, where the water begins pouring into the ark, that you can tell it's real water, and then when it contrasts against the digital water, it looks a little tacky. But other than that I thought the visual aspects of the film were excellent.
SOUND:
The sound was reasonably good. The film score itself wa sgood, but at times it was overwhelmed by the scenes themselves.
CONCLUSION:
Pros:
~ The stunning CGI
~ The high quality acting
~ The believability (is that a word?
)
~ The length (I feel the long length suited the film)
Cons:
~ Lilly constantly screaming (man she has the most annoying scream!)
~ The investment of lots of character development into certain characters e.g. Gordon and Tamara, when it turns out to be pointless as they get pretty crappy deaths.
Overall I feel it was a great movie, and one you should see in the cinema, or on a large (VERY large!) widescreen TV. The story was sufficient and the acting outstanding, with great special effects and a decent score it all added up to a great film experience. It has been slammed for being not very realistic, but come on, it's just a movie! A movie about the end of the world at that. Being realistic here wouldn't have worked.
I would give it 4 stars out of 5 and would recommend it to anyone. If you liked the Day After Tomorrow, you'll love this!
BTW this is just my opinion, so you will have to judge by your own preferences.
SPOILER WARNING! DO NOT READ IF YOU STILL WANT TO SEE THE FILM!
STORY: (again stressing spoiler warning. Detailed synopsis below)
The film is set in the year 2012 and is based on the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world on December 21st 2012. There are several key plot lines in the film.
The first details the story of a limo driver and struggling author Curtis Jackson (John Cusack) and his desperate struggle to get his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and two children Noah (Liam James) and Lilly (Morgan Lily) along with Kates new boyfriend Gordon (Thomas McCarthy) out of California and to safety.
Upon getting a map from a slightly odd hermit conspriacy theorist named Charlie (Woody Harrleson) he discovers that there are several arks being made within the Himalayas in China. After escaping the eruption of the super volcano at Yellowstone the group makes for China, but they have to stop soon after in need of a bigger plane.
Here they encounter Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Buric), who is Curtis' boss, his two sons, his girlfriend Tamara (Beatrice Rosen) and the pilot of Yuri's private plane Sasha (Johann Urb) whom Tamara truly loves. Sasha presses that they need a co-pilot, and when Curtis tells them that Gordon is a pilot Yuri agrees to let them on board.
The group then make their way to China but have to drive out of the back of the plane in one of Yuri's cars, whilst Sasha tries to stabilize the plane, ultimately sacrificing himself whilst the others survive.
Some time later the group notices helicopters flying over head carrying various animals to the arks. One of the helicopters pilots notices the group and lands besid ethem. He asks for their boarding passes (tickets for the ark) and Yuri says he has a pass for himself and his two boys, before departing in the helicopter leaving the group along with Tamara behind.
The second plotline focusses on the scientific advisor to the President Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is one of the few who have read Curtis' novel, and has been inspired by the selflessness of the characters, often exhibiting this humanitarian attitude in his own actions. After visiting his good friend Satnam (Jimi Mistry) an Indian scientist who is the first to discover the Earths core heating up, Adrian takes the news to Carl, the Presidents Chief of Staff, who then appoints Adrian Scientific Advisor.
The President (Danny Glover) then informs the other world leaders, and work on the arks begins. When the cataclysmic events begin to unfold, the Whitehouse is evacuated, with most going on Air Force One which is bound for China, including Adrian, Carl and the Presidents daughter Laura (Thandie Newton). The President stays behind however, and makes the public aware that the world is ending. He, along with those who have sought refuge inside the Whitehouse die when a the U.S.S John F. Kennedy, which is riding on a tsunami, crashes into the building.
After saying goodbye to his father for the last time, Adrian organises for Satnam along with his wife and son to be picked up. This never happens however, and the three die in an embrace when a tsunami hits India, much to Adrian's dismay.
After some bonding between Adrian and Laura, the grup finally arrive at the arks. Adrian and Laura are disgusted to find that only the richest of the rich have been allowed on board, with even those who constructed the arks not being allowed onboard. Adrian is further angered when he discovers that his room alone could hold at least ten people. After seeing a live feed of the hundreds of people trying to get on to the ark he along with Laura helps convince the leaders to lower the gates and allow the people on board.
The third plotline ties in with the other two. It involves a Tibetan family. At the beginning of the movie, a buddhist monk name Nima (Osric Chau) and his grand-parents are taken out of their village, leaving behind Nima's brother Tenzin (Chin Han) who then becomes one of the welders in the construction of the arks.
Tenzin discovers what the governments are hiding and informs his brother Nima, who then visits the Dalai Lama who imparts some wisdom and gives Nima the keys to an old vehicle he owns. Tenzin forms a plan to get Nima and his grand-parents on one of the arks.
As Nima and his grand-parents travel to Tenzin they encounter Curtis, Kate, Gordon, Noah, Lily and Tamara and decide to bring them along. When they arrive, Tenzin says his plan will not work with so many people, and Kate proceeds to beg him to take her children, and he is eventually convinced by his grandmother to let them all on board as she says, "They are all children of the Earth."
They sneak through a maintenance tunnel at the back of the ark, and see the hoards of people trying to get on, that are unable to because the gates are closed. Tamara spots Yuri and his sons in the crowd, and her dog Caesar. She stops, whilst the others continue on, and the hatch begins to close. She whistles and Caesar hears her, running from the crowd and travelling across a pipe to reach Tamara, who then makes it inside just in time.
The group continues along the tunnels which are below the animal cages, but the gates begin to open (thansks to Adrian and Laura convincing the G8 leadrers to let the people on board). Due to this the platform shifts and Tenzin and Gordon fall down, spotted by Curtis. Tenzin's foot gets crushed to pulp in the gears but he manages to hoist himself up. Curtis tries his best to save Gordon, but he falls into the gears and dies.
Meanwhile as the gate sbegin to close again and the platfrom rises, Yuri helps one of his sons onto it. He then sturggles to get his other son up, but eventually manages to, sacrificing himself in the process. The gates then begin to close, but are stopped from closing fully due to a drill that Tenzin dropped getting caught in the gears. Thus the ships engines cannon start.
When a tsunami eventually hits, the ark begins to flood and each section at the back of the ark seals off one by one. Curtis manages to get Tenzin back to the group but then one of the doors seal, causing Tamara and Lilly to be separated from the rest of the group. Another doors behind them begins to close. Tamara helps Lilly over, then, realizing that she herself will not make it over, saves her dog Caesar by throwing him over just before the door closes. She then drowns as the water floods the compartment. Adrian and Laura find Lilly, who enforms them that her family is trapped two sections away. Adrian establishes contact with the group via video link and as their compartment is rapidly flooding, Curtis decides to dive down and try to remove the drill.
As Nima, his grand-parents and Kate are busy trying to prevent Tenzin from losing too much blood, Noah siezes the oppertunity and swims down after Curtis. Curtis cannot dislodge the drill, and it is only when Noah discovers a section of cabling that they manage to dislodge it. The arks engines can then start, and they reverse just in time to stop the ark from crashing into the peak of Mt. Everest.
One month and 27 days have passed and, still aboard the ark, Laura has finished reading Curtis' book. She then tells Adrian that she liked it, and which point he asks her out on a date. The two then share a kiss.
On the bridge Carl is informed that the waters are receeding much faster than expected and that whilst the rest of the world sunk, Africa actually rose, and thus was not affected by any of the catastrophes. The arks captain announces that there are clear skies for the first time (similar to the ending of The Day After Tomorrow), and the hatches are opened for those on board all three arks to go outside. We see Nima and his grand parents, along with Tenzin who had survived despite his rapid blood loss. Also present are Curtis, Kate, Noah and Lilly, along with Yuri's sons and Caesar,
The captain then reveals they are setting course for the Cape of Good Hope, and the film closes with a view of th Earth, in which Africa is the only visible continent.
Throughout the story we see mini relationships changing an unfolding. For instance we see Noah try to convince Curtis and Gordon to get along, and they eventually do reconcile shortly before Gordon's death. We also see the relationship blossoming between Laura and Adrian, and the development of Tamara as she reveals she loved Sasha and how Yuri forced her to have plastic surgery. All these little elements just add that extra bit to the plot.
ACTING:
Acting is one of the more important elements in a movie. A movie can have a rubbish story, but it is redeemable if the acting is good.
With 2012 I felt the acting was of a very high quality. Danny Glover done well, putting lots of emotion into his character, who was effectively the last ever President of the USA. Thandie Newton also was great as his daughter, Laura. Amanda Peet was good, and Thomas McCarthy provided some humour in his role as Gordon.
I do however think that John Cusack was a bit off at times and maybe wasn't the best choice for the lead role.
But for me, there were three stand out performances in this film:
- The first of these is Chiwetel Ejiofor as Adrian Helmsley. His character is like the moral guide for the story, and sees everyone as being equal. Ejiofor (who also appeared in American Gangster) was relatively unknown to me, but he was outstanding in this film. He had this emotive quality that really pushed the story forwards, and Im sure that this will boost his career trememdously.
- The second of these is the slightly loopy conspiracy theorist Charlie, who wa splayed by Woody Harrleson. I have always been a fan of Harrleson and he rarely gives a bad performance. 2012 is no exception, as he pulls off his character to a tee. He provides some comedy as well as a serious side, which adds a foreboding element to the film.
- The third of these is the most surprising of all. One of the best performances of the film has to go to Liam James, who played Noah Jackson. For me, the child actors in big movies normally suck, and bring the film down *cough* Jake Lloyd *cough* but this kid definately pulled it off. He managed to get believable emotion into his character who desperately wants his father and his mothers boyfriend to get along. In many ways he was more believable than John Cusack IMO. He is definately one to watch in the future thats for sure.
VISUALS:
OK so this film maybe over-done it a bit in terms of the special effects, but said effects were some of the best I have seen. Again this ties in with acting, as the actors done a great job of making themselves believable with all that bluescreen.
There is one scene however, where the water begins pouring into the ark, that you can tell it's real water, and then when it contrasts against the digital water, it looks a little tacky. But other than that I thought the visual aspects of the film were excellent.
SOUND:
The sound was reasonably good. The film score itself wa sgood, but at times it was overwhelmed by the scenes themselves.
CONCLUSION:
Pros:
~ The stunning CGI
~ The high quality acting
~ The believability (is that a word?
)~ The length (I feel the long length suited the film)
Cons:
~ Lilly constantly screaming (man she has the most annoying scream!)
~ The investment of lots of character development into certain characters e.g. Gordon and Tamara, when it turns out to be pointless as they get pretty crappy deaths.
Overall I feel it was a great movie, and one you should see in the cinema, or on a large (VERY large!) widescreen TV. The story was sufficient and the acting outstanding, with great special effects and a decent score it all added up to a great film experience. It has been slammed for being not very realistic, but come on, it's just a movie! A movie about the end of the world at that. Being realistic here wouldn't have worked.
I would give it 4 stars out of 5 and would recommend it to anyone. If you liked the Day After Tomorrow, you'll love this!
BTW this is just my opinion, so you will have to judge by your own preferences.
