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NATURAL DISASTER

Good looking action cliché

2012 (12A):

2012 is one of those movies that falls into the 'so bad, it's almost good' category.

If you like your acting hammy - and your storyline cheesy - then this is the film for you.

Filled with formulaic clichés, this movie frequently dips in pace, which is really a problem when it runs to a bum-numbing two hours and forty minutes.

Despite the relentless action, there is very little imagination on show here and the predictable character stories rip much of the suspense out of the film.

Dramatic

But there's no denying that when it comes to making the end of the world look dramatic on the big screen, director Roland Emmerich delivers. And there's some fun to be had if you're willing to leave your brain in the foyer.

Emmerich - who previously brought us alien invasions in Independence Day and global warming disaster in The Day After Tomorrow - likes his doomsday scenarios.

And here he blows up an estimated $250 million in showing us what the end of the world might look like.

It should come as no real surprise that plot and character development come a poor second to the impressive middle hour when the apocalypse hits.

Running with the idea that the world will go kaput with the end of the ancient Mayan calendar's current cycle in December 2012, the movie charts the build up to and fallout of the doomsday scenario.

Emmerich has picked everyman actor John Cusack to anchor all the madness. He plays Jackson Curtis, a not-very-successful author with an interest in sci-fi. His marriage to Kate (Peet) has fallen apart and she's left him for another man, leaving Curtis to
struggle in his relationship with their two kids.

Floods

Now working as a driver for a Russian billionaire, Jackson has maintained an interest in all things apocalyptic.

But when he heads on a bonding holiday to Yellowstone National Park with the kids, a cordoned-off area of destruction arouses his
suspicions enough for him to believe in the crazy prophecies of a radio presenter (Harrelson) who's convinced the end is nigh.

Meanwhile, the US government, led by a Presidential Danny Glover, has been tipped off by a top scientist that massive floods, volcanoes and earthquakes are on the way.

His right-hand man (Oliver Platt) is interested in saving the world's elite by sending them to shelter in high-tech arks. Hey, I never said the plot made sense.

Collapse

Anyway who cares? This is a popcorn flick and when it comes to global destruction, 2012 does exactly what it says on the tin.

From the destruction of Las Vegas to the collapse of the White House, the falling of Rio de Janeiro and The Vatican to the cruise ship that's swamped by tidal waves, Emmerich is a real master of mass destruction and what he brings to the screen is on an impressively massive scale.

But his attempts to bring a conscience and a heart to proceedings are often unintentionally funny due to all the melodrama on show here.

THE VERDICT: It's way too long and for the final bungling half hour, really dips in pace. The visual effects are terrific but this bungling flick has little else to recommend it.

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