2012(2009)

Plot of 2012: Adrian Helmsley, a scientific advisor to the president of the USA finds out that there is a prospect for serious natural disasters in 2012, and despite his predictions nothing seems to have been done – on the face of things. But when things begin to go wrong, Jackson Curtis, a struggling writer driving a limo, drives to his ex-wife’s house and collects her, her new partner Gordon and their two children and make for the airport where they get in a Cessna and take off  as the city around them collapses. They fly to Yellowstone and retrieve a map of a possible place of safety in China from broadcaster and conspiracy theorist Charlie, then fly on to Las Vegas where they meet up with Jackson’s employer Yuri, his girlfriend and his two sons. They manage to hitch a lift with him since he needs Gordon to act as co-pilot in his vast Russian cargo plane and off they go towards China. Meanwhile the presidential group have taken off in Air force One, leaving the Pres himself glad-handing New Yorkers.  In China they all muster at the location of a number of vast vessels intended to ride out the storm, but can they all get on board.

Content: No sex or nudity. Just a bit of social drinking I think. Virtually from the beginning of the film the destruction of civilisation is taking place with skyscrapers falling over, the earth opening up and later volcanic eruptions firing flaming rocks into the air. Then from the operations room in Air force One, we can see that there is going to be a tsunami, flooding almost everywhere except very high ground on the planet. Because the President has stayed behind, the man in charge is the White House Chief of Staff, who is a bit of a villain. But Adrian Helmsley is on board and he forms an alliance with Laura Wilson the First Daughter (Never knew that was a thing), and they continue to be sensible. The Russian has a plane full of cars, allowing our family in danger to escape in a Bentley as the cargo plane lands on a Chinese glassier. There is a lot of stuff about the marine craft managing or not managing to ride out the storm, as you would expect.

A View: My usual criterion for success of a film is that it might exceed its production cost on its first weekend, and surprisingly even though its budget was supposed to be $200 million, it made $230 million on its first weekend.  So a success then even though it was generally thought to be too long. There were many seat of the pants moments, although the final scenes were irritating rather than exciting. However if you want to see how the world as we know it ends this film is as good as any.

Fun Fact: Most of the marine references are complete hogwash. For instance on the cruise ship (which I forgot to mention) as soon as it rolls  a bit, everything cannons from side to side. They are on a ship for god’s sake!