At the Movies with Fatwayne

By now, most everyone is surely aware of the dire predictions that are circulating concerning the end of the world on December 21, 2012. This has all come about as the result of  the realization that the ancient Mayan calendar ended on that date. No one really knows exactly what the Mayans thought would happen but the consensus of opinions agree that something momentous will occur. To some people this means that a catastrophic event will befall us.

The movie 2012 deals with this dire prediction and all of its destruction resulting in the end of the world as we know it. It seems that a gigantic solar flare erupts on the sun causing a microwave-like effect deep within the Earth. As the Earth’s core heats up the planet’s crust begins to crumble causing massive earthquakes, deep chasms and huge tsunamis all combining to end our world.

As most disaster movies do, this one features an ensemble cast made up of quality actors including John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, and Woody Harrelson. This production won’t win any honors for its script and we won’t be seeing any best actor nominations coming from it but I am here to tell  you that it is a winner for it’s special effects!

I sat in stunned amazement for over two and one half hours as scene after scene of  unbelievable chaos unfolded before me. I could not help but wonder just how the makers of this film brought to the screen all of this totally believable destruction. And what imaginations they must have to continually come up with idea upon idea of  how to make us accept that we are witnessing the end of our world.

In some ways the film reminded me of 1972′s THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE with all of the people crowded onto a sinking ship. In this case the ship (a giant ark) was not sinking but there was a real possibility of that occurring. There was lots of water trapping people and families that were being tragically separated.

The plot line is fairly simple as governments and civilians try to survive the upcoming disaster. One of the most thrilling sequences involved Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his attempt to save his family by securing air transportation. The flight of the airplane through eroding runways, falling buildings, and collapsing elevated freeways was truly astounding. I can’t wait for you to see it!

One bit of business that I must mention is that of lasting through an almost three hour movie without a “potty” break. In my case, the large diet Coke that I treated myself to demanded that I take one of these much needed breaks. My problem was when to do it since I did not want to miss one second of this mesmerizing movie! There, I’ve warned  you!

I will post quotes from this movie as usual at  http://www.tvmoviequotes.com/2012.htm

Rated  – PG  -

Fatwayne’s Rating   -    -