CNS Movie Review: 2012

2012

By John P. McCarthy
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The entire universe could be destroyed more than once in the time it takes master-of-disaster director Roland Emmerich to rearrange planet Earth and dismantle human civilization in "2012" (Columbia).

To be fair, the two and a half hours pass quickly enough, and so the film's length turns out to be its least troubling aspect. What's genuinely disturbing about this disaster movie to end all disaster movies -- even taken as a popcorn flick engineered solely to entertain -- is the almost sadistic way Emmerich and his computer-generated special-effects wizards kill off billions of people.

"2012" probably has the highest body count of any movie ever made and, although the carnage isn't graphic, there's too much dissonance between the spectacle's inherent disregard for human life and the attempt to send a positive message about humanity's altruistic instincts and better nature. The limits of the technically plausible and morally palatable are both tested.

Emmerich has built his career on ravaging the globe in popular films like "Independence Day," "Godzilla" and "The Day After Tomorrow." Here, mankind is not at fault; instead, doomsday stems from an act of nature -- increased solar activity and the alignment of the planets -- that results in the overheating of the earth's core and displacement of its crust. As the Mayans supposedly anticipated, these events reach critical mass on the winter solstice: 12/21/2012.

The audience is asked to take heart since the end-of-days scenario brings out the best in two particular individuals. White House geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has been working with the scientific community and governments to predict the crisis and shape a response that includes an international plan to evacuate 400,000 fortunate souls. Exactly how they'll be spared has definite biblical overtones.

Divorced science-fiction writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), who has pondered this eventuality in a largely ignored book, happens to be camping with his two children in Yosemite, an epicenter of the catastrophe. He and his family are perfectly positioned to witness California falling into the sea and Las Vegas being torn asunder.

Back in the nation's capital, President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) chooses to act selflessly before the White House is flattened by an aircraft carrier and the Washington Monument topples onto innocent citizens. The Himalayas then become the plot's focal point as floodwaters reach the top of the earth.

Along with false solemnity, the script is sprinkled with intermittently successful gallows humor. More often, though, hokey lines and corny cliches trigger unintended laughter, and the acting is predictably bad. Only Woody Harrelson, playing a pickle-eating radio prophet named Charlie Frost, and Oliver Platt, portraying cynical presidential aide Carl Anheuser, embrace the apocalyptic absurdity and have fun with their roles.

Despite a plethora of religious imagery and references to faith and prayer, "2012" has no theological substance. It posits an ecumenical disaster in that no denomination or belief system is given favored status. Yet its general theological glibness may rankle a minority of viewers of every creed.

Catholics should be forewarned that Emmerich dispatches the faithful in the Vatican with particular relish, collapsing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel onto praying prelates and dropping the dome of St. Peter's Basilica onto the reverent masses assembled in St. Peter's Square. He also goes out of his way to show Rio de Janeiro's statue of Christ the Redeemer falling down. After all that, it's difficult to feel hopeful -- let alone ennobled -- at the conclusion of "2012."

The film contains considerable crude and crass language, much profanity, a rough gesture and a few instances of sexual innuendo. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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McCarthy is a guest reviewer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film & Broadcasting. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

END

Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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