2012 is an English movie, the filming of which was started in early 2009 and was released in the US theatres in November of the same year. The significance of the date 2012 is that Dec 21’st 2012 is stated to be the end of the Mayan calendar (calendar used by the Maya communities) and thus the “end of the world”. The film topped the box office with world-wide collections of over $700 million and has been nominated for Critics Choice Award and Satellite awards.
Cast: John Cussac: As Jackson Curtis
Oliver Platt: As Carl Anheuser
Chiwetel Ejiofo: As Dr Adrian Helmsley
DannyGlover: As Thomas Wilson
Amanda Peet As Kate
Zlatko Buric: As Yuri Karpov
Woody Harrelson As Charlie Frost
Plot: The film has been made with the date Dec 21st 2012 in mind. The hero of the film, Jackson Curtis, makes a heroic escape from America along with his family against the backdrop of the chaos created by the “catastrophic incidents”.
Synopsis: The film starts with an American scientist, Dr Adrian Helmsley, making his way along with his Indian pal Satnam, a geophysicist, on a rainy day to the latter’s copper mine. Satnam shows him how the earth is getting heated up with a shift in its tectonic plates, and the implications of it. Helmsley then goes and warns the US Chief of Staff, Carl Anheuser, and President Thomas Wilson of the impending disaster and urges him to take actions to curb it. According to him, on Dec 21st 2012, the world would come to an end due to the earth’s core getting rapidly heated up as a result of the sun’s nutrino radiation caused by the misalignment of the planets.
His words prove to be true when surface cracks and earthquakes are witnessed at many a place and car explosions add to the scary atmosphere. Jackson Curtis, a writer, plans on a trip , but is informed that the areas all over, especially those around the Yellow Stone National Park have become “unstable”. He, thus, cuts short his trip and returns home. Meanwhile, the US government officials try their best on how to control all these disasters and decide on evacuating. Curtis, along with ex-wife Kate and his family pack up and run for their safety at the nick of the moment, carrying a map that was given to Curtis by an old person, Charlie Frost, detailing the directions to the location of a spaceship that was being built to save mankind. As the plane flies, Jackson runs into Yuri, his employer, and family in Las Vegas who are also on their way to the ships. Meanwhile Dr Helmsley and the top officials also fly towards the arks via Air Force One. They all witness Las Vegas, Hawaii and most of the cities going up in flames.
Finally, many people from all over the world come to board the ship and notwithstanding the turbulent waves and minor crashes with Mount Everest, many people, including Jackson Curtis, manage to survive. The film ends on a happy note with the ship directed to Cape of Good Hope, South Africa which received minimal damage during the mishaps.
Review: The plot of the movie revolves around the doomsday, which is supposedly on Dec 21st 2012. 2012 is a drama and action-packed film about a global cataclysm that would bring an end to the world. The latter half of the film elaborately describes the heroic struggle of the survivors. The characterization is a bit weak, but the picturisation and the visual effects are skilfully handled. The seriousness is maintained throughout the film, especially towards the ending of the film, with a slight musical touch in a couple of scenes. The depiction of the surface cracks, tsunamis and the volcanic eruptions show the amount of computer graphics used. Overall, the film is very fascinating especially to those who are great lovers of science fiction. It ends with an interesting message to the viewers and to the population at large.