2012

Get ready, because this film is a great example of excess and not knowing when to stop. More is not always better. Yes, the visuals are astoundingly real, but the antics the characters go through when the “shit hits the fan” is so ludicrous it ends up being funny instead of serious. Last I checked, the end of the world should be a pretty serious scenario. It doesn’t take long before things start to play out like a comedy. Then we’re back to the science for some seriousness, then back to over-the-top craziness. I wanted to be scared. I wanted to be at the edge of my seat, yet the implausibility of the main characters’ survival betrays all tension the film could ever hope to build. The only scenes that are chill-worthy are the ones showing regular folk battling to try and survive using only their wits and strength. But that in itself is not a compelling enough story. Plus, the filmmakers break the rules of the “film world” they have created. The Earth is self-destructing, yet cellphones work flawlessly, jets can fly through pyroclastic clouds without a hitch, and people can easily hold their breath in frigid waters for minutes on end. Why? Because characters need to talk to one another and go from A to B, of course. Smells like a plot device to me. I never thought that I’d laugh at the destruction of the Earth until watching this film, and that’s the saddest thing about it.