2012 (2009/Sony
Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B+ Sound: A- Extras: C Film: C
2012 was a ‘disaster film’ in all too
many ways. My first viewing of the film
(excitedly mind you) was in theaters. I was
immediately found it visually stunning, but halfway through I realized I was
watching a multi-million dollar bunch of epic garbage. You tell me John Cusack is in a film and I am
right there, but he has made some very poor choices recently and 2012 is at the top of that list. 2012 manages
to take all the things I hated about The
Day After Tomorrow and take it to the next level of horrid film
making. The plot starts off weak and
just as you think it is going to take off, it quickly delivers a boat load of
nothingness. Explosion after explosion
and flood after flood, nothing appears on the screen that can be described as a
logical occurrence of events. I cared
little for the characters and even less for the plot. Apparently the world gets destroyed in a
matter of days (with some mild warning signs mind you) and yet there is nothing
there to make you care.
2012 has an extremely simple premise,
the world is about to end and we are anxiously waiting to see who
survives. Our main character is Jackson
Curtis (John Cusack) a ‘deadbeat dad’ who will (obviously) save the day, all
while managing to become a superhero to the kids who wrote him off long ago. Jackson
seemingly still has feelings for his ex-wife, Kate Curtis (Amanda Peet), but
that becomes a side note as she has moved on.
Oliver Platt is thrown in the mix as some kind of stuffy government
official that has no heart, but he is just one of the many cameos of people who
pop in from time to time. Danny Glover
is there as the kind hearted President Thomas Wilson. Thandie Newton is the president’s daughter (Laura
Wilson) who develops a relationship with ecologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel
Ejiofor). Helmsley is the first to
inform the leaders of the world that there is a problem on the horizon. And blah, blah. Blah. The entire film is a path to nothingness;
where topics of rich vs. poor and the right to life arise in the most absurd
ways. Even typing this makes my head
hurts.
The
copious amounts of CGI and massive explosions can not makeup for the horrible
plot. I was sadly disappointed by the
whole thing and I can’t ever see having the desire to view this film again.
Roland Emmerich
impressed me with Independence Day and
(gasp!) The Patriot, but his recent
decent into disaster, he has taken too closely to heart. The
Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC and
now 2012 have left me disappointed
in Emmerich. The films are packed with
explosive non-sense and any excuse to load a scene to the brim with CGI. Granted the CGI is getting better, his films
are getting worse. He needs to move on
or ship out; because it is simply not working.
On the
flip side the only thing that did work with this 2012 Blu-ray was the technical features. The video is presented in a 1080p AVC-encoded
2.40 X 1 transfer that is stunning. The
CGI looks great with each scene crisp, clean and balanced. The color palate is explosive as pristine
image lights up the screen. The blacks
are sufficiently inky and nicely contrast the bright colors that bring out solid
flesh tones throughout. The detail is
astonishing with every wrinkle, line and thread of clothing visualized. There is an immersive amount of detail that
any Blu-ray would be proud of. I sing
this Blu-rays visual praises, because I can’t say the same for its plot. Vivid colors, inky blacks, solid contrast and
great shadow delineation (even with al the CGI) make this a pleasurable visual
experience. The sound is equally
wonderful as the DTS-HD Master Audio explodes from the speakers. The dialogue is crisp and balanced, not
merely coming from the front but instead utilizing the entire soundscape as the
action takes place. The full speaker
range is beautifully demonstrated as the directionality is splendid and
ambience is always there. The base is booming
and there is never a dull moment. This
is of demo quality and even with a horrendous plot I have a feeling many will
pick this title up just to show off their audio/visual toys.
The
extras (since I disliked the film so much) are a wash to me. Disc One houses an Audio Commentary;
Alternate Ending; Trailers; Roland’s Vision: Picture-In-Picture Commentary
(HD); Movie IQ (HD); BD-Live (HD). Disc
Two contains some Deleted Scenes; a featurette entitled (gag!) Roland Emmerich:
The Master of the Modern Epic; Interactive Mayan Calendar (HD); Designing the
End of the World (HD); Science Behind Destruction (HD); The End of the World:
Actor’s Perspective (HD); Making of the Music Video [Adam Lambert’s “Time for
Miracles”] (HD); Countdown to the Future (HD); more Trailers (HD). WOW! Yes, the set is definitely packed to the
max with features and featurettes, but I did not find any too exciting. The features either praise this film or
Emmerich himself, two things that I feel are undeserved and in turn a bunch of
unnecessary padding for a weak film.
Demo
material YES! Film quality NO!
- Michael P. Dougherty II
