No one likes destroying the world more than director Roland Emmerich, whose previous films include Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow.  As much as the world was destroyed in those films, however, they don’t hold a candle to the amount of destruction Emmerich rolls out in his latest effort, 2012.  I overheard someone refer to this movie as “disaster porn,” and I could not describe it any better myself.

The film opens with the planets and sun in perfect alignment, much like the opening of Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Whereas the alignment in that film led to a birth (of technology et al), in 2012 it means death, destruction, and the end of the world as we know it.  The upcoming destruction is discovered by an Indian scientist in 2009 and the world’s leaders gather in Vancouver, B.C. to formulate a plan for the survival of the human race.  What they don’t do is share this information with anyone they don’t want to have to assassinate.

In 2012, a father is taking his two kids camping in Yellowstone National Park where he discovers a secret U.S. army base.  After being escorted off the base, he is approached by a conspiracy theorist who believes that the world will be ending on December 21, 2012 and that the governments of the world have been secretly building giant spaceships to escape before it is too late.  He sounds crazy, but of course he is not and the encounter allows the father to keep his family one step ahead of Mother Nature’s destructive path.

Instead of focusing his destructive attention strictly on famous landmarks like he did in Independence Day, Emmerich unloads his CGI mayhem on entire locales this time around.  The most epic set piece is the destruction of Los Angeles.  The entire city literally tumbles and explodes as John Cusack somehow manages to avoid wrecking the limo he is using to get his family out.  It’s really quite a remarkable sequence in terms of its special effects.  Freeways crumble, buildings topple, gas stations explode and it all seems to be done in one long take.  Sure, a cynical viewer could really rip it apart in terms of logic and believability, but sometimes you just have to let that go and enjoy the ride.

Along with L.A., Emmerich also destroys Las Vegas, Yellowstone, Hawaii, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Washington D.C.  Not settling for simply blowing up the White House as he had already done, Emmerich this time chooses demolition by aircraft carrier.

The effects and action sequences are top-notch, but what about the story?  Well, as you might expect, it is filled with clichés and cheesy motivational speeches.  The film even goes so far as to have a fan of the father character, a writer, ask if he believes people could act for the greater good even if they knew it could mean their death, as he suggests in his book.  Of course, if you think the father isn’t going to get a chance to prove this by the end of the film, then you probably haven’t seen enough films in your life.

The story really only exists, however, so that Emmerich can showcase his disasters.  It is “disaster porn,” much like movies like Hostel and Saw are “torture porn.”  None of us wants the world to end, but we do want to see what it will look like and 2012 gives us that satisfaction.  At 158 minutes, you could argue that the movie is too long, but it doesn’t feel nearly as long as it is and I never felt the urge to check my watch.

As long as people don’t go into the film expecting it to be more than it intends to be, I have a feeling that most audiences will walk away satisfied with their end-of-the-world experience.

2012 is rated PG-13 for “intense disaster sequences and some language.”  The language is minimal. The question people will need to ask themselves before going in is whether or not seeing the destruction of the Earth disturbs them.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Jeff attended a promotional screening of 2012.