2012

2012 is a visual masterpiece, attentive to small details with a huge special effects budget. Go see it while it’s on the big screen. The only disadvantage to that is that you won’t be able to mute it. After seeing the entire thing, I concluded that you wouldn’t miss a thing by having it on mute the whole time, i.e. the dialogue was written by the same monkeys typing endlessly that everyone says could rewrite Shakespeare.

Besides its visual inventiveness, the best thing going for this movie is that it takes the phrase “defensive driving” to a whole new level. It may even have topped the little known but best car-chase scene of all time, from 1998’s Ronin.

But if you’re looking for those bits of human interest, humor, and, well, humanity that make these blockbusters memorable, this is not the movie for you. Sorry, John Cusack, but Tom Cruise did it better in War of the Worlds, naked emotion displayed in his eyes during his portrayal of a father fighting for what he loves.

I was hoping that with a topic that’s been explored in movie after movie, director Roland Emmerich would have added something new to the epic theme. There is so much to say about eternity, vulnerability, forgiveness, and love. But maybe I was looking for an end-of-the-world chick flick.

Go see this 2 hour, 38 minute movie if you love crazy driving, flying, and stand-alone visual effects. Otherwise, rent War of the Worlds.