"2012" Official Movie..

[RVR II]

I'll probably catch this one in Mexico (They always get the newest releases about a month after they're released in the US) with the wife's family

[Compound]

Well, just got back from the midnight showing (because I am completely insane) and I'll say as a movie, it was pretty enjoyable. A lot of spectacle. Nice F/X. A few "Yeah, this is predictable" moments. And about a half hour too long. As a movie, it's a nice little disaster flick.

But the science and politics... oh, my brain hurts. The science basically begins with "And then a miracle happens" and doesn't get better from there. BTW: Roland? Planes can fly up and down. They don't need to be dodging collapsing buildings. And if a supervolcano erupts,  they go off with H-bomb force. You can't outdrive the frigging shockwave. They can climb for a few seconds and be above them. And the politics....

So, they have about 18 months of warning on this, and they manage to build 3 1/2  rescue ships. And two of them get damaged during the escape. So, despite what we see at the end, we might be left with ~100k people.

Idiots.

The whole plan was based on "we need to keep this quiet or else people will panic." Here, let me offer another plan: let everyone know so that the entire industrialized world can help build things. Instead of having a few thousand people in China building the damn things,  have tens of millions  of people in the US alone building them. Have a few million more desperately building rockets or Orions to put some people up on the ISS, the Moon and/or Mars. Send more down to Antarctica and some up to the North Pole. Do a frigging lottery to fill the things so that everyone has a chance to survive. Have hundreds of rescue vessels, instead of the 8 you were building, which were all in the same geographic location. I mean, geez, eggs in one basket.

And another thing: if you're planning to repopulate the human race afterwards, maybe letting the 80 year olds on board isn't a particularly good use of scarce resources.

But aside from the "Roland Emmerich is a moron" factor, the movie was enjoyable to watch, even if it was over long.

Also, no Shadowrun references were made at all. Quite disappointed in that.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

And the politics....

So, they have about 18 months of warning on this, and they manage to build 3 1/2  rescue ships. And two of them get damaged during the escape. So, despite what we see at the end, we might be left with ~100k people.

Idiots.

The whole plan was based on "we need to keep this quiet or else people will panic." Here, let me offer another plan: let everyone know so that the entire industrialized world can help build things. Instead of having a few thousand people in China building the damn things,  have tens of millions  of people in the US alone building them. Have a few million more desperately building rockets or Orions to put some people up on the ISS, the Moon and/or Mars. Send more down to Antarctica and some up to the North Pole. Do a frigging lottery to fill the things so that everyone has a chance to survive. Have hundreds of rescue vessels, instead of the 8 you were building, which were all in the same geographic location. I mean, geez, eggs in one basket.

And another thing: if you're planning to repopulate the human race afterwards, maybe letting the 80 year olds on board isn't a particularly good use of scarce resources.

On the other hand, there's Carl Sagan's view of humanity in Contact.....look how a part of society reacted to that and the lengths they went to. And that was something that could be thought of as positive.

It's possible the script originally said that they couldn't announce it because they were afraid of religious groups who would decide that this was The Rapture/Judgement Day/Fill-In-The-Blank (I know it has other names I'm not familiar with) and it would be against God's will to leave unless he took you up....therefore they'd have to be fighting them the whole time they were trying to build these? But they were afraid that they were going to offend someone so they went with that other explaination?

[Compound]

Except...


Firstly, yeah, if they announced it, some folks would would view it as God's wrath on the Earth. And some environmentalists would see it as a removal of the blight that is humanity from the earth. And the VHEM folks would probably throw a party. Other folks would just kill themselves immediately. And still others would not believe it and continue on as if nothing would happen. But the vast majority of folks would probably be stunned for a short period of time and then switch into survival mode. Human actions in real disasters tend not to resemble those in disaster films. In real disasters,  people tend to try to save each other, not do the "everyman for himself" schtick that shows up in, say, Earthquake.

But let's assume you're right. Someone decides that humanity dying in the right path. Then why  build all of your baskets in the same place?  I won't go into details, but the rescue craft are being built in a rather remote and secure location, where it's pretty easy to defend them. But they could be nuked. Or hit by random stuff as the continental plates are careening around. Even if folks go berserk and try to destroy the rescue craft, if you're building 10,000 ships, it's not as big of a loss if they destroy a few than it is if you have a half dozen and one gets destroyed. I'd  say more, but even in spoilers, there's stuff that I don't want to spoil.

Plus at the end, there's some stuff that the moral compass character does that draws into question the actions of the rest of the survivors.

and..

Spoiler

It's possible the script originally said that they couldn't announce it because they were afraid of religious groups who would decide that this was The Rapture/Judgement Day/Fill-In-The-Blank (I know it has other names I'm not familiar with) and it would be against God's will to leave unless he took you up....therefore they'd have to be fighting them the whole time they were trying to build these? But they were afraid that they were going to offend someone so they went with that other explanation?

No. I can definitely say that this isn't the case. There's a number of references to religion in the film and Emmerich never goes negative in them. Well, he repeatedly shows people praying and then kills them off almost immediately, but that's a different sort of negativity. But there's a scene in the film where you could easily insert an religious bad guy into it, but he doesn't do it. There's some anti-rich folks talk in it, but I don't think that religion shows up on Emmrich's radar.[/spoiler]

[/quote]

[gbeenie]

I'll probably catch this one in Mexico (They always get the newest releases about a month after they're released in the US) with the wife's family

Well, at that point, you will have access to the one accessory crucial to the enjoyment of this move: gallons of cheap tequila.

[RVR II]

I'll probably catch this one in Mexico (They always get the newest releases about a month after they're released in the US) with the wife's family

Well, at that point, you will have access to the one accessory crucial to the enjoyment of this move: gallons of cheap tequila.

EXACTLY
But I don't drink the cheap stuff, ever

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Except...


But let's assume you're right. Someone decides that humanity dying in the right path. Then why  build all of your baskets in the same place?  I won't go into details, but the rescue craft are being built in a rather remote and secure location, where it's pretty easy to defend them. But they could be nuked. Or hit by random stuff as the continental plates are careening around. Even if folks go berserk and try to destroy the rescue craft, if you're building 10,000 ships, it's not as big of a loss if they destroy a few than it is if you have a half dozen and one gets destroyed. I'd  say more, but even in spoilers, there's stuff that I don't want to spoil..

No, you're right. That part I get and it does sound ridiculous.

and..

Spoiler

It's possible the script originally said that they couldn't announce it because they were afraid of religious groups who would decide that this was The Rapture/Judgement Day/Fill-In-The-Blank (I know it has other names I'm not familiar with) and it would be against God's will to leave unless he took you up....therefore they'd have to be fighting them the whole time they were trying to build these? But they were afraid that they were going to offend someone so they went with that other explanation?

No. I can definitely say that this isn't the case. There's a number of references to religion in the film and Emmerich never goes negative in them. Well, he repeatedly shows people praying and then kills them off almost immediately, but that's a different sort of negativity. But there's a scene in the film where you could easily insert an religious bad guy into it, but he doesn't do it. There's some anti-rich folks talk in it, but I don't think that religion shows up on Emmrich's radar.

At the risk of being accused of "thinking too much"....

I once heard a cover of "Alone Again (Naturally)" - a song about contemplating suicide and doubting the existence of God - recorded by Anita Bryant where the lyrics were completely changed to either wipe that out and even being pro-God.  Things can be written one way and filmed/recorded another way entirely if the person doing it or the company bankrolling it disagrees.

[Jackster]

After watching this movie, I'm still wondering.....

Why did Emmerich repeat the same scene where an airplane runs out of runway, nearly falls to its doom, yet miraculously survives getting crashed into falling objects three times? (i.e. The L.A. Earthquake scene, the Yellowstone scene, and the Las Vegas Airport scene)

Also, the part where Jackson and his family drives through the falling building as it's breaking apart felt like it was a little TOO much.

And the Earth's crust displacement thing, wouldn't this occur every thousands of years or so? This movie went to a full-scale crust displacement in under 3 days!

And lastly, as I learned from the Discovery Channel, the supervolcano's ash cloud would have covered up the Earth and remain that way for months or even years. At the end of this film, only a month has passed since the climatic event, and yet we see a beautiful sunset on the horizon. No leftover ash clouds on sight.

Aside from all of that, the movie felt more laughable rather than catastrophic. Must have been because of those comedic bits during some of those disaster scenes.

[goflyblind]

what i don't understand is why people are trying to bring reason, logic and science into this disaster porn movie

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

what i don't understand is why people are trying to bring reason, logic and science into this disaster porn movie

For the same reason that David Gerrold said in Starlog all those years ago that the "inflatable boat rescue" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ruined that film....any magic trick depends on the illusion normalcy - that there's no holes cut into tables, no specially treated paper, no mirrors - for the trick to work.  That if you kill the wonder of your real event if you've filled your movie with lots of other things that don't follow the rules.

Just look at the "ThatGuyWithTheGlasses" review of Superman IV: and how upset they get about all the laws of physics being broken before the story really gets started....and that's a movie about a flying alien.

[Doctor Who?]

People please stop trying to make sense of the plot of a Roland Emmerich movie,you will only hurt yourselves or others.

[Thrifty]

I just saw it.  I liked it.  I am not ashamed to say that.  I mean, the dialogue was cheesy, and the close calls were so numerous that they got repetitive, but visually the movie was gorgeous.  I probably wouldn't see it again though.

[D.B. Barnes]

I probably wouldn't see it again though.

You mean without an accompanying riff.

[Bob]

I probably wouldn't see it again though.

You mean without an accompanying riff.

Face it, this WILL be riffed.............. it is so much in their wheelhouse..... and yes, I will only watch it riffed.

John Cusak, how COULD you?!

[RVR II]

Face it, this WILL be riffed.............. it is so much in their wheelhouse..... and yes, I will only watch it riffed.

John Cusak, how COULD you?!

I'm sure I'll have to see this with wife's family in Mexico next month so I'll be somewhat prepared for said future RiffTrax..

And yeah, from 'Better Off Dead' to this?!