2012 (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  I loved every second of this over the top completely ridiculous movie. But than again I like end of the world flicks. A movie with a group of good actors and I just enjoyed it. In the end if I am entertained a good review it will get.

• Manu G

  
  First, the Mayan calendar predicted it...Now, science has confirmed it...but we never imagined it could really happen. Saw it again and enjoy a few other details I miss the first time I saw it. Very good movie, absolutely a huge treat to watch and enjoy!!!! In 2009, American… More
  First, the Mayan calendar predicted it...Now, science has confirmed it...but we never imagined it could really happen. Saw it again and enjoy a few other details I miss the first time I saw it. Very good movie, absolutely a huge treat to watch and enjoy!!!! In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) travels to India to meet his friend Satnam, who has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare have penetrated the Earth and are causing the temperature of its core to increase rapidly. Adrian returns to Washington D.C. to inform White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and US President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) that this will instigate a chain of events that will bring about the end of the world. At the 36th G8 summit in 2010, other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation. They collaborate to begin a secret project intended to ensure the continuity of human life, strategically choosing 400,000 people for admission on a series of gigantic arks to be constructed in the Himalayas. To help fund the venture, additional individuals are allowed to purchase tickets for one billion euros apiece. In 2012, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a writer in Los Angeles who works part time as a limousine driver for Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and their children Noah and Lily live with her new boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon. Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, where they meet Charlie Frost, a radio show host and conspiracy theorist. Charlie supports a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012, and claims he has knowledge of the ark project and possesses a map of the arks' location. The family returns home as cracks begin to develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in the San Francisco Bay area. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a private plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it collapses into the Pacific Ocean. As millions begin dying in apocalyptic earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. The group narrowly escapes as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to make a live broadcast of the eruption, is killed by the blast. Realizing the arks are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas, where they meet Yuri, his twin sons, girlfriend Tamara, and pilot Sasha. They join the group and secure a larger plane, the Antonov An-225, to head across the Pacific. Also bound for the arks aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Adrian, and First Daughter Laura Wilson. President Wilson remained in Washington D.C. to address the nation one last time. He is soon killed by a tsunami that sends the USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President dead and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser appoints himself acting Commander-in-Chief. Sasha discovers that the plane doesnt have enough fuel to get to china, so they have to make a crash landing in the ocean. But as they get near the ground, they discover that they are indeed in china. The earths crusts have shifted. Yuri, who has purchased ark tickets for himself and his sons, deserts the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara upon arriving in China. However, the abandoned group is picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk. Together, they begin sneaking onto an ark through its hydraulics chamber with the help of Nima's brother Tenzin, a welder for the ark project. In his last moments, Satnam calls Adrian to inform him that a tsunami is engulfing India and heading towards the arks. Learning of this, Anheuser orders the arks be sealed before the boarding process is complete, trapping thousands outside. Adrian manages to convince the other G8 leaders to let the remaining people on board. As the ark's tailgate is lowered, Gordon is killed when he falls in between the gears, followed by Tenzin's large electrical power drill. Yuri sacrifices his life to get his two sons on in time, but the obstruction prevents the gate from closing, rendering the ship unable to start its engines. The tsunami arrives and begins to flood the ark, drowning Tamara and setting the ark helplessly adrift. Jackson and Noah work together to free the drill and its cable from the closing mechanism. The gate closes and the crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest. A title appears that says "Day 27 Month 01 Year 0001" When the floodwater from the worldwide tsunamis eventually recedes, satellite data shows that Africa rose in relation to sea level, and its Drakensberg mountains are now the highest on the planet. As the arks set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, Jackson reconciles with his family, and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The movie ends with a view of the Earth revealing all continents have merged, and are in the shape of the African continent.

• Red L

  
  2012 is when the earth ends, right? By watching this movie, we get to see how it happens. Don't save your pennies as money will do you no good when the whole earth is flooded.

• Melvin W

  
  President Thomas Wilson: Six months ago, I was made aware of a situation so devastating that, at first, I refused to believe it. However, through the concerted efforts of our brightest scientist, we have confirmed its validity. The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end. … More
  President Thomas Wilson: Six months ago, I was made aware of a situation so devastating that, at first, I refused to believe it. However, through the concerted efforts of our brightest scientist, we have confirmed its validity. The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end.  "We Were Warned." 2012 is THE end of the world disaster epic to see. Roland Emmerich takes everything he did in The Day After Tomorrow and super sizes it into a big effects thriller. As you would guess, the movie isn't amazing, but it is fun and that's what I look for in a disaster film. I don't look for intelligence, but for big stupid fun and huge effects. This movie has it all when it comes to what makes disaster movies great. The effects will blow you away.  A divorced father must lead his family and his wife's new husband to safety when the world around them starts to collapse. We were told by an ancient civilization that the world would end on December 21, 2012.(Oh shit, that's like a year away! Better enjoy this last year everybody.) His adventure leads them through collapsing roads, between collapsing skyscrapers and ultimately to the one thing that could save them. Think biblically.  This is a movie that you should probably know whether you will like it or not before watching it. If you like disaster movies, then odds are you will like this one too, as it is one of the better ones I have seen. If you see these movies as a waste of time; quit wasting your time watching them.  It's a lot of fun and the cast is pretty awesome, especially John Cusack and a small, but cool role from Woody Harrelson. The film is pure entertainment, don't expect anything more or anything less.

• Michael M

  
  The new movie by one of my least favorite drectors Roland Emmerich who directed/doomed us with Independence Day and 10000 B.C has brought out yet another abomination. It's as if he's remade his other film (which wasn't that bad) The Day After Tommorow but with even more… More
  The new movie by one of my least favorite drectors Roland Emmerich who directed/doomed us with Independence Day and 10000 B.C has brought out yet another abomination. It's as if he's remade his other film (which wasn't that bad) The Day After Tommorow but with even more CGI and minus a script that works. 2012 is completely uninspired although based on a legend everyone things is bogus anyway I think what he's trying to prove with this movie is that the film industry is going to collapse next year.

• Wahida K

  
  Despite of all the "Hysteria" going through the the worlds end is near I was a tiny bit sceptic and I was right regarding the movie. The trouble with this Movie from my point of view is that they show the same stuff like in the Documentries. How, what, where, who .… More
  Despite of all the "Hysteria" going through the the worlds end is near I was a tiny bit sceptic and I was right regarding the movie. The trouble with this Movie from my point of view is that they show the same stuff like in the Documentries. How, what, where, who . "The Nostradamus Effect" When I watch disaster Movies such as this. There is always a specific line from the Movie Deep Impact which I will never forget, when President Beck (Morgan Freeman) talks to Public. <b><center>Life will go on, we will prevail.</center></b>

• Christopher H

  
  A two and a half hour dread of a film. The visuals are nice to watch at times but most of the time they look like something out of a visual effects demo. The films plot is only their to get us from one visual effects scene to the next. The plot is poorly written to the point that… More
  A two and a half hour dread of a film. The visuals are nice to watch at times but most of the time they look like something out of a visual effects demo. The films plot is only their to get us from one visual effects scene to the next. The plot is poorly written to the point that the supposed antagonist, played by Oliver Platt, becomes the most sensible person in the entire film. If a film is supposed to be just a disaster movie, then please be honest about it. Don't give me some phoned in message about the goodness of humanity. Half way through, I was wishing for the film to just end, that is how bored I was. I hope Roland Emmerich thanks John Cusack and Oliver Platt because they were they only things that saved this movie from being a complete disaster.

• Eric A

  
  I just reviewed "The Day After Tomorrow", and I feel as if the review should be just about the same for 2012. It's very unrealistic and a couple of times I found myself saying "reallyyyy"? Overall, it could have been better.

• xGary X

  
  Scientists discover that the planet's crust is destabilising creating a race against time to save as much of humanity as possible. 2012 has all the ingredients of an Emmerich film; the estranged couple with plucky kids in tow, the noble self-sacrificing president, the conspiracy… More
  Scientists discover that the planet's crust is destabilising creating a race against time to save as much of humanity as possible. 2012 has all the ingredients of an Emmerich film; the estranged couple with plucky kids in tow, the noble self-sacrificing president, the conspiracy theorist kook and of course the gleeful trashing of the world's greatest monuments (this time the White House gets squished by an aircraft carrier and the Vatican falls over on the Pope!) It follows the usual formula of spectacular set pieces punctuated with schmaltz and every race against time comes down the the final second and every escape is by a hair's breadth. It actually works quite well for the centre section when they're outrunning earthquakes and volcanos with some truly jaw dropping chases involving cars and aircraft respectively and the scale and effects essentially make his own The Day After Tomorrow virtually redundant. John Cusack is his usual likeable self and Woody Harrelson is unusually bearable as the resident nutter and as a whole it does exactly what it sets out to do. But because the film is at least half an hour too long, by the time it had turned into the Poseidon adventure I got more than a little tired of yet another edge of the seat race against time and had stopped caring, especially since the whole thing was so pointless. At least TDAT had an eco friendly message, here we just have some cobblers about "mutating" neutrinos. Quite how inanimate objects (particularly particles) are meant to mutate I'm not exactly sure, never mind heat up the Earth's core...at least until it's convenient in the plot for them to stop. If you can ignore the gaping flaws in logic and just enjoy a mindless SFX fest then there are worse disaster movies out there but at the same time it's as utterly predictable as I predicted it would be.

• Alexander D

  
  2012 wasn't terrible, but it was pretty bad. Think of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, then make it a lot more stupid. It runs overly long, runs out of gas (and plot), and is a total failure by the end--the time by which we are all bored.

• Brad W

  
  I will give the Director credit, he is the king of visual effects in end of the world films. But thats all there is, tremendous special effects, there is nothing else here. The plot was just one member of there group dying one after another, and them just trying to get too a boat,… More
  I will give the Director credit, he is the king of visual effects in end of the world films. But thats all there is, tremendous special effects, there is nothing else here. The plot was just one member of there group dying one after another, and them just trying to get too a boat, thats it. The actors were terrible, just watch there face they are trying not to laugh the whole time. In the end it didn't even need to be called 2012 because if they called it anything else it still wouldve been just another end of the world film.

• Jennifer X

  
  My father forced me to watch this as part of an obligatory "bonding sesh" with him. I left after 20 minutes. Love you dad.

• First L

  
  Director Roland Emmerich, best known for such awful movies as "The Day After Tomorrow" and "10,000 BC", once again tackles the end of the world with "2012", a film based on the mayan calendar. Apparently the mayans predicted that solar flares would hit… More
  Director Roland Emmerich, best known for such awful movies as "The Day After Tomorrow" and "10,000 BC", once again tackles the end of the world with "2012", a film based on the mayan calendar. Apparently the mayans predicted that solar flares would hit the earth in 2012, causing neutrinos to heat up the earth's core. John Cusack gets inside information on this little thing and makes a desperate attempt to get his family to the safety of the world power's "contingency plan" (big, giant arks). Once again, an estranged dad needs to have the world end in order to get in touch with his kids (War of the Worlds, The Day After Tomorrow... what's this saying about hollywood writers?). The ridiculously over-the-top special effects, entirely and exhaustingly computer-generated, are funny at first (limo jumping over earthquake), but soon begin to wear out the senses. And then there's the goofy galactic empire uniforms the crews of the arks where, and why is it the kids in these movies always have to have some quirk, in this case, the little girl is always wearing different hats. By the end, as I was beginning to wonder what tibetan monks have to do with mayan culture, I began fast-forwarding through the film as it became a horrible chore to sit through. Incredibly, doubling the film's speed didn't hinder my ability to follow the plot in the slightest. I enjoy dumb fun as much as the next person, but the "fun" was ackwardly missing from this.

• Mike S

  
  Precisely what I expected it to be: a highly entertaining, yet crappily written disaster flick. Just like in Emmerich's previous films, the special effects are breath-takingly good. Definitely some of the best I've ever seen. The script, however, is so full of clichés that… More
  Precisely what I expected it to be: a highly entertaining, yet crappily written disaster flick. Just like in Emmerich's previous films, the special effects are breath-takingly good. Definitely some of the best I've ever seen. The script, however, is so full of clichés that the film really has no identity at all. Many scenes will make you cringe, and there's such an overload of sappiness and cheese, that it almost bordered on becoming a parody. I mean, I know it's hopeless to look for believability in this type of story, but when the main characters make a close-call plane escape for the third time in a row, it started to get on my nerves. And by the end, you just dont care anymore about who lives and who dies. Even so, I have to say I really enjoyed this film for the most part. Because altough being founded upon a lousy screenplay, it sure delivered on the action. In other words, a good popcorn flick, but nothing that will leave you wiser in the aftermath.

• Raymond W

  
  A little long and somewhat farfetched. The visuals are really great and it's engaging.

• Matt G

  
  The first 40 minutes were a bore, from then on, it was amazing. The special effects were so undeniably beautiful and the suspense was great. I like the part where the person dies! Grade: B+

• Ken S

  
  So much unnecessary talking. At 2 1/2 hours 2012 is as bloated as decaying carcass. However, stuff done blow up real nice.

• Steven C

  
  Oh, Roland Emmerich. With "2012" you have done two things: you have officially taken Irwin Allen's place as the master of the disaster film and for two, you have created the best disaster film ever made. You have actually combined every single type of destruction… More
  Oh, Roland Emmerich. With "2012" you have done two things: you have officially taken Irwin Allen's place as the master of the disaster film and for two, you have created the best disaster film ever made. You have actually combined every single type of destruction (outside aliens or viral outbreak) and rolled them all into one massive sci-fi epic. Your control over special effects is unprecedented. The set pieces here are insanely cool, terrifying and fun. You are clearly enjoying the cliches of the genre as well, giving the audience a 'wink wink, nudge nudge' to the genre's history and shortcomings. "2012" is nothing but cheesy, hokey, fun. It's easy to dismiss the film as mindless entertainment, but isn't that why we watch movies like this? On that note, its a masterpiece of mindless mainstream blockbuster cinema.

• Alexander W

  
  the Good: The amazing chorographed apocolyptica of buildings crashing around everywhere and the world burning and destroying, the amazing sets and action pace. The Bad: Weak characters and superbly predictable story, but the weak characters mainly. The Ugly: A film that to me was… More
  the Good: The amazing chorographed apocolyptica of buildings crashing around everywhere and the world burning and destroying, the amazing sets and action pace. The Bad: Weak characters and superbly predictable story, but the weak characters mainly. The Ugly: A film that to me was watching the world ending around John Cusack for two hours, severly crippled the film for me. Good for family and kids wanting an action packed apocalypse, although there is lots of swearing throughout. They even swear in Russian I noticed.

• Anthony L

  
  I like a big disaster film and they don't get much bigger (or disastrous) than 2012, Roland Emmerich has the budget and the computer know-how to create visual amazingness....at least for the first 5 minutes. It all gets a little gratuitous after that with planes dodging… More
  I like a big disaster film and they don't get much bigger (or disastrous) than 2012, Roland Emmerich has the budget and the computer know-how to create visual amazingness....at least for the first 5 minutes. It all gets a little gratuitous after that with planes dodging buildings, underground trains flying out of mountains and an indestructible limousine, plus watching the demise of every landmark between LA and China, all the usual stuff. Roland Emmerich's biggest downfall (yet again) is the huge pile of steaming schmaltz he covers the film in, running head-first into every action film cliche in the book (The dog survives and even though he turns out to be a nice guy, the step-dad dies because there is no room for him in the family dynamic, people don't split up in Hollywood, they only separate!). Emmerich needs to pull a new trick out of his sleeve, next time he should kill everyone including the kids and especially the dog!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings