Armando Montano
With the deadline approaching rapidly, fears of the end of the world in 2012 are coming to life, especially in the Science fiction disaster film, 2012. Set in present day, 2012 deals with the end of the present world as predicted by the Mayan long-count calendar.
Beginning in 2009, American scientist Adrian Helmsley meets his friend Satnam in India to discuss Satnam’s discovery of neutrinos from a massive solar flare that already saturated the Earth and are raising the core’s temperature. Helmsley returns to Washington D.C. to inform White House officials and the president that this will begin a chain of events that will cause the end of the world. A year later, the US tells the other heads of government about the disaster when they meet at the 36th G8 summit, calling for them to collaborate on a secret project to ensure the salvation of human life. A fleet of arks begins to be constructed in the Himalayas as 400,000 people are strategically chosen for admission. In the need for further funding, additional admission is available for purchase of one billion Euros a ticket.
In 2012, Jackson Curtis, a limousine driver and writer in Los Angeles, takes his children Noah and Lily to Yellowstone National Park on a camping trip. While there, Jackson meets radio show host and conspiracy theorist, Charlie Frost, who believes in the Mayan prediction of the end of the world. When Jackson and the kids return to L.A., major cracks along the San Andreas Fault make earthquakes occur. Fearing the predictions, Jackson rents a plane to rescue Noah and Lily, along with his ex-wife Kate and her boyfriend, Gordon. Massive plate displacement begins along the fault, crushing L.A. and sinking the western coast into the Pacific Ocean.
Apocalyptic earthquakes, tsunamis, and other cataclysmic events worldwide each kill millions, leaving Jackson desperate for help. He heads to Yellowstone seeking Charlie, who helps them with a map showing the location of the arks. Discovering the arks are set up in China, the group begins their dangerous journey towards the nearest ark, in hopes of managing a way to secure themselves aboard to safety. While the final destination of the arks is unknown to Jackson, the end of the world is creeping behind him and his family.
2012 is a special effects packed disaster movie that delivers more than what some viewers might have expected. The story is generally straight forward, following a father who is desperately seeking a way to save his family from disaster. The film presents some startling realistic images of destruction to the viewer; however it is clear that the movie takes some liberty perhaps to prevent the film from being too realistic. It is important for the viewers to remember not to take this movie too seriously, because 2012 delivers exactly what it has been promising viewers: a realistic and unstoppable end to the present world without hope for everyone. 2012 runs 158 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language.
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