‘2012′

The Apocalypse. The Second Coming. The Rapture.
It goes by countless names.
People have been predicting when the world will end for thousands of years, but undoubtedly the most famous of these theories is the ancient Mayan calendar.
The Mayans were said to be a very intellectually advanced people, so naturally some find hidden meaning behind the mysterious halt on Dec. 21, 2012.
Some believe this date will mark earth’s final day in existence.
This theory has been popularized by the media, including a major motion picture called “2012,” directed by Roland Emmerich of “Independence Day” fame.
The story starts in 2009 with a geologist named Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovering the temperature of the earth’s core is increasing rapidly.
Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and United States President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) that this increase in temperature will cause catastrophic natural disasters around the globe.
In 2010, other world leaders are informed of the coming devastation, and they all come together to devise a plan in which 400,000 people total will have seats on “big ships” that will protect them from the elements. In order to fund the construction of these ships, there will be additional seats available for 1 billion Euros — about $1.48 billion U.S. dollars — each.
This part of the escape plan becomes very controversial because many people feel it isn’t right to sell seats for rich people and leave others to perish.
In 2012, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his two kids, Noah Curtis (Liam James) and Lily Curtis (Morgan Lily), go on a camping trip in Yellowstone National Park.
There, Jackson meets a crazy conspiracy theorist named Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson). Charlie tells Jackson all about the Mayan calendar theory and the “space ships” that will be used to transport rich people to safety.
He also tells him he has a map showing where the ships are located. But Jackson writes him off as a regular nut-job.
Upon hearing about huge earthquakes back home in California, Jackson and his kids return home.
But Jackson grows suspicious and decides to rent a plane for him, his kids, his ex-wife Kate Curtis (Amanda Peet) and Kate’s boyfriend Gordon (Tom McCarthy). He loads his family into a limo and races back to the airport as a giant crack in the earth’s surface follows, causing mass destruction
It was scenes like this that really ruined the movie for me. Not only was the fact Jackson and his family didn’t fall into the crevice completely unrealistic, but it was very clear the disasters were computer animated. Good computer animation shouldn’t be so obvious; it was laughable.
Jackson and his family fly to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie’s map. The group barely escapes the blast of the Yellowstone caldera eruption, another unrealistic scene in which flaming rocks are falling on everything but the plane, and — surprise, surprise — the family escapes yet again.
Next, the group travels to China where the escape ships are located. They find out the space ships are actually arks.
This reference to the biblical story of the flood brings an interesting element to the movie, but sort of lost focus on the whole concept of 2012. The year is said to mark the end of the world, not arks that preserve the human race.
I found the movie far too repetitive for my liking. Every 20 minutes the same thing would happen: Jackson and his family would narrowly escape some natural disaster in some corner of the world in some airplane. Where this movie was lacking in plot, it made up in … nothing.
The special effects were indeed special. But the purpose is to make them as realistic as possible. And, unfortunately, the disaster scenes in this movie were not only repetitive but cheesy and fake.
This movie took the ancient concept of 2012 and turned it into a big joke.
As for the acting, it could have been worse. Cusack’s performance was actually quite commendable.
This movie also has an interesting local connection: David Giussi of Yakima owns a 1979 six-passenger Cessna 340A that was used in the filming.
No one can truly be sure when the world will end, although people have been attempting to predict it for centuries. Whether it will happen in 2012 as the Mayans predicted, or not, I can’t be certain. But I am certain the movie “2012” wasn’t worth my $9 or two and a half hours.

— Kati Camarata is a sophomore at Ellensburg High School and a member of the Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for students.