Movie Mini-Review: “2012”

Note: No plot spoilers are included in this post

We caught the first matinee showing of 2012, the latest epic disaster movie from Roland Emmerich. The bad news is that the whole world gets destroyed; the good news is that it’s not blamed on SUV drivers. Al Gore is reported to be disconsolate.

We went in with reasonable [read: lowered] expectations, and came out thinking, “that was actually pretty entertaining.” Sure, Emmerich borrowed heavily from almost every major action thriller movie that has gone before – including Volcano, Earthquake, The Day After Tomorrow, The Poseidon Adventure, and even Speed (he somehow missed Twister, although that footage may have been cut in order to pare the movie down to its spare 158 minute run time) – and it clung to the stereotypical characters (plucky unlikely succeed-against-all-odds heroes, cold-hearted politicians, cute kids and dogs in harm’s way, ex-wives who eventually see the error of their ways, and flying rhinos. Oops; strike that last one. Sort of.), but they were all presented in a “we know that you know that we know that this is all in good fun” manner.

So, if you have the budget to afford the popcorn and the bladder to withstand the soft drink, I recommend 2012 as a good way to while away a fall afternoon or evening. Sure, it’s mindless entertainment, but let’s face it: nowadays, Hollywood just isn’t giving us that many chances to irritate Al Gore. Plus, you’ll get to see the assassin from Serenity (it took me a while to figure out where I’d seen him before).