Many contest the true nature of the Mayan prophecy pertaining to the year 2012, but that hasn’t kept Hollywood from using it as an excuse to destroy the planet. Director Roland Emmerich [REMME], best known for previously destroying the planet in Independence Day and in The Day After Tomorrow once again heaps fear and destruction upon mankind. Will the masses go for it?
Be they true or not, 2012 presents us with a plethora of eccentric prophecies and beliefs about the end of the world. Quintessential anti-hero actor John Cusack [JOHNC] plays unconventional hero Jackson Curtis, who is living his little life dealing with an ex-wife, played by Amanda Peet [APEET], and their children.
December 21st, 2012 marks the day of the Galactic Alignment on the Mayan Calendar and according to the doomsday believers, is the day the world will be catapulted into chaos. Sure enough as Jackson Curtis is going about his business, cracks in the earth appear as all of California’s fault lines move at once. Along with his ex-wife, her boyfriend and his children, Jackson miraculously speeds through the streets of Los Angeles to board a plane moments before the city collapses into the earth.
But Los Angeles isn’t the only place hit. Emmerich has activated the Yellowstone Volcano, brought disaster to South America, taken out the White House, again, and flattened St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to name just a few of the disasters.
Meanwhile, anticipating the day of carnage a mysterious organization called the Institute for Human Continuity (IHC) has built vast arks to save mankind when the day comes. Jackson and his party have to find IHC in order to save themselves.
With every disaster film, Emmerich has raised the bar. Although partly maligned, last year’s 10,000 B.C. feature stunning CG effects shots to be experienced on the big screen. The man is known for creating exciting cinema. Even though ultimate doom is visited upon his characters, Emmerich manages to redeem them in the end. Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow both feature new beginnings after immense struggle. Like their predecessors, Emmerich might very well save the Curtis family from the ultimate doom prophesized for ages. Now that is worth a look.