After hearing a news clip in CNN about how people are bombarding NASA with hate mails in connection with the recently launched movie, “2012” (accusing the institution’s authorities that the secret in the fictional movie is “real”), I got so intrigued with the film that I did not procrastinate this weekend and immediately watched the sensationalized movie.
After seeing tons of end-of-the-world themed pictures like “Independence Day”, “War of the Worlds”, “Armageddon” (to mention a few that I kind of fancy), I had low expectations when I entered the cinema to watch “2012”. To my surprise, I left the movie house after almost 2 and a half hours of being glued to my seat with a sense of “amazement”, making me realize that I just viewed the best end-of-the-world movie to date (for me, that is).
Some of my insights about the film:
- PORTRAYAL OF “THE RICH AND POWERFUL VERSUS THE POOR” DEPICTED TO ITS TRUEST SENSE: In a world that is practically run by money and power, it is so appalling to see how the oppressed will really be oppressed come crunch time. I love the scene when the wealthy people were boarding the ship while the “less rich” were left unattended – great analogy about how a person’s ticket to saving his life was compared to watching a high-end opera, you won’t have a chance in life if you don’t have the money! Very sad, yet very true in today’s society.
- IMPORTANT COUNTRIES FEATURED: It was interesting, quite funny and intriguing how the countries featured in the film were chosen. India – it was where everything started, thru a middle-class brainy Indian bloke, which ended up not being saved despite his huge contribution by discovering everything. China – it was portrayed as the “the place of assembly” where “Noah’s ark” was parked; in today’s global economy, the said country is the active giant, which seems to be the emerging market to drive new hope in the distressed economy. Brazil and Italy – highly Catholic countries which in the film were just eaten alive by the quake and tsunami. USA – the main protagonist, portrayed as the world leader that made “saving some citizens of the world” possible (needless to say, it’s a Hollywood movie – what’s new?!), but the twist was that it was done with the major help of its new BFF, China (why was I not surprised, assuming India is the new growing economy in real life, perhaps the roles of China and India will be interchanged!). The following countries were also mentioned, some even played minor roles – Russia, Germany, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia (or another rich middle east country). Rhetorical question – how come Indonesia or the Philippines were not mentioned at all?
- BREATHTAKING SPECIAL EFFECTS – AS IF YOU ARE RIDING A ROLLER COASTER: Viewing the film in 2D was hair-raising and spine-tingling already, I wonder how it’s like if it were in 3D. The special effects (though we’ve seen better) were just so helpful in amplifying the important sequences of the movie, more so, making the viewer glued to their seats even if they are in a desperate need of taking a piss (commercial/entertainment value, that is).
- SMOOTH BRAND INTRUSION: The integration of some brands to the film (Bentley, Sony/Vaio, Chevrolet, that diaper brand which I don’t remember) was seamlessly done. My favorite was the Bentley execution, yet it’s still incomparable to the brand intrusion of “Starbucks” in the film “I am Sam”, which for me is the best as it was so integral to the story.
- EFFECTIVE NON-ALL STAR CAST: Two thumbs up to all the actors who starred in the film (from the lead up to the cameo artists), they effectively delivered the emotions necessary to make their roles convincing. I have not been a fan of John Cusack (a little bit of Amanda Peet though for “A Lot Like Love”) but perhaps, this would be one of his most memorable films, aside from “High Fidelity”. In addition, it was a good casting strategy not to flood the film with Hollywood superstars – it made the portrayal of roles more subtle, realistic and not over-acting (this perhaps became the problem of Tom Cruise’s and Dakota Fanning’s “War of the Worlds”).
- HEROIC BUT NOT MELODRAMATIC: Keeping John Cusack alive in the end was a breath of fresh air. I would have walked out of the cinema or may not be writing this blog entry if his heroic act in the end led to his death (remember Bruce Willis in “Armageddon”?). Call me cheesy, but having a hero alive at the end of a tragic movie (though very commercial) is quite unique (relatively speaking).
- IRONIC PORTRAYAL OF OBAMA AND QUEEN ELIZABETH: I just laughed out loud when the US black president (played by Danny Glover) sacrificed his life by staying in Washington D.C. while the Queen-Elizabeth-looking-character rushed to the ship with her dogs! I wonder if this section of the plot would still be the same if 2012 were an “English” movie. ☺
- SYMBOLISMS THAT YOU CAN’T HELP BUT IDENTIFY: There were a lot of symbolisms in the characters tackled, which made it a little comical, and at the same time, so close to home. Some of them are as follows: a “has been” Russian boxer with a sports car collection and a slutty-and-gold-digger-blonde-with-a-Chihuahua girlfriend; a controlling, power-hungry and selfish White House chief-of-staff; a divorced wife with a doctor boyfriend who can fly air planes (too far fetched, huh?); a powerless president’s daughter who meddles with the affairs of the state; a parallelism between the archbishops in Rome and a Buddhist monk in China when they were about to die; hysterical Catholics in the streets of Rio de Janeiro while the “Christ the Redeemer” statue was crumbling in pieces; and tons of rich people who are in possession of at least 1 Billion Euros.
- SURREAL AND PERSONALLY MOVING SCENES: Almost four weeks ago, I was in the US for a vacation and seeing the places that I love crumble into pieces just personally moved me. Destroying Las Vegas (particularly “The Bellagio” and “Caesar’s Palace”, while “Encore” and “Wynn” remained standing), the whole of California and showing New Yorkers weep in the middle of Times Square was just so sad.
- IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS: Perhaps this was one of the reasons why I got so involved with the film. Being a firm believer in the importance of family when all else fails here on earth, I recognized the value very well portrayed in the movie, which became the sparkling hope before the closing credits.
There were tons of criticisms about “2012”, but then again, it has a certain magic which makes it so sensational – perhaps it’s today’s current reality bits sewed in the film that we can’t help but identify. I may totally like it while others might totally hate it, yet at the end of the day, after viewing the film, we will all be intrigued in what will happen on 21 December 2012 – and our impression of that date won’t be the same again – for me, that is a measure of how good and effective a film really is.
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