**Spoiler** 2012

2012 has some really long and cool movie trailers which - coupled with the hype which Kevin had built up - enticed me to watch it the first day it was showing in Hong Kong.  John Cusack, doomsday movie, long movie trailer, advance ticketing - typical signs of a masterpiece.  Big mistake!  It was the biggest movie disappointment I had in years.  :(

*Spoiler below.  Do not read on if you plan to watch the movie.*

*Spoiler*

*Spoiler*

*Spoiler*

Why was it such a disappointment?  Just to name a few examples:
1. This doomsday movie with such great special effects and interesting premise had every potential to be a "serious" thriller, but the producers and director decided to make it a mass market comical, family movie.  The movie became SILLY.  Nothing made any logical sense in the movie.
2. Kate (the wife) was in the supermarket when there was a sudden earthquake and she was standing right on the edge of the 20+ feet crack.  Guess what - she went home to make pancake breakfast like nothing happened, and reassured Jackson (her ex-husband) that everything would be fine because the government said so.
3. Knowing that the world was about to end, there was no detail as to how the world leader(s) planned to rebuild the world by saving the best of human race.  Only mention was secretly moving Mona Lisa painting to the Arc. 
4. Kate almost lost her youngest daughter who got trapped on the other side of the door on the Arc.  Guess what - a minute later she lost her son too who went to save his dad! 

5. At the end of the movie, the sole survivors on Earth were happily embracing this new beginning, with zero signs of mourning over the loss of all their (other) family members, everyone they had ever known in their lives, rest of the human race...
6. Flying amongst buildings which were collapsing, and over lands disappearing in tsunamis, the main characters watched from the jet's windows like checking out snow mountains from an airplane window during family vacation.
7.  Most importantly, I felt that movie was a huge waste of talent.  There were a lot of great actors and actresses in the movie (John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson, etc.) yet the movie made them look like fools, saying the cheesiest lines, with the most unconvincing reactions to the supposedly traumatic experience.  John Cusack - a very talented actor in my opinion - and Chiwetel Ejiofor's acting was convincing but given the comical nature of this movie became out of place!  It seemed to me like those were the only characters who truly took the end of the world seriously!!


The movie was an insult to its actors as well as moviegoers.