2012 Movie Critique - Essay Example

? Movie Critique and number] submitted] Movie Critique Introduction Directed by RolandEmmerich, the director of The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, 2012 by Columbia Pictures is the best catastrophe movie presenting before us an eventual action-adventure and an ecstatic journey of human survival festooned with groundbreaking cinematography and heart-throbbing special effects. The movie, that was released on November 13, 2009, has been produced by Harald Kloser, Mark Gordon and Larry Franco, and the executive producers include Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich, and Michael Wimer. Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser, and starring some of the very talented actors of the time, John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover, 2012 takes us to an exotic ride where our minds give birth to many questions and enjoy the discovery of many answers at the same time. The synopsis section of Sony Pictures Digital Inc. (2010) states that, “Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. ‘2012’ is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.” This report tends to critically analyze different elements of the movie. The thesis statement is that the Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry can expertly and creatively interpret science, history and archeology to produce an astounding artifact that can excite the whole population making them defer their skepticism for some time. Let’s explore the movie and its filmic elements to find out how much the movie collaborates with our thesis statement. Storyline Critically analyzing the storyline, it must be said that it is quite asinine. However, the disaster scenes are hilarious. The story begins with Dr. Adrian Helmsley, who belongs to an international geophysical team, examining the effect of radiation from exceptional solar storms on earth. During his investigation, he learns that the earth’s temperature is rising. He informs the President about the earth’s conditions and warns him that if he does not take proper measures to stop the anticipated damage, the whole mankind will be ruined with the disaster that is expected to come with the heating up of the earth. Jackson Curtis, a writer, comes up with the same information after he meets Charlie Frost on his camping trip to Yosemite. Charlie Frost is shown preaching that the world is heading towards its end as predicted by the Mayan calendar. World’s leaders from industrialized countries are shown building four massive arks with billions of Euros to save their wealthy families from the approaching disaster instead of thinking about common people. They have no idea how their arks will survive the doom if the catastrophe is the prophetic prediction. No sooner than later, strong volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and sun storms converting into tsunamis, surround the planet creating havoc all around the humankind. The movie ends showing the recession of the tsunamis merging all continents. The survivors include Adrian, Laura, Jackson and his family. Acting The cast of 2012 contains some of the best actors that have made the story look like real. The cast includes John Cusack as 'Jackson Curtis', Amanda Peet as 'Kate Curtis', Chiwetel Ejiofor as 'Adrian Helmsley', Oliver Platt as 'Carl Anheuser', Thandie Newton as 'Laura Wilson’, Danny Glover as 'President Thomas Wilson', Woody Harrelson as 'Charlie Frost', Tom McCarthy as 'Gordon Silberman', Liam James as 'Noah Curtis', Morgan Lily as 'Lilly Curtis', Zlatko Buric as 'Yuri Karpov', Johann Urb as 'Sasha', Chin Han as 'Tenzin', and Beatrice Rosen as 'Tamara'. Since, the movie focuses more on the disaster and the pulsating catastrophic scenes, the acting comes at a secondary position. While watching the movie, we actually do not care what the rate of acting is. We focus more on the heart-throbbing destruction scenes rather than looking at the acting. Although the acting is fine in all senses, yet we are not actually concerned how the multi-billionaire is acting when he is persuading his girlfriend to buy bigger boobs, and we do not care how much effort John Cusack has put in his acting while warning the President about the catastrophe. However, it is better to give credit to all the actors in this critical analysis. The storyline was not out-of-the-world, otherwise the actors could have acted all the more better. Cinematography Dean Semler is the cinematographer of 2012. He is well-known for his outstanding skills in his field. He has cinematographed another movie named Apocalypto which was also a Mayan themed movie directed by Mel Gibson. However, to say the truth, although the cinematography of 2012 is over-embellished or exaggerated, yet is eye-catching, startling and arresting. Most of the scenes look like they are really occurring with the world, but some scenes seem like made-up. For example, the destruction of Eiffel Tower, some big cultural monuments like Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro, the Vatican, and White House Sistine Chapel, look impracticable. They are shown shattering to pieces like toys blow down. Still, the viewer cannot help himself from watching the disaster scenes and getting thrilled. The scenes were cinematographed digitally through the Genesis camera. For various underwater sequences, 35mm was used. Hence, due to the fact that the disaster scenes have been taken into shoot really well overall, it must be said that the cinematography of this movie proves our thesis statement that Hollywood’s cinematography has always been wonderful presenting before us natural looking interpretations of science, history and archeology. The movie is highly recommended for those who are really interested in special effects and high-end action cinematography. Editing The editorial team of 2012 includes: David Brenner (Editor), Peter S. Elliot (Editor), Robert Malina (Co 1st assistant editor), Richard Molina (Co 1st assistant editor), Cassie Dixon (Apprentice editor), Sam Craven (Visual Effects editor), Greg Reed (Visual Effects assistant editor), and Elana Joy Livneh (Visual Effects assistant editor). Cutting and editing this calamity epic with a huge number of visual effects and destruction sights was not an easy task for the editors. But since they were very well-skilled and had high profiles in their field, they did the task so wonderfully that the viewer becomes dumbfounded when he watches Los Angeles sinking into the Pacific Ocean, volcanoes erupting, earthquakes creating havoc, waters rising, all continents destroying and merging into one, and the hero and other survivors struggling for life. All of the scenes are very well placed in the movie and there is not a single mistake that decreases the credit given to the editors of the movie. Loftus (2009), in his article in Post Magazine, publishes interviews of the editorial team. We come to know that since main photography was carried out at different locations in Vancouver, thus Vancouver Film Studios was used as the principal editorial house. “We would just grab scenes. He (Brenner) would start working on one scene and I on another and when the next day’s dailies were loaded into the system we would discuss strategy about who would do what”, says Elliot, the editor (cited by Loftus, 2009). Again, the thesis statement proves itself. Sound Sound design did play an important role in 2012. Hollywood movies have always been rated high enough due to their sound effects; and, through a critical analysis of 2012’s sound, we again prove our thesis statement. Sheila Roberts (2009) posts an interview with Roland Emmerich in which he talks about the special sound effects used in the movie. When he was asked whether sound effects played an important role in the movie, he replied: The sound design is very, very important and it’s always about level, you know, how loud is this, or should we have the music or sound effects carry it -- for example, certain scenes where we do half without music and then the music kicks in or the music takes over, because at a certain point the noise level is too high and you don’t hear anything anymore (cited in Roberts, 2009). Giving such special sound effects; keeping on listening back while the movie is being edited; and, making notes is, no doubt, a big achievement of the director whose capabilities will be discussed in the next section. Until this point, our thesis statement is going very well with the description of the movie. Let’s see what comes next. Style and Directing The director, Roland Emmerich, has been directing some other action-cum-disaster movies in the past, like Independence Day. The style is profound and philosophical. The direction is the main reason why the movie hit the box office and gained appreciation from the world over. Billington (2008) writes in his article that Emmerich wanted to end all disaster movies and, so, he made 2012 in which he has joined all the disasters into one catastrophic event which will cause the end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar. Only teasing of 2012 is so hilariously done by Emmerich that we can predict what impact the whole movie would create on the mind of the viewer. Emmerich has been playing with over 1,400 shots in this movie (Roberst, 2009) and all of them were really very intricate to direct. For example, shots with water were actually an ordeal which Emmerich carried out very professionally. Keeping the whole crew and cast engaged in the work, was the task which Emmerich performed really well. In short, the direction has been awesome. Again, we must say that Hollywood movies are blessed with great directors in all eras who work hard to make such blockbusters that hit the world with powerful and charismatic ambience. Impact of society on the film and vice versa The director seems to be fascinated with the theme of world heading towards an end. That is why he has given us blockbusters like Independence Day and Day After Tomorrow. The bad condition of the world’s economic, social and political infrastructure led the director to think that the world is going to end soon. The director found the phenomenon of 2012 interesting enough to be depicted by way of a movie. The Mayan calendar and the prophetic predictions impacted his intention. The movie can also be called a “modern retelling of Noah’s ark” (Emmerich, cited in Roberts, 2009). The director tied the phenomenon of 2012 in the movie because he wanted to tie the movie with something that people believed in. It is always good for a director to tie the movie with some traditional or cultural belief because that is what makes it a hit. Now, how the movie impacted the society is also interesting. The movie makes people ponder upon many facts and raise many questions. According to religion, the world will come to an end someday which is called the Doomsday. And then there is Hereafter which is the beginning of a new life. So, the belief that the world has to finish over gets its life when one sees the cataclysmic ending of the world in the movie. But the message is that we should play our part in keeping the planet alright. The global warming issue needs our consideration; otherwise, the world will come to an end much sooner. Hollywood movies get their credit in combining cultural and traditional beliefs with science and fiction. Genre The genre of this movie is action, drama, and science-fiction. The movie has been too strong a genre to break. There is action; and, there is drama in this sci-fi movie due to which we can relate to the characters who are struggling for their lives, making us get emotionally enchanted by the special sound effects portraying earth-shaking devastation. It is Roland Emmerich’s fourth attempt at this genre, the last three being Independence Day, Godzilla, and Day After Tomorrow. Those three movies were weak in acting; so, the director brought forward in 2012 some of the most talented actors whose acting takes us along on the ride to human survival. Escaping from the volcano eruptions, rising waters, and earth-shattering earthquakes, required much action, and the life stories of the strugglers made us become emotionally attached to them, which is the success of the genres of action and drama. At the same time, the movie is a science-fiction combining the elements of geology and geography with mind blowing fiction. We must say, here, that Hollywood movies are best at reproducing strong genre which is hard to crack. Application of at least one approach to analysis and interpretation We can talk about the Mayan calendar here. It is an ancient calendar which ends at December 21, 2012, and predicts that the world will come to an end at this date. This Mayan prediction became a hook for 2012, and the concept has been interpreted in the movie very efficiently. 2012 is an interpretation of doomsday plotline along with an analysis of gamma rays heating up the earth. Another approach is that of the analysis of physics’ laws which the director analyzed and interpreted to find how the radiations are going to heat up the earth and what makes the earth’s crust shift to cause mass destruction. Overall textual themes Roland Emmerich is “the German-born master of disaster … who, surprisingly, seems comfortable with the kind of controversial historical fiction typically found in Oliver Stone's wheelhouse” (Golianopoulos, 2011). The textual themes come from the cultural, historical and traditional beliefs of people. The movie is an interpretation of the “oceans washing over the Himalayas as a lone monk rings a huge gong in a futile attempt to warn people of what’s coming”, writes Hitchcock (2009). One of the common themes of Hollywood movies, like 2012, is that the scientists are always good guys who work to save the planet from destruction. The hero is always unhurt and innocent. This may sound ridiculous but the viewer also expects the hero to be so and wants the hero to be saved from all catastrophes. The theme of the Mayan Calendar, 2012, and the world coming to the end are the main themes of this movie which have been portrayed really well. Conclusion Putting it all together, we analyzed in the critical analysis of 2012 whether Hollywood movies should be given their credit in interpreting science, culture, history and archeology to create such a production that can hit the box office while astounding the whole population for many years to come. We saw that, although the storyline of 2012 is not very impressive, yet the acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style, directing, genre, and overall textual themes are so strong that the viewer becomes arrested in the special audio and visual effects depicting the devastation of earth and its population. The viewer is not interested in saving the mankind; instead, he wants the destruction scenes to go on forever thanks to the overwhelming visual effects and the underlying theme of the movie. Hollywood movies are best known for producing such strong genre of action, drama and science-fiction which is hard to compare to any other genre of any other film industry around the globe. Hence, we prove our thesis statement that Hollywood has a bunch of very talented directors, crew and actors who can work together to make such movies that combine science with history and archeology and make the viewers startled with groundbreaking special effects. References Billington, A. (2008). Roland Emmerich (almost) explains what happens in 2012. Firstshowing.net. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/roland-emmerich-almost-explains-what-happens-in-2012/ Golianopoulos, T. (2011). The GQ&A: Roland Emmerich. GQ. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201110/roland-emmerich-director-interview-anonymous-shakespeare Hitchcock, M. (2009). 2012- The movie. 2012, the Bible, and the End of the World. USA: Harvest House Publishers. Loftus, M. (2009). Editing: Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012’. Post. Retrieved January 17, 2012, from http://www.postmagazine.com/Publications/Post-Magazine/2009/November-1-2009/EDITING-ROLAND-EMMERICHS-2012.aspx Roberts, S. (2009). Roland Emmerich Interview, 2012. Moviesonline.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_17246.html Sony Pictures Digital Inc. (2010). Synopsis. 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/2012/ Read More