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Movies / Upcoming / 2012
2012

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2012 (2009)

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Reviews Counted:195

Fresh:72

Rotten:123

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Roland Emmerich's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length.

Australian Rating: TBC

Genre: Action/Adventure

Australian Theatrical Release:
Nov 12, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $65,237,614

Synopsis: Roland Emmerich has given movie watchers several apocalyptic films in the past in INDEPENDENCE DAY and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and he offers another look at the end of the world in 2012. This... Roland Emmerich has given movie watchers several apocalyptic films in the past in INDEPENDENCE DAY and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and he offers another look at the end of the world in 2012. This action film stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Amanda Peet. [More]

Starring: John Cusack, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt

Starring: John Cusack, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson

Director: Roland Emmerich

Director: Roland Emmerich
Screenwriter: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser
Producer: Harald Kloser, Mark Gordon, Larry Franco
Composer: Harald Kloser, Thomas Wander
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for 2012

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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It's easy to mock throwaway blockbusters like 2012, but as enthralling, mindless entertainment, the film is difficult to fault.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
11/12/09
Jim Schembri
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Wow special effects and a top supporting cast can’t override the numbing length of this best-of disaster movie blockbuster.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
11/11/09
Julian Shaw
Julian Shaw
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you’re the kind of movie goer who will happily munch popcorn at the sight of the apocalypse, 2012 will do the trick just nicely. And nastily.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment Comment
11/11/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's big and cheesy and if you're in the mood for a dose of exaggerated end-of-world chaos, this is the popcorn movie for you. Roland Emmerich has gleefully combined every possible disaster extreme with child-like enthusiasm: massive visual effects

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/11/09
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie is a disaster. At least it would be if it didn't fall into the "so bad it's good" category.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mail (Australia) | comment 8 Comments
11/08/09
Colin Newton
Colin Newton
Sunday Mail (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s easy to scoff at the over-reliance of CGI in contemporary cinema but for a film like this it’s part and parcel of the whole, and computer generated effects have never before been used as spectacularly.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
11/04/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Terrible; wonderfully terrible.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies AU | comment 79 Comments
11/02/09
Patrick Kolan
Patrick Kolan
IGN Movies AU
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Emmerich supposedly spent $260m to give you the biggest experience for your ticket dollar and in this regard, he has succeeded tremendously, while, intentionally or otherwise, also delivering one of 2009’s best comedies.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment 17 Comments
11/02/09
Michael Adams
Michael Adams
Empire Magazine Australasia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What's so frustrating about "2012" is that it could have been a great action movie. If the special effects team can do their jobs, certainly better writers could have been hired. But no. Just try finding a surprise.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/20/09
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

If you want to see the most incredible end-of-the-world footage rendered since Nic Cage's Knowing, buy a ticket. Otherwise, it'll look just fine on your television next year.

Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | comment Comment
11/19/09
Kevin A. Ranson
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

As the action becomes less fabulous and more repetitive over 2012's 150 minutes, the philosophical debate ratchets up.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/19/09
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

An Oscar-caliber cast and dazzling visual effects can't rescue this formulaic disaster flick from a script flooded with generic dialogue and preposterous plot points.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
11/19/09
Tyler Hanley
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly

A more delightfully bad movie hasn't been seen in all of 2009.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
11/18/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

... the farfetched beginning is such a turn-off that as the story becomes more credible, we don't have much patience to forgive the absurdities that dominate the first half.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment 2 Comments
11/18/09
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Emmerich's desire to cram as many hairbreadth escapes and eternities of suspense as possible into one movie ultimately feels more like an eternity plain and simple.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/18/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The worst sins of dialogue are visited upon the wonderfully soulful Chiwetel Ejiofor, who has to remind creepy government types that those massive high-tech arks are for all of us, not just the rich and powerful.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
11/18/09
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

The special effects are pretty special but the plot is a drag

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
11/17/09
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

Here's a movie that's dopey, cheesy and sometimes downright silly. But it's a disaster movie. It's supposed to be ridiculous.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
11/17/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

It's great to see Fred Astaire, er, Danny Glover back in the saddle as the President of the United States. It's the first time America elected a President whose campaign slogan was 'I'm too old for this s**t.'

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment 2 Comments
11/17/09
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

...two hours and forty minutes of the same action scene recycled over and over again...

Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com | comment 1 Comment
11/16/09
Eric Melin
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for 2012

November 15, 2009: Box Office Guru Wrapup: 2012 Destroys the Competition
This weekend Audiences were warned - by Mayans and film critics alike - but moviegoers around the world still flooded the multiplexes to see Roland Emmerich's latest disaster... More...

November 14, 2009: Emmerich doesn't mess around when intent on messing up the world for good. But his pop apocalypse multiplying man's worst fears, always goes down easy with a side order of popcorn. Apocalypse Wow. Opens in new window
More...

November 13, 2009: Friday Harvest: Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, and more!
Happy Friday Harvest, a weekly round-up of the best pictures, posters, and videos that have become available for viewing/download on Rotten Tomatoes. Each section features the... More...

November 13, 2009: Roland Emmerich Talks 2012 DVD/Blu-ray, Shakespeare Project, and More Opens in new window
Roland Emmerich is poised to destroy the world -- and rule the box office -- one more time with this weekend's release of "2012." What's next for Emmerich? Shakespeare. More...

See All

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