The film briefly references Mayanism,the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar,and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events unfolding in the year 2012.Due to solar flare bombardment the Earth's core begins heating up at an unprecedented rate.This results in a series of Doomsday event scenarios plunging the world into chaos,such as California falling into the Pacific Ocean,the eruption of the Yellowstone National Park caldera,shifting of the continents by crustal displacement,and Megatsunami impacts along every coast line on the Earth.The film centers around an ensemble cast of characters as they narrowly escape multiple catastrophes in an effort to reach ships in the Himalayas,along with scientists and governments of the world who are attempting to save as many lives as they can before the disasters ensue.
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The Mayans predict the world is ending on December 21st,2012.The government hides the end of days and once the secret is out,it’s a mad race to survival headquarters.
It’s clear,2012 is no Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow,two films that were directed by Roland Emmerich,who also directed this film.2012 is another tale of global destruction that we have all witnessed before,but this time it’s padded with Sony PSP-like special effects,not-even-bad-enough-to-be-camp dialogue and a nap-inducing running time of 158 minutes.2012 is a gargantuan mess.
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In 2009,American geologist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) travels to India to meet his friend Satnam,who has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare have penetrated the Earth and are causing the temperature of its core to increase rapidly.Adrian returns to Washington D.C.to inform White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and US President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) that this will instigate a chain of events that will bring about the end of the world.At the 36th G8 summit in 2010,other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation.They collaborate to begin a secret project intended to ensure the continuity of human life,strategically choosing 400,000 people for admission on a series of gigantic arks to be constructed in the Himalayas.To help fund the venture,additional individuals are allowed to purchase tickets for one billion euros apiece.
In 2012,Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a writer in Los Angeles who works part time as a limousine driver for Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov.Jackson's ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and their children Noah and Lily live with her new boyfriend,plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon.Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park,where they meet Charlie Frost,a radio show host and conspiracy theorist.Charlie supports a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012,and claims he has knowledge of the ark project and possesses a map of the arks' location.The family returns home as cracks begin to develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in the San Francisco Bay area.Jackson grows suspicious and rents a private plane to rescue his family.He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it collapses into the Pacific Ocean.