2012, We Were Warned

Centuries ago, the Maya left us their calendar, with a clear end date and all that it implies. By 2012, we'll know -- we were warned.

In 2009, American scientist Adrian Helmsley 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 and US President Thomas Wilson 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.

I have been always a fan of Roland Emmerich ever since his Independence Day, Godzilla & The Day After Tomorrow movies. So this time, I'll make sure that I will not missed 2012. Good thing Sir Myk Cruz of TV5 handed out free Special Screening Pass to me. Yey!

My day started at 9AM because I had to attend the second day of DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit & 3rd  Digital Web Awards 2009 at Hotel Intercon in Makati, which is also near Glorrieta 4 where the special screening courtesy of TV5 will takes place.

The movie tells about the upcoming doom that the whole world will face in 2012. The fim starts in 2009 when a scientist in the name of Adrian Helmsley (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) noticed the abnormality of solar flares of the sun which caused the bombardment of neutrinos in Earth. Those bombardment of neutrinos are causing disruptions on the core of the Earth, hence affecting our Earth’s crust, the core and the magnetic fields of our planet. He worked continuously with another  scientist named Satnam (played by Jimi Mistry), he provided him with the data and Helmsley immediately took off to Washington D.C. to give warning to the US government.

There was a deep cover up by the US government as soon as Adrian Helmsley informed them. There was a scene that the Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre is replaced by a perfect replica to save it. The US government didn't informed the public, instead, they chose to build big ships in the Himalayas for just in case the big flood came, some people and species will be save. These large ships is funded by billionares around the world which will have exclusive passes to the ship when the large flood takes place. Noah's Ark, anyone?

And in the rest of the film, the whole Earth is completely devastated. California (where the protagonists live)  can't be found in the the map of the US. There are other countries that submerged towards the sea. The magnetic poles of Earth, shifted - the North Pole which was previously seen on the Arctic Circle suddenly went into Wisconsin. The USS John Kennedy, is taken by the tsunami and then smashed the White House while the US President & other evacuees are there. Aside from that, there was a mega tsunami which reaches the height of the Himalayas, where Mt. Everest is located.

My favorite part of the movie is when Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov says "Start Engine!" in a deep Russian accent when they're having a commotion because the car won't start at all, which turn-out to be voice-activated. This drew loud laughs among movie goers. Another part I liked is when Dr. Satnam (the Scientist that discovered the doom before it happen) & his family is at the top of the valley a few seconds before they are hit by the tsunami, he just opt to hug his wife & son and kiss them because there was no way to survive that big tsunami.

The movie, fiction or not has a little touch of truth in it. I mean look at our environment now, it's so different back 100 years ago. Humans contributes a lot on Earth's devastation. Deforestation, Loss of Wildlife, Species Extinction, Soil Degradation, Soil Depletion, Erosion & Global Warming, this is the result of our negligence. On 2012 or later I am sure this will happen soon.

Anyway the film's visual effect is just SUPERB, I think that's the major selling point for this movie. Watch the movie now, it's better on the big screen!