Fundamentally terrible, but almost irresistibly entertaining. Its horrors get a tad monotonous in the mid-section, but it’s still a value-for-money hoot.
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11/13/09
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2012 (2009)
38
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:175
Fresh:67
Rotten:108
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.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:13-11-2009
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... [More]
Starring: John Cusack, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt
Director: Roland Emmerich
Reviews for 2012
Top CriticBigger, louder, crazier and more wildly exhilarating than anything previously attempted.
11/13/09
Top CriticIt's the end of the world as escapism. It's an event movie. It's daft. The visual effects are amazing. See it on a big screen.
11/13/09
Top Critic2012, a near three-hour movie built entirely out of special effects set pieces and join-the-dots characterisation.
11/13/09
Top CriticEmmerich's vision of global huddling and new-dawn optimism has a harebrained naivety you almost want to treasure, but that's this idiot behemoth of a film all over: dim, dim, dim, and so absurdly overscaled that we're not supposed to mind.
11/13/09
Top Critic2012 is terrible, lazy, Hollywood trash. It is completely unoriginal with no structure, a script akin to having a drill put through your eardrum and a talented ensemble cast who are so obviously going through the motions.
11/13/09
It feels about 2012 minutes too long, a bloated epic that outstays its welcome long before the credits have rolled.
11/13/09
A cheesefest on an epic scale, 2012 is a case of computer processors working overtime to compensate for a lack of action on Emmerich and co-writers Harald Kloser's word processor.
11/13/09
158 minutes represents a heavy investment in time and popcorn. But the unrelenting pace, almighty effects and sheer tongue-in-cheekiness make it more than worth your while.
11/13/09
Had Emmerich whittled down his overstocked cast and downsized the soap opera, this really would have been a case of Apocalypse Wow. If you’ve an appetite for destruction, though, it’ll still send you home with a smile on your face.
11/13/09
The script is nonsensical and while the actors do their best they are, inevitably, dwarfed by the breathtaking visual effects. Emmerich has outdone himself this time; this is a film that makes Independence Day look modest.
11/13/09
If you want massive spectacle, an orgy of disaster-movie clichés and schadenfreude run riot, you won't be disappointed. Cinematic popcorn doesn't come poppier, cornier (or cheesier) than this.
11/13/09
The effects ring curiously hollow since the human side of the film is so undeveloped... Heed my warning and avoid this massive turkey.
11/13/09
An astonishingly impressive and entertaining disaster movie... one of the must-see films of the year.
11/13/09
Thrilling, but not earth-shattering.
11/13/09
Roland Emmerich is an apocalypse chef. In 2012 he cooks America till it boils, adding live meat to the process at judicious intervals.
11/13/09
In between the explosions and quakes you sometimes hear snatches of the script, and then wish you hadn't.
11/13/09
Complete codswallop but perversely entertaining.
11/13/09
2012 may be the biggest disaster movie ever made, an awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance.
11/13/09
[Emmerich's] most cliched, predictable, overblown, special FX-milking EPIC yet.
11/13/09
Latest News for 2012
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. 
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
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...
November 12, 2009:
Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking
This week at the movies, we've got a global catastrophe (2012, starring John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor) and some rock 'n' roll rebellion (Pirate Radio, starring Philip S.... More...
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