A Few Words About A few words about...™ 2012 -- in Blu-ray (2 Viewers)

[Robert Harris]

Disaster films have been with us since the earliest days of motion pictures.

Fires, earthquakes, floods, rogue waves and capsized luxury liners... we've seen them all.

But to actually bring about the end of modern civilization as we now know it, we needed two elements. Director Roland Emmerich and digital technology. 2012 goes a bit beyond the 1930s disaster epic, in which one can see the wires pulling on palm trees to make them appear to bend in the deluge.

Actually, I don't recall any film going quite the digital distance as 2012, a high powered, occasionally silly, but ultimately rewarding disaster epic (at 158 minutes) that makes the end of our world entertaining.

While the effects are beautifully rendered, the storyline bogged down for me on occasion, especially so near the denouement, when with the survival of mankind hanging in the balance, and only moments left to accomplish the deed that may save it, John Cusack is given a scene in which he has time to chat with his family. If Blu-ray could enable an edit function...

All in all, 2012 is fun entertainment all packed into a beautifully crafted Blu-ray. With an image captured via both Panavision Genesis as well as S35 film, and taken to a 2k digital intermediate, the final result on Blu looks as it should, a crisp, clean representation of down-rezzed data files. With that final image along with uncompressed DTS HD Master Audio, Sony's Blu-ray is a treat for the home theater enthusiast.

Cranking up the audio, which is superb, allows the home viewer to break their least and watch the end of the world concurrently.

Recommended not as great cinema, but as a fun ride, herein presented on a beautifully rendered Blu-ray.

RAH

 

[Rachael B]

I don't think I could take 158 minutes of this....the world ought'a be able to end in about 90 minutes or less.

 

[Ron-P]

Blind buy for sure.

 

[Rachael B]

Originally Posted by Ron-P ....I might rent it sometime, maybe a solstice...?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Ron-P

Blind buy for sure.

Yeah. I've just got to experience this...and I've been hoping the A/V would be terrific. The end of the world deserves a big bang, you might say.

 

[Chris_T]

Originally Posted by Ron-P

Blind buy for sure.

I'm with you Ron.

 

[PatW]

Yeah, a definite buy for me. Saw it at the show and loved it. If they had chopped about 1/2 hour this would have been perfect. There is just so much noise and mayhem one can take.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

It was a decent film, on par with something like Independence Day. It had a little more bite thou, with the film showing that the less than $250.000 a year folk won't be boarding Noah's new Ark...

 

[Brent M]

Unfortunately I sat through this flick at the theater and absolutely HATED IT. Such a bloated, overacted mess that it made Independence Day look like The Godfather IMHO. I'm sure it will be an audio and visual treat on Blu-Ray, but the film itself was so bad there's no way I could ever justify buying it.

 

[Rachael B]

One of the things that's given me a negative outlook on 2012 was how it was hyped by several cable channels. The History Channel was overrun with 2012 programs and shows that linked Nostradamus with 2012 for months on end...

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Rachael B

Rachael: Rather than the cable channels hyping the film, I think it would be more accurate to say that the film 2012 was simply part of the insanity trying to market itself on the upcoming trend (which will continue over the next year or so) to make money off the "Mayan prophecy" of the end of the world in 2012.

In other words, I don't think this hype is going to end soon.

 

[Rachael B]

I watched some show....I think it was The Nostradamus Effect. It was linking him with 2012 and I've never seen a show that used words and phrases such as: Might, could be, possibly, could of, and such in damn near every sentence. It was to be kind, pathetic.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yeah. Remember Y2k? Same thing...except one was based on unfounded rumors and speculation on modern-day thinking...whereas the other is based on unfounded rumors and speculation on ancient thinking.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

 

[TravisR]

For anyone blind buying, I'd recommend a rental first. I'm sure it'll be demo material though.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Someone said, I believe it was right here at HTF, that the world is supposed to end when the Mayan calender ends, well when our calender ends we just go to Walmart and buy a new one lol.

I'll be picking this up, it was spectacular.

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon




the film 2012 was simply part of the insanity trying to market itself on the upcoming trend

Even more reason for me not to pay as much as a penny for the thing (as if I needed one).

 

[Robert Harris]

Are you folks trying to tell me that the world (as we know it) may possibly not end (entirely) in 2012?

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[LarryH]

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[kemcha]

While I did enjoy his last movie, Day After Tomorrow, 2012 was just another atypical special effects movie that replaced the plotline.