2012 (Blu-ray)

When scientists discover the rising temperature in the Earth’s core, they prepare for the worst. However, after three years preparation and investigation, the authorities decide that the Earth is doomed and arrange for a mass evacuation. Meanwhile, earthquakes are beginning to hit all corners of the planet and gigantic tsunamis are wiping out cities left, right and centre. Jackson Curtis (Cusack), a struggling writer, divorcee and part-time family man, learns of the top secret evacuation and attempts to get himself and his family to safety before the shit well and truly hits the fan.

Roland Emmerich’s disaster movie to end all disaster movies is apparently the director’s farewell to the budget busting genre (indeed, his next movie is a period drama starring Vanessa Redgrave!) and sees the king of catastrophe going out with a bang (actually, a few dozen bangs and a fair number of ka-booms). ‘Excessive’ doesn’t quite cover Emmerich’s insane epic, which bombards the audience with all manner of apocalyptic disasters, each bigger and louder than the last. Emmerich knows he’s not going to win over the critics with this one, and yet, with a potent sense of humour, a jaw-aching succession of sequences of almost unfathomable yet hilarious stupidity and the very wise casting of silver screen everyman, John Cusack, 2012 becomes Emmerich’s most enjoyable of disaster flicks.    

Bursting on to Blu-ray like one of its giant CGI tsunamis, 2012 comes crashing down in hi-def with a loud and features-packed package.

First up, the audio is exactly what you’d expect from such a fireworks display of a movie. The DTS HD Master Audio option provides an Earth-shattering soundtrack, delivering both ambient sound effects from all five speakers during those rare quiet moments and unleashing a deafening burst of rich bass during the many louder moments. It’s a film that really puts your set-up to the test, and the hi-def soundtrack certainly ensures that this is the only way to experience 2012 in the home.

The picture quality provides a rich, stylised palette that’s free of grain and is smooth and blemish free throughout. However, in high-definition, the special effects look even more synthetic and digitised than they did on the big screen, which hinders the feeling of impending doom slightly when it doesn’t even look like old John Cusack is even part of the fiery surroundings. But then, disbelief should be left at the entrance when entering 2012’s mind-boggling, cataclysmic world.

The Blu-ray extras include a slow and exhausting commentary from Emmerich and his co-writer, plus another walk through the proceedings with a ‘Picture-In-Picture’ feature, where Emmerich takes us behind the scenes and shows us how all of those expensive special effects were achieved. The disc includes all manner of insights into the production and the Mayan apocalypse theories throughout a number of featurettes, and a genuinely unbelievable alternate ending is essential viewing, which features moments that evidently proved too lame and too ridiculous even for Emmerich (and who’d have thought that was possible?).

Overall Verdict: An over-the-top, snort-inducing farewell to the disaster movie and one hell of a ride on Blu-ray.

Special Features:
Movie IQ
Interactive Mayan Calendar
‘Mysteries Of The Mayan Calendar’ Featurette
‘Designing The End Of The World’ Featurette
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Roland Emmerich and Co-Writer Harald Kloser
‘Roland’s Vision’ Picture-In-Picture Feature
‘Roland Emmerich: The Master Of The Modern Epic’ Featurette
‘The End Of The World: The Actor’s Perspective’ Featurette
‘Science Behind The Destruction’ Featurette
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Ending
BD-Live

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths