A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 5 wins & 21 nominations
Videos7
Thandiwe Newton
- Laura Wilsonas Laura Wilson
- (as Thandie Newton)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe doomsday theory arose from a non-Maya Western idea, not a Mayan one. Mayas insisted that the world would not end in 2012. The Mayas had a talent for astronomy, and enthusiasts found a series of astronomical alignments they said coincided in 2012. Once every six hundred forty thousand 640,000 years, the sun lines up with the center of the Milky Way galaxy on the winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon. The last time that happened was on December 21, 2012, the same day the Maya calendar expired. The modern doomsday myth was bolstered by several ostensibly scientific reasons for a disaster, including a pole shift, the "return" of Planet X or the Sun's sinister counterpart Nemesis, a galactic, planetary, or other celestial alignment, global warming, global cooling, a massive solar flare, or a new ice age. None had any basis in real science. For example, the "galactic alignment" between the sun, Earth, and galactic center happens every December. The best alignment was reached in the 1990s, and was accompanied by its own set of doomsday theories. Alignments since then have been increasingly poor.
- GoofsThe scientific paper on crustal shifting is said to have been published in 1958, and Albert Einstein supported it. Einstein died in 1955.
- Quotes
Adrian Helmsley: The moment we stop fighting for each other, that's the moment we lose our humanity.
- Crazy creditsThere are no opening credits at all, except the Columbia Pictures logo and the movie title "2012".
- Alternate versionsThere was an alternate ending that was featured on the DVD. After Captain Michaels announces that they are heading to the Cape of Good Hope, he tells Dr. Helmsley that he has a phone call waiting for him. Dr. Helmsley discovers that his dad Harry is still alive. Harry tells his son that he, Tony (whose arm is in a sling) and some of the passengers and crew survived the mega-tsunami that struck the Genesis. Captain Michaels states that they should have a visual on the ocean-liner shortly. After Kate thanks Laura for taking care of Lily, Laura tells Jackson that she liked his book. Lily then announces that she sees an island. The Arks arrive at the shipwrecked Genesis and the survivors on the beach.
- ConnectionsEdited into Live Free or Die Hard (Project 12, 8/12) (2011)
- SoundtracksAfreen Afreen
Written by Javed Akhtar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Courtesy of Saregama India Ltd.
By Arrangement with The Royalty Network, Inc.
Top review
It's the end of the world, not anybody's career
Anybody going to this movie to learn about the Mayan prophecies for 2012 or for any true science, is going to be sadly disappointed. But, that is not why we go to movies anyway, is it? That is like going to see Godzilla expecting to learn something about giant lizards that vomit radioactive spray. Emmerich has taken a fictitious subject he knew would be controversial and woven some drama into it. People who tend to be slightly paranoid will no doubt be even more so after seeing the world destroyed according to interpretations of prophecy. The people who sell the books promoting the fear make money, just like the movie producers. So what? I didn't see this movie to pick up any information I haven't learned from the History Channel, nor do I believe any more than I did before, that anything bad is going to happen on December 21, 2012. Did I go expecting to be highly entertained by great CGI and action? Yes! And I wasn't disappointed! One thing many reviewers haven't been picking up on while watching this movie is the very slight tongue-in-cheekiness of the subject that Emmerich cleverly wove into the plot. He obviously doesn't believe any of the prophecy any more than most of the rest of us do. You can see it in the actors' performances too: Woody Harrelson, to wit. It is the same as a weatherman who can deliver his forecast each night without laughing because he truly doesn't know with certainty what is going to happen, but he tries to make us believe nonetheless.
See this movie if you love cinema. Enjoy the things about cinema that make it great. Take a small pillow for your butt cheeks because almost 3 hours of sitting in an uncomfortable theater seat will make you wish you had. But fear not. There is so much non-stop action you won't notice the discomfort too much.
The film has obvious flaws, trite clichés, and phony science, but if you are a fan of 50's sci-fi, you will love this movie. And remember, don't take it too seriously folks, just enjoy it. The end of the world isn't going to happen in 2012, there really aren't any giant grasshoppers, ants, or lizards roaming the Earth, and no one's career is going to end because of their role in this movie. It is Hollywood having a good time with a controversial subject. Nothing new there.
Enjoy the show!
See this movie if you love cinema. Enjoy the things about cinema that make it great. Take a small pillow for your butt cheeks because almost 3 hours of sitting in an uncomfortable theater seat will make you wish you had. But fear not. There is so much non-stop action you won't notice the discomfort too much.
The film has obvious flaws, trite clichés, and phony science, but if you are a fan of 50's sci-fi, you will love this movie. And remember, don't take it too seriously folks, just enjoy it. The end of the world isn't going to happen in 2012, there really aren't any giant grasshoppers, ants, or lizards roaming the Earth, and no one's career is going to end because of their role in this movie. It is Hollywood having a good time with a controversial subject. Nothing new there.
Enjoy the show!
helpful•424243
- polombob
- Nov 15, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Farewell Atlantis
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $166,112,167
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $65,237,614
- Nov 15, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $791,217,826
- Runtime2 hours 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Recently viewed
Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.