If the world is coming to a spectacular end, you can bet Roland Emmerich, the Irwin Allen of our time, is behind the curtain and working the gears. 2012 will be out next year, five years after The Day After Tomorrow. The intrigue for me is "how much better will the CG be?" Roland deserves credit, at the very least, for cranking out handsome, well-lit disaster films with tight scripts and reasonably professional performances, which is more than Allen ever managed.
The straight-paycheck cast includes John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover (as "President Wilson"), "Chewy" Ejiofor, Oliver Platt and Thomas McCarthy. We all need to pay the bills. There's nothing wrong with going out there and bringing home the bacon.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 13, 2008 at 6:21 AM
comment #1
Jason
says ...
Somebody must have been inspired by the "bloody elevators" trailer for The Shining because it uses the same music by Wendy Carlos.
Posted by Jason
at November 13, 2008 7:08 AM
comment #2
moviemaniac2002
says ...
Emmerich should bring back the Dick Cheney
clone from "Day After Tomorrow" and cook up an especially eye-catching CGI demise for him, maybe have Mt. Everest fall on him or impaled by the Washington Momument.
But Emmerich's already behind the curve on the President's casting. (Dennis Haybert and Morgan Freeman have already ably served as Aftrican American presidents.) Disaster movies have to stay ahead of the game...'2012's Prez should be
a Gay Asian Transsexual.
Posted by moviemaniac2002
at November 13, 2008 7:12 AM
comment #3
Rich S.
says ...
That's a money shot, right there.
Speaking of which, whatever happened to that remake of When Worlds Collide? Spielberg was interested and then Sommers. There's some real potential there, especially in that scene near the end when mankind, who has been ignoring the warnings, wakes up and tries to take over the Space Ark.
Posted by Rich S.
at November 13, 2008 7:30 AM
comment #4
actionman
says ...
Wells -- where's the Quantum thoughts?
Ebert have it **
2012 will be just like The Day After Tomorrow. Great looking and extremely stupid.
Posted by actionman
at November 13, 2008 7:35 AM
comment #5
Rich S.
says ...
Ebert really bombed Quantum.
I have a theory as to why Jeffrey hasn't posted his Quantum review yet. Let's see if I'm right.
Posted by Rich S.
at November 13, 2008 7:44 AM
comment #6
JB Moore
says ...
"Five Years After The Day After Tomorrow" would make a much better title.
Posted by JB Moore
at November 13, 2008 8:10 AM
comment #7
Sean
says ...
I also like how they're selling the "conspiracy" of it -- having people google 2012, and finding that host of results, rather than just directing them to Sony's website.
Posted by Sean
at November 13, 2008 8:19 AM
comment #8
BurmaShave
says ...
If you Google 2012 right now you get a lot of Palin I imagine. Terrifying indeed.
Posted by BurmaShave
at November 13, 2008 8:21 AM
comment #9
p.Vice
says ...
This movie looks like a metaphor for the next Republican presidential campaign.
Posted by p.Vice
at November 13, 2008 8:37 AM
comment #10
btwnproductions
says ...
The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are far better than Emmerich's movies, which are more on the level of The Swarm and When Time Ran Out. Outside of the sequence where the wave swamps Manhattan, Day is unwatchable.
Posted by btwnproductions
at November 13, 2008 8:42 AM
comment #11
clancy
says ...
Jason- Not to mention the same opening shot from "THe Shining" credit sequence.
Posted by clancy
at November 13, 2008 8:49 AM
comment #12
Edward Havens
says ...
Roland Emmerich is just Uwe Boll with better financing.
Posted by Edward Havens
at November 13, 2008 8:51 AM
comment #13
Chase Kahn
says ...
Let's hope it's as good as 10,000 B.C.
Posted by Chase Kahn
at November 13, 2008 8:56 AM
comment #14
Sabina E
says ...
disaster movies are so boring and usually get dated quickly.
Posted by Sabina E
at November 13, 2008 9:22 AM
comment #15
Nick Rogers
says ...
10,000 B.C. was just a disaster, not a disaster movie. Roland Emmerich's movies really suck only when they're not disaster movies.
Posted by Nick Rogers
at November 13, 2008 9:45 AM
comment #16
Krazy Eyes
says ...
Maybe this is a stupid question but what sort of disaster would cause a tidal wave to sweep over the Himalayas? Cool looking money shot but it did make me scratch my head.
I know that 2012 is the end of the Mayan calendar but we're not talking about another meteor flick, are we?
Posted by Krazy Eyes
at November 13, 2008 9:50 AM
comment #17
fattyhadaparty
says ...
A slow, measured build, tantalizing copy, unsettling music and a series of iconic money shots; in short, a textbook example of a great teaser trailer.
Emmerich's always been an interesting case; a director who seems to possess the talent to make something more than disposable "event" pictures, but lacks the will to do so. My guess is that he has grown used to playing with a very large model train set (generally around $130 million) and lacks the resolve to walk away from all of that fanstastic catering.
"The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are far better than Emmerich's movies, which are more on the level of The Swarm and When Time Ran Out. Outside of the sequence where the wave swamps Manhattan, Day is unwatchable. "
Couldn't disagree more. While both ADVENTURE & INFERNO have achieved iconic status, they date badly. Unlike Emmerich's movies, Allen's contain very few jawdropping moments. Most of his budgets seem to have been spent on the cast and production design, and the films themselves play like very expensive TV movies (INFERNO is lit like a sitcom). Aside from the capsizing sequence, the main attraction of POSEIDON, is the inverted sets.
DAY AFTER TOMORROW was one of Emmerich's better efforts. Once you accept the utter ridiculousness of the central premise (Remember that weekend when we had to outrun the next ice age in Manhattan?), it's quite entertaining. It had some amazing action sequences, incredible effects, credible acting and some appealing main characters. Then he had to follow it up with that piece of mastadon turd called 10,000 B.C.
Emmerich's a hack, but a hack of the highest order. Say what you will about his body of work, but he's one of the few directors out there who can deliver the goods promised in the trailers. He knows how to craft those "wow!" moments in an exciting and visually coherent way. Whether the films surrounding them have any lasting merit, well...
Posted by fattyhadaparty
at November 13, 2008 10:08 AM
comment #18
lipranzer
says ...
Emmerich delivers films with "tight scripts and reasonably professional performances?" How did you type that with a straight face?
Posted by lipranzer
at November 13, 2008 11:14 AM
comment #19
theultimatebiu
says ...
Trying to figure out why the destruction is happening in a disaster movie always cuts the fun in half. The teaser is alright and I'll probably watch it whilst drunk or high and that's my two cents for the day.
Posted by theultimatebiu
at November 13, 2008 11:15 AM
comment #20
Mark
says ...
i already question their research, as by 2012, the world will hold 7 billion people, not 6.
Posted by Mark
at November 13, 2008 11:52 AM
comment #21
Roman
says ...
"Roland deserves credit, at the very least, for cranking out handsome, well-lit disaster films with tight scripts and reasonably professional performances, which is more than Allen ever managed. "
Wells, are you out of your tiny mind? Are you seriously parising this shitmaker for "tight scrpts" and performances? He makes nothing but psudo-scientific but really pathetically shallow shit for the lowest common denominator, that's unimaginatively, yes you read it right, directed and has cheesy looking effects? Jesus, Wells and you have issues with other, much better directors. Get a sandwich, dude. Go get a freakin' sandwhich.
Posted by Roman
at November 13, 2008 3:12 PM
comment #22
Mike
says ...
Is there any actor less enthusiastic than John Cusack when appearing in a popcorn flick? Whenever he shows up for a money job he makes sure the audience knows how much he hates being in it. As cheesy as Con Air was, his performance was the worst thing about it.
Posted by Mike
at November 13, 2008 6:59 PM
comment #23
janee
says ...
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at May 19, 2011 12:59 AM