Now and Then.

Who the...?

Harendra Kapur.
Kyra Mathews.
Tejas Menon.


Ello All,
So yes it happened. It came and I saw it and MAN!
What an excellent, excellent film. For several reasons and before I get into them I must say- it most certainly was not perfect. A lot of the times it was melodramatic, a lot of the times it was unrealistic, and for the most part, the family's story that leads the entire plot is far fetched to say the least.
Possibly a hundred close calls, near misses, 'aaaaaaaAAAAAAH! Phew' moments and other such wonderful things a script can give us. The more cynical would possibly use it as a reason to beat the film up though I must say, while it did grate on me a bit, it certainly kept the film thrilling THROUGHOUT, something not many films can accomplish. I can only think of one moment when my eyes weren't on the screen and my heart wasn't racing. At the same time, especially considering the kind of cameras they've used, I expected a bit more reality in the script (ironically a criticism levied against the lead character's book.)
Now for the good parts-
The Graphics were excellent. The solar flares, the tidal waves, the disintegrating crust of the earth and even the exposed core, were all STUNNING and quite an experience. There were a couple of places where I felt the green screen was a bit too evident, but overall, the mammoth task the filmmakers accomplished certainly deserves the capital G in graphics!
The acting was perfect for this kind of a film. More significantly though, the casting was just about spotless. Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson and John Cusack stood out and all played their parts so very naturally and so non stereotypically, there wasn't a single place I wanted to cringe. Even the fringe characters (barring the Indian SATNAM who to be fair did decently enough, it's just that for Indians it's quite blatant how rough his accent and mannerisms were) were superb in their bits, though casting Amanda Peet for her role was ingenius. It was a mature, well restrained performance and certainly one worth lauding.
The direction too was near flawless, though as I mentioned earlier, there's extensive creative license.
Finally, and for me, the reason this movie has outdone past apocalyptic films, the script. I did not expect to come out of this movie, so in awe of the thoroughly detailed writing for this movie. First of all, science wise, it seemed pretty flawless to me, though I'm sure there are gaffs, the film's ending is perhaps the most well thought of doomsday solution I've ever come across.
Second of all, some of the dialogues are just inspired, especially towards the end. The plot elements, like Woody Harrelson's blog, John Cusack's book and the comedic lines are PERFECT. While the brief comedy could easily have been trite and gotten by, the writers have made sure it's pushed the plot forward in terms of revealing important character facets and plot elements. Also, the intrinsic details like how the Cistine Chapel cracks (check out which painting it is, even if the symbolism isn't clear, it looks quite freaking cool) add so much depth to the movie it sucks you right in.
Third of all, the writers have broken so many typically apocalytpic moments, the Statue of Liberty gaff, the 'I'll have a dramatic pause now and it's all good' was broken a couple of times (though abused a few times too) and most importantly for me- NO PUNCH LINES!
It could have been the director, the actors or the script writers themselves who slipped in these little things, frankly I don't give a crap.
This is easily the biggest film of the year and rightly so, though as I've mentioned, it isn't going to change your life, only give you one hell of an experience.
Let me just say one last thing:
Do not make the mistake of missing this one on the big screen- YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

2 responses to "2012: The Review"

  1. You know I wish I watched it in 3D, honestly!!
    I had a blast through this one... and I suppose that's because we were able to laugh off the unrealism of it all!.. And Woody! Him and his blog!The best!I've loved him since Cheers!..Throughout I was thinking... Yeah, this is just Noah's Ark in the sky! But it was actually just Noah's Ark!! =]

    Laralils

  2. it was an awesome movie for the vfx and stuff...that was jus off the charts...but i guess they could have toned down the melodrama a bit wit the whole son comin back for the father and they fight...but otherwise it was awesome...and tejas i still cant seem to follow this blog!!!help!!

    rohitthomas

The All of us.

The All of us.