2012 (Blu-ray / DVD)
Steve Barton
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Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Amanda Peet, John Cusack, Explosions, CGI
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Oh, my sweet, sweet mama. Yeah, come on in. The lights are down way low, and we is about to get turned on by some disaster porn! Aw yeah, mama. You didn’t have to wear that dress. Get off ya feet now, baby. What’s that? You want an aircraft carrier to bulldoze the White House via tsunami? Yeah. You is kinky. We can make that happen, baby, yeah. Mmmm, shall we begin?
There’s no question. It has taken a few years, but director Roland Emmerich has finally perfected the art of 100% pure disaster porn. This is it. The big daddy. Never mind Notzilla, Independence Day, or The Day After Tomorrow. The John Cusack vehicle 2012 has them all beaten by a mile. Every conceivable disaster movie beat is not only hit here, but beaten to death right into your skull. The film is so silly … so ridiculous … so jaw-droppingly ludicrous that I’m not even going to bother with the usual plot rehash. Let’s just say that the flick is loosely based upon what’s supposed to happen when the world ends on 2012 because the Mayans decided that they didn’t want to write their calendar anymore. Those dirty bastards! Luckily Cusack is here to save his family in one big dumb scene after another. If you’re looking for said plot rehash, check out Nomad’s 2012 review here. He pretty much nails it. Our topic today is the Blu-ray and DVD review of this epic bout of accidental hilarity.
For starters you have three ways you can buy the movie – the two-disc Blu-ray edition, the single-disc Blu-ray edition, and of course DVD. Let me be clear … if you have the tech, you need to see this flick in all of its high definition glory. Every scream, every explosion, every insane bit of carnage you could ever imagine short of a giant monster wrecking shit is here, and it looks and sounds amazing. I’d also hazard to say that 2012‘s robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track will have your home rocking.
There’s so much included on the two-disc Blu-ray I’m not even sure where to start. Disc One of both Blu-ray editions (and the DVD) are home to the commentary track with writer/director Roland Emmerich and co-writer Harald Kloser. The duo lovingly discuss the giant sized effort that went into bringing this flick to life, and you’re sure to have a good time with the proceedings should you decide to watch the movie with or without the track on. For even more info try watching the movie with movieIQ and the commentary at the same time. It’s like information overload. Also included on Disc One (but not on the DVD due to technical limitations) are Picture-in-Picture: Roland’s Vision, which, when activated, will bring up a window with Emmerich talking about the on-screen action, and a short alternate ending.
Now on to Disc Two and the lion’s share of the supplemental goodies.
Here we have five behind-the-scenes featurettes ranging from fifteen to thirty minutes long that cover just about anything you could ever want to know about the film, the “facts” and mysteries it is based upon, and everything in-between. Also we get five deleted scenes, the music video by American Idol‘s Adam Lambert for the song “Time For Miracles”, and even a making-of featurette for the music video! That’s a lot of stimuli! In fact it’s nearly overkill, but the fun doesn’t end there either! Once we’re done with all the behind-the-scenes stuff, there’s also an Interactive Mayan Calendar for us to fiddle with on our way to zero hour on doomsday. For an idea of what’s offered, click here to check out four clips from the Designing the End of the World, Science Behind the Destruction, and Roland Emmerich: Master of the Modern Epic featurettes.
2012 is not nearly as good as it is a completely absurd good time. You’ll be cheering as the masses meet their bitter end! You’ll be laughing and stomping your feet as the world’s greatest and most famous landmarks come tumbling down. But most of all you’ll be marveling at the fact that Sony ever shelled out the millions upon millions of dollars to get this Sci-Fi channel level three-hour epic made to begin with. Don’t get me wrong — I’m glad that they did. Hardest I’ve laughed in forever!
2-Disc Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
Disc 2
Single Disc Blu-Ray Special Features
DVD Special Features
3 out of 5
Special Features:
5 out of 5
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