Customer Reviews

2012: Doomsday

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I was really excited to see this film...I actually thought initially that it would be "The Odessey" another 2012 film which is a documentary but quickly realized that it was actually a film that acted out a storyline based on 2012 prophecies. At this point I was still interested to see how the film would come together, and was even willing to completely bypass the terrible acting in order to see 2012 come to life in a way that I've only imagined from some of the books and research I've done myself. Let me say now, that not only was the acting horrendous, the storyline sucked, and I felt like I was watching a really corny version of Touched by an Angel. The whole flick completely took chosen bits and pieces of the ancient Mayan prophecy and made it into a Christian propoganda film. I am a Christian so I can appreciate my faith and appreciate what it is I believe in, but watching someone take two separate and completely different prophecies to try and sell the apocolypse honestly just pissed me off. I like how the people 'called' to do the Lord's work were all American, and the females were two blondes who questioned their belief in a higher being. The whole rapture thing being tied with the whole mayan temple thing...completely broken, made NO sense and I feel like I just lost an hour and a half of my life watching that garbage. If you really want to know about 2012, check out the History Channel's video on it, or "The Oddessy" so that you can get an unsensored, real version that makes alot more sense and isn't trying to sell nonbelievers a bogus version of the story. I hope you read this before you waste your money, it was a complete mess.

Ok this movie made me laugh so hard it is WAY funnier than 99% of the comedies out there. From the actors forgetting their lines to the horrible special effects and props, this movie is a joke.

I wrote a review because this is the kind of stuff I wanted to read when I checked out the reviews. The reviewers skipped some things so I'm going to list some of them that I found completely ridiculous. DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVN'T SEEN THE MOVIE.


-First of all the lighting was horrible. People looked either dead or infected with vampirism.

-At one point the camera completely juddered while doing a pan of the landscape like the cameraman fell sideways.

-In the beginning the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is discussed. So I was like oh the Solar System is being sucked into a supermassive black hole maybe this movie will be cool. Never again is this black hole mentioned and I was wrong about the movie being cool.

-The blonde non-nurse girl was searching for a doctor for weeks and finds someone who had done a few years of med school and is completely unhappy and unsurprised.

-The news that showed California with tornado warnings on the screen: Tornado warnings? Looked more like a hurricane the size of california. The words from the news report were even half cut off the mother's tv screen.

-There were some winds outside at one point and there were only these strange string type things floating around. What the hell were those? And why did sometimes huge clumps of them fall?

-Despite the unbearable acting, the actors forgot their lines throughout the movie. I guess after take 143 of a scene they just went with the best shot they had. The worst part though was when the male news reporter was talking about the parts of the world that had been affected. He stuttered and paused like Billy in one flew over the cuckoo's nest. He wasn't on video you just hear his voice, so he was probably reading off a paper and still he butchered his lines!

-The snowball scene which was joked about previously. C'mon. And why was he swerving? Not to mention the size of the hole in the windshield was not even an inch wide.

-The pilot of the small plane was going to willingly and pointlessly kill himself after he dropped off the dad.

-The end in the temple when the horrible male actor was surprised that a pregnant woman showed up RIGHT after he read the prophecy and considering he hasn't seen a single random person for miles and miles of driving and walking.

-Then right after when the father and daughter reunite it was just weird and hilarious with the music.

-Once when the words were being typed near the end of the movie the words OVERLAPPED a little! How could they not notice this?

I'm not joking I was cracking up the ENTIRE movie. An 85 minute movie took 2 hours because we had to keep pausing it to laugh. Normally I am maybe a little too forgiving when it comes to movies as I seem to like alot of them. However, this movie was a big joke. I loved it, but not for the reasons I should have. I agree with a previous reviewer, this is THE worst movie I have ever seen.

The scenery at the beginning was beautiful, but the movie went downhill from there. I liked Cliff de Young in the Love series and expected that this movie would be wonderful because he was in it. The acting was bad. The dialogue was amateurish and stupid, often with contradictory ideas contained within one sentence, so that even Cliff de Young's acting looked pitiful. I laughed out loud when one actress said that the president was evacuating the entire west coast, the earth's rotation had slowed, causing catastrophes all over the world and the end of the world, but her father wanted her to go north to Oklahoma where she would be safe. There was also a statement that European Christians had been in Mexico long before Christopher Columbus. After watching the first half of the movie, I turned it off. It was worse than an old 1950s B grade.
The people who put this movie together must have been a bunch of college kids who, even though they had good intentions, are not very talented. They put together the Mayan 2012 Doomsday calendar with the Rapture/End of the World belief held by Eschatologist Christians. The Roman Catholic Church and most mainline protestant denominations (of which I am a member) do not believe the end of the world will occur as a Rapture and/or a Tribulation period. Belief in the Rapture is mostly confined to Fundamentalists and other Evangelicals. After Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the fourth century CE, this belief was declared a heresy and suppressed. The idea of a Rapture was reintroduced in 1830 by John N. Darby, a minister of the Church of Ireland.
Regardless of whether one believes in the Rapture or not, the movie was amateurish. It was so bad that I tried to get my money back from the rental store.

So then Cliff De Young explains why the rotation of the Earth is slowing down. Actually he explains why it might be slowing down. Apparently they couldn't measure it in any way so none of our crack scientists know for sure even though they have it timed down to the moment when it will stop. Then he makes the statement that this is the only theory that makes sense. I had to go back and replay his explanation of the black hole causing the Earth's rotation to slow and it still made absolutely no sense at all. None. Okay, we're beyond that, let's discuss acting. Well, there wasn't much in this film to discuss. It was horrible. Special effects? Oh man!!! Other reviewers mentioned the hail storm where basball size hail was falling all over and the guy was actually swerving the car to miss them as they fell. That's some sweet driving. Unfortunately not sweet enough though, for out of these giant pieces of hail, one, about an inch wide it appears from the damage to the windshield does find its mark, and hits the glass, then rips a hole in the driver's chest that looks like the creature from Alien just came out of him. Some lucky cast members were "raptured" prior to the great disaster. Why wasn't the missionary raptured? She was the most God fearing person in the film, totally devoted and faithful, yet she was left behind. Maybe it was to help fulfill the prophecy, but really... That wasn't right. Ultimately, the moment comes when all light is extinguished on Earth, then the girl gives birth and the light comes back out. Okay, we lost the West Coast, but other than that, Earth came out of this disaster pretty good. Well, they did use the last 24 hours to completely evacuate the entire West coast. Yeah, right. Well, on the good side, Amy Dolenz was nice to look at. The bottom line here is that this film will leave you wondering: If there really is a God, would he allow mankind to make movies this bad?

Someone stated that this was amateurish work. Actually, I've seen BETTER work by amateurs. This was a complete waste of celluloid. I'm not sure why anyone would have TARNISHED their reputation as an actor to be associated with this production.

Is there anything ELSE worth saying?

This film does NOTHING to explain the 2012 ideology. It is horrible. This film is full of people who can't act. The script is just atrocious. The premise: is there one? The disappearing woman who wears lip gloss in a color way to young for her. The pregnant woman who delivers in the Mayan temple...

Why was SHE added in the mix?

The rescue worker who was in dire need of a shrink LONG before this 'event' happened. And...

as the rest of the world collapses (literally), they are all SAFE in this Myian temple that opens with a CRUCIFIX? Oh puleeze.

2012 DOOMSDAY is a semi-Christian based movie that is marketed as being similar to THE OMEGA CODE and the first LEFT BEHIND movie. Unfortunately, there really aren't any similarities between those two movies and 2012 DOOMSDAY other than the typical "conversion" scene that often pops up in Christian-made and based movies. Not only that but THE OMEGA CODE and LEFT BEHIND are really subpar movies, but compared to 2012 DOOMSDAY they are almost cinematic masterpieces.

The plot of the movie seems simple enough. A group of archeologists uncover a seemingly anachronistic crucifix in a Mayan ruin in South America. The relic sets off a set of terrible natural disasters that cause havoc worldwide, including a massive tornado that destroys most of California, massive tidal waves that eradicate entire large islands, and a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that threaten to destroy most of the continent of South America. The world's best scientists have no explanation for what is happening. Meanwhile the archeologist who found the relic feels destined to deliver it to another Mayan temple where he can use it to fulfill a prophecy. In addition, there's a young female Christian missionary (her dad is the lead scientist trying to figure out what is going on) and a pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth that feel compelled to go to the temple to. They can't find a doctor to help with the birthing process, but are able to find a wandering med student who joins them on their journey. Finally, there's also a young female paramedic who has been having dreams about this Mayan temple and ends up driving there. All of these people headed to the same place, either to stop the end of the world or bring about a new one. Mix in some mixed-up Christian elements and Mayan prophecies about 2012 and that's the movie.

In general, I like B-movies. If the story is good, I even enjoy watching no-budget amateur movies. When a first time director or a new film company comes along, I give them the benefit of the doubt. I was even looking forward to watching 2012 DOOMSDAY, even though I knew it was from the same movie company that produced SUNDAY SCHOOL MUSICAL (one of the worst movies I've ever seen). The opening scenes seemed interesting enough, bland but expositions usually are. Unfortunately, things just went downhill from there. I will say that most of the actors and actresses were attractive. Also, some of the special effects were well used. Other than that, there's really nothing I can say to recommend this movie, except that at times it's unintentionally funny.

The scientists at the beginning of the movie talk about a black hole that is threatening to destroy the Earth, but the black hole is never seen or heard about again. There's a pregnant woman running around South America, but instead of going to see a doctor to deliver her baby goes for a road trip with her missionary friend. The dialogue is terrible. Other than a brief message about the salvation offers, very little of the religion in the movie is even Biblically base. The rapture occurs, but the most righteous person in the film (the Christian missionary) is left behind. The lighting effects are horrible. There were parts of the movie that looked like they were filmed at dusk with a cell phone camera and no other lights. There's a point in the movie when large balls of hail begin falling from the sky. These pieces of hail or so massive that they can shatter not only through glass, but through a human body as well. The entire sequence is quite tacky, but so is much of the movie.

2012 DOOMSDAY is a terrible movie. I'd recommend that you only watch it if you're looking for a movie that works well for Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style riffing.

I love doomsday movies but this particular film left me with a regurgitated taste in my mouth. The acting was horrendous and the dialogue gave me a lingering headache. Once in a while, I will find a B movie that is so-so. This one didn't even come close and seriously people...if those people were the chosen ones from God, then we would be in a world of trouble!!!

I thought this movie was the 2012 with J. Cusak in it. D-uhoh. It took me 10 minutes to figure out something was very wrong. As soon as the religious propaganda kicked in I knew I had the wrong movie. I watched it anyway for laughs.

My favorite dumb moments.

The Christian God is setting up these pasty white people to meet up at a Mayan temple to fulfill a prophecy made by Mayans that were, at one point, exterminated by white Christians. Nice plan God.

An archeologist and his ex-wife are struggling through the jungle. She is bleeding and almost dead. They alone can save the Earth. However, they take 10 minutes to reminisce about when they met, confess their chastity and apologize profusely to each other. "No, it was MY fault".

The archeologist opens the temple with the butt end of a massive crucifix when any simple square object would have done. Why wouldn't the archeologists that spent decades unearthing this temple have tried that? And the inside of the temple has lighting!

The blonde missionary's father manages to get a flight to Mexico from the U.S. after ordering the evacuation of the entire Western seaboard. But there are no traffic jams or problems getting a flight? Same goes for the mother/daughter leaving San Diego. No traffic during the evacuation of 75 million people? Plus he flies in on a little Cessna during an apocalyptic storm.

The blonde, non-believing paramedic takes off with a stranger after her mother has disappeared from the side of the road for all of 3 minutes. What if she just went for a pee? No, the atheist paramedic concludes it must be the rapture. Of course that's what any atheist would think.

The vaccuous Mother dismisses all the evils and injustices of the world (pointed out to her by her unbelieving paramedic daughter) with the 'just think of the butterflys and nice sunsets' argument.

Without question, the most awful movie ever made. Amazon needs a whole new category for this one! Fundamentalist Christians lie and manipulate history, co-opt the traditions of another culture, and use an obscene measure of melodrama to inflict drivel on the unsuspecting viewer. The most charitable thing that can be said about this film is that it is, at best, insulting and nauseating.

...but failed miserably. My family just grabbed this film off the shelf at the rental place - we had no idea it was a Christian film. About halfway through, they really start hitting the viewers with the "jesus stick" which really doesn't appeal to non-Christians and takes away from any dignity the plot may of had (barring all the other horrible elements of the film).

As others have pointed out, this film is an awkward blending of Christianity and Mayan predictions of the end of the world. Could of been an interesting idea but it was presented very badly, just thrown together with little explanation, making it difficult to suspend disbelief. The way the Christian element was presented was rather sudden, with characters going from a secular existence at the start to suddenly speaking as if to a congregation. It felt forced and heavy-handed and unlike any Christians I know in real life.

The digital effects were horrible, the weather effects looking "painted-on". The hail scene was downright laughable, defying reality, and the earthquake scenes were obviously done by a crew who have not experienced or researched earthquakes (I come from an earthquakey place myself). Other elements were very distracting in their lack of forethought. Like the two men in a two-seater plane flying from California to the Yucatan without refueling and retaining the ability to speak to one another without headsets (a personal pet peeve). Just two examples, but the film is plagued by these sorts of holes. The science-speak is like this as well - at least most films TRY to make the lingo believeable but anyone off the street could pick apart everything these people say.

The acting wasn't the worst I have seen; I think the actors simply had horrible dialogue, trite and over-the-top, with bad directing. The movie tries hard but because the plot is so thin, everything comes off as laughably over-dramatic. I don't know if it was my audio set up but it also seemed like they used a lot of voice-overs. In a few spots you can see actors speaking but no words are heard or you can hear dialogue but no one is moving their mouths.

The cinematography itself isn't too shabby with some lovely scenic shots and a few interesting compositions here and there. The lighting is done well, although in many places (like in the temple, for instance) it is painfully fake. Some artistic camera movements are over-used to the point of distraction, seemingly incorporated "because they could", not because they should. The editing between scenes in the first half is particularly dis-jointed and abrupt, making it hard for the viewer to immerse themselves in what little story there is.

Overall, I could see what the creators of this film were going for, and I could see how it could of been done well; it could have done justice to Christian viewers without alienating outsiders but in the end it had so little cohesion between elements that the film fails to be anything other than dull and even laughable in every department.