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Dir. Roland Emmerich
Rating: 4.3 | 0 User Reviews | Send to Friend
By Lance Duroni
If it weren't for Roland Emmerich's stunning use of computer generated special effects and a scarily believable explanation for the end of the world, there is little doubt the film would have headed straight to DVD. Which is not to say it doesn't come close: While Emmerich brings together an otherwise impressive cast, not even the most seasoned of actors could have worked with this script. With lines such as a husband telling his wife “I feel like something is pulling us apart” just before a giant fissure forms between them in a grocery aisle, it wouldn't have been totally inappropriate for the husband to give us a wink after the line.
In general, the cast seems to suffer from Emmerich's guidance. Aside from a gripping performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor, as a chief geologist, the cast simply looks bewildered much of the time. As these things go, the plot, while convoluted and fragmented, is admirable for two things: First, the film presents an accurate prediction of the public's reaction to the apocalypse; arguably more folks die in due to panic and selfishness than the onslaught of fireballs and tsunamis; second, Emmerich does an impressive job portraying what the governments of the world would do to handle the crisis. Giant, futuristic ships, essentially, but only available to world's richest citizens.
For all its special effects -- and there are many of Emmerich's trademark scenes of massive destruction at work here, including giant waves, rippling earthquakes and thunderous lava explosions -- if the film works at all, it's in smaller, slightly more emotionally engaging moments. The scene that ultimately sells the film has nothing to do with tumbling skyscrapers and Tibetan mountain ranges filling with ocean water, but a character's anger when he discovers his large, private room on the ship when the entire contraption could have easily fit -- and saved -- thousands more.
Notable special features include an even happier alternate ending, a featurette deeming Roland Emmerich the “Master of the Modern Epic” (bit of hyperbole there?) and various deleted scenes.
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