Recipe For Disaster: 2012
17/03/2010
Fifty story-high tidal waves engulfing entire cities, alien invaders bent on wiping out humankind, mammoth meteors on a cataclysmic collision course with Earth. The planet is doomed. Mankind faces extinction. But someone you least suspect will prove that not all hope is lost.
All hail the disaster epic.
The latest apocalyptic big-hitter is 2012 from director Roland Emmerich, who has ‘destroyed' the world more than once in his career - sending us a strong warning about global warming in The Day After Tomorrow, and having evil extra-terrestrials take Earth by force in Independence Day. Now, Emmerich takes the disaster film to a whole new level with 2012 - a story that fulfils the ancient Mayan prophecy that the world will come to an end on December 21st, 2012.
The action is epic, the visuals are staggering and no part of the world is sacred or untouchable.
But is that all you need to make a disaster epic? Here we look at what makes a good disaster epic a must-watch.
Firstly, for a disaster epic to work, the film must satisfy three criteria:
1. There is mass destruction on a large scale;
2. The story features a close-knit group of people;
3. A catastrophic event occurs, or people are notified of an impending doom and the disaster is beyond everyone's control.
Next, we must determine what type of disaster movie it is:
Natural disaster: includes earthquakes, tornados, volcanic eruptions, floods
o E.g. Earthquake, Twister, Dante's Peak, Volcano, The Day After Tomorrow
Accidents: Buildings on fire, plane crashes, deadly viruses unleashed, ocean liners capsizing or ramming into an iceberg
o E.g. The Towering Inferno, Outbreak, 28 Days Later, 12 Monkeys, The Poseidon Adventure, Titanic
Extra-terrestrial: meteorites and asteroids headed for Earth, alien attack
o E.g. Deep Impact, Armageddon, Independence Day, War of the Worlds
Apocalyptic Prophecy: fulfilling the prophecy that predicts the end of the world or the end of a civilisation
o E.g. Terminator, Apocalypto, 2012
And lastly:
Does the disaster capture our imagination?
Does it take us on the thrill-ride of a life-time with amazing visual effects and high-octane action?
And does it make us thank our lucky stars that we're watching the events unfold from the comfort of our lounge room and not actually a part of what's happening on the screen?
Looking at the above, we think that 2012 ticks all the right boxes, so don't miss this adrenaline-pumped action epic!
Go back to article listing