2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

40% Tomatometer 242 Reviews 47% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings

Earth's billions of inhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date. With the warnings of an American scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor), world leaders begin secret preparations for the survival of select members of society. When the global cataclysm finally occurs, failed writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) tries to lead his family to safety as the world starts falling apart.

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2012

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Critics Consensus

Roland Emmerich's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length.

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Critics Reviews

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2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 1/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review 2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Rated: 2/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review 2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Cusack, with his one-of-the-guys face and his nice way with child actors, does creditable work as an Average American Dad trying to put things right. Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review 2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Everything you’re expecting from 2012 is exactly what you’re going to get…Utterly impossible by any stretch of the imagination, the movie is a cheesy, one-dimensional, epic-sized spectacle that does exactly what it promises to—destroy the Earth. Rated: 3/4 Sep 5, 2023 Full Review 2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (5) James Croot Stuff.co.nz If you put your brain in neutral, you can enjoy an unprecedented scale of beautifully rendered destruction and learn that science isn't an exact science. Rated: 3/5 May 24, 2023 Full Review 2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies A good disaster thriller must contain both thrills and massive destruction--2012 has both in great quantity. Jan 26, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Igor S Such a pain to watch this without falling asleep, which happened many times. Not only it's never ending but it is so boring.I cannot recommend this. Unless you are really into this kind of movie. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/16/24 Full Review Audience Member It’s been 15 years and this is such a good movie! Roland Emmerich has such a creative mind for destruction he could almost be an extension to those popular disaster films of the 1970s In this he gets to destroy the world with a calendar so to speak, specifically an end of the world prophecy Every culture has their own interpretation of the end of the world whether it’s Judgement Day from the Bible or the Mayan calendar as well as Charles Hapgood’s 1958 theory of earth crust displacement The planets are aligned and the sun’s core temperature has fluctuated affecting our Earth’s magnetic rotation making way for all kinds of cataclysmic events to happen Everything from tsunamis to volcanic eruptions to thunderstorms to earthquakes Humans have been preparing for this for years building arks as it were to save as many of our civilizations as possible to start over A cast full of colorful characters are played by John Cusack, Chiewetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, and Woody Harrelson The main family is author Jackson who’s divorced from his wife and separated from his kids So it might take the end of all things to get them back together as well as conflicting ideals between a scientist with a heart of gold and the chief of staff at the White House who seems single minded The inter woven stories of several characters are rich tapestry of existential, deep moral quandaries Is our mission to ensure the continuity of our species?, is it more important to fight for our lives?, is survival worth it at the cost of our humanity?, the moment we stop fighting for each other is when we all lose, an act of cruelty for starting over puts everyone in vain the visuals are spectacular, there's a good does of humor despite making the majority of the film into a comedy and so many moments where it made me all teary-eyed It all boils down to the irrational determination to live as well as perpetuate our flawed civilization I like this movie next to 'Day After Tomorrow' and 'Independence Day’ The only major complaint I can think of is that it’s 2 and a half hours too long But the special effects are some of the best I’ve seen and it is a roller coaster ride watching all this destruction taking place If this is the disaster movie to end all disaster movies then Roland Emmerich has pulled out all the stops It’s supposed to be entertainingly ridiculous and does it well Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/14/24 Full Review Jay R First movie I’ve watched that I’ve had to take multiple breaks in-between because it was so bad. Don’t bother watching. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/10/24 Full Review Kit T Pickle man is the best character. Automatic 5 stars! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/03/24 Full Review HIZZAR K Youmake it few lines simple and use human toneCopilot2012 is a wild ride! The movie’s epic disaster scenes are worth the watch. But the characters? Not so much. Still, it’s perfect if you want to see the world nearly end in the most dramatic fashion. 🚁💥🌍 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Bruno S Visualmente, o filme impressiona, e tem uma narrativa até "legalzinha", mas a duração é excessiva para o que se apresenta... É um bom filme pra passar o tempo, me divertiu no cinema, na época, mas é difícil dizer que o filme deixou uma memória duradoura... Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/24/24 Full Review Read all reviews

2012

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Cast & Crew

Roland Emmerich Director John Cusack Jackson Curtis Chiwetel Ejiofor Adrian Helmsley Amanda Peet Kate Oliver Platt Carl Anheuser Thandiwe Newton Laura Wilson
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Movie Clips

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2012

2012: Official Clip - Something Pulling Us Apart 2012: Official Clip - Something Pulling Us Apart 2:25 2012: Official Clip - Cruise Ship Tsunami 2012: Official Clip - Cruise Ship Tsunami 2:41 2012: Official Clip - The Ark Launch 2012: Official Clip - The Ark Launch 3:14 2012: Official Clip - The Arks 2012: Official Clip - The Arks 2:58 2012: Official Clip - Get to the Plane 2012: Official Clip - Get to the Plane 2:54 2012: Official Clip - Rough Landing in Tibet 2012: Official Clip - Rough Landing in Tibet 3:40 2012: Official Clip - Do Not Panic 2012: Official Clip - Do Not Panic 2:58 2012: Official Clip - Trust in Prayer 2012: Official Clip - Trust in Prayer 2:59 2012: Official Clip - The Sinking of Los Angeles 2012: Official Clip - The Sinking of Los Angeles 2:09 2012: Official Clip - Yellowstone Erupts 2012: Official Clip - Yellowstone Erupts 3:38 View more videos

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2012: Trailer 1 2012: Trailer 1 1:09 2012: Trailer 1 2012: Trailer 1 2:47 View more videos

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Synopsis Earth's billions of inhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date. With the warnings of an American scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor), world leaders begin secret preparations for the survival of select members of society. When the global cataclysm finally occurs, failed writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) tries to lead his family to safety as the world starts falling apart.

Director
Roland Emmerich

Producer
Harald Kloser, Mark Gordon, Larry J. Franco

Screenwriter
Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser

Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment

Production Co
Centropolis Entertainment

Rating
PG-13 (Some Language|Disaster Sequences)

Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller, Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 13, 2009, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 1, 2010

Box Office (Gross USA)
$166.1M

Runtime
2h 38m
Most Popular at Home Now
2012 | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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