The plot is simple. The Mayan’s were right and warned us. The story starts in the present and walks the audience through the next three years. Unlike The Day After Tomorrow, you cannot survive by hiding in the public library and burning a few books. The story is essentially a remake of the 1950’s sci-fi classic movie When Worlds Collide mixed in with Deep Impact. Unlike those two films the governments of the world choose to keep the impending disaster a secret until the end. The store deals with the difficulties in keeping such a big secret, both logistically and morally.
Woody Harrelson plays a radio conspiracy nut who’s figured out the mystery. He plays the character with conviction reminiscent of Randy Quaid’s character in Independence Day. Later in the film a character comments that the crazies with the sandwich boards had it right all along.
The movie is long, over 2½ hours long so plan with your bladder accordingly. The movie never rests. There are some slower parts at the beginning of the movie that establish the characters. We spend the movie following John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s characters. One is on the inside of the secret while one is outside.
The special effects in this movie are incredible. I’m not sure there’s anyway to describe them further. The destruction sequences are the reason to see this movie. Everything else is just filler. I recommend this movie on the big screen. I don’t think it would have the same impact on a tiny iPod screen.
