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We saw 2012 and The Road. Here's what we can say.
We've had a chance to screen the two upcoming apocalyptic movies The Road and 2012, and while they seem to differ on many levels—for example, one is directed by a filmmaker with a singular vision and an uncompromising view of the human condition, the other is directed by Roland Emmerich—we couldn't help noticing the similarities.
Our 2012 review is over here, but we can also offer some guidance about the movies and point out their common themes. (Possible spoilers ahead if you haven't seen any trailers.)
2012 opens today; The Road opens Nov. 25.
There is a father at the heart of each story
In The Road, Viggo Mortensen plays a character simply called The Man, who is traveling across a blasted post-apocalyptic America with his young son, called The Boy.
In 2012, John Cusack plays a character simply called Jackson Curtis, who careens across a blasted apocalyptic America with his young son, called ... well, does it really matter? Oh, and he drags along his ex-wife, his young daughter, his ex-wife's new husband, a Russian tycoon, the tycoon's twin sons, his mistress, her St. Charles spaniel, a Russian pilot ...
Disaster strikes
In The Road, the world has come to an end for an unspecified reason. Everything is dead: trees, animals, birds. Only people remain.
In 2012, the world comes to an end for reasons that don't really make any sense, such as neutrinos that come from the sun and make lava a lot hotter than it already is. Everything dies: trees, animals, birds, but particularly national landmarks such as the White House, the Sistine Chapel, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and the giant Randy's Donut sign in Los Angeles.
The human race seems doomed
In The Road, the surviving humans have devolved into two groups: good guys like our heroes, who struggle to maintain hope in the bleakest of circumstances, and bad guys, who prey on the weak for their own survival.
In 2012, the surviving humans devolve into two groups: good guys with really nice hair like our heroes, who struggle to maintain hope while narrowly escaping collapsing buildings and exploding volcanoes over and over again, and bad guys, who are all kinda pudgy-looking, who want to sacrifice the weak and non-American to facilitate their own survival.
Our heroes fight against all odds
In The Road, the father does everything he can to keep his son safe and is willing to sacrifice himself for the boy.
In 2012, Jackson Curtis drives everything he can—a limo, a small airplane, a large airplane, a Bentley—in order to keep his son safe, and also his ex-wife, his young daughter, his ex-wife's new husband, the Russian tycoon, the tycoon's twin sons, etc. He seems willing to sacrifice himself for the boy, etc., but not really.
The movie may deal with apocalypse, but its true theme is hope
In The Road, human virtue survives, just barely, and we leave the theater sad but optimistic.
In 2012, humanity survives in the nick of time, just barely, and we leave the theater sad and optimistic that we won't have to sit through a sequel.
By rencheple at 3:32 PM ON 10/09/09
Geez. Don't hold back! Tell us what you REALLY thought of 2012!
Looking forward to The Road.
By Mechagamera at 3:36 PM ON 10/09/09
Way to pander to the Oscar-bait. I am no fan of the father of GINO (and nothing would get to see 2012), but I already saw an apocalypse movie where we don't get to see the apocalypse (Reign of Fire). Something that kills everyone but people...even Syfy Saturday wouldn't show something that unscientific.
By Shadow And Act at 3:41 PM ON 10/09/09
Haha! "2012" isn't on my "to-see" list, but I just might see it, if only for the comedy...
By David Dvorkin at 4:00 PM ON 10/09/09
If all plants and animals have died, then there's no point in the mysteriously surviving humans fighting. They're doomed.
Clever review, though.
By klitz0031 at 4:45 PM ON 10/09/09
"The Road" sounds cool. Everything dead, trees, animals, everything but humans. Gives me the impression that the survivors have become cockroaches.
By marvi1 at 5:10 PM ON 10/09/09
2012 - 2 Years After The Year We Make Contact
By Jonas72 at 7:59 AM ON 11/13/09
Isn't it all about what you expect from a movie? If you go into "2012" expecting to see some real human drama in the face of total annihilation, you're sure to be disappointed, but if you go expecting T.F.D ("Total Frakkin' Destruction") and action, then I would say "2012" seems to deliver. Personally, I wanna see both, but I suspect that only "The Road" will wind up in my DVD collection.
By Carpe at 8:11 AM ON 11/13/09
If The Road is half as good as the book (one of the best I've read in decades), then it will be a great movie. SyFy makes it sound like that may be the case. Hope is a dangerous thing... but I hope.
By Imagica at 8:48 AM ON 11/13/09
Wow I know they want 2012 to be a disaster film but I do not think 2012 is the disaster Hollywood was hoping for.
I so tired of this film already from the previews. I just want it out so I do not have to see previews for it anymore. Last time I was in a theater that showed a 2012 preview people moaned and groaned screaming get it off the screen. Last I saw a preview that got a reaction like that was Catwoman.
By Cris at 9:53 AM ON 11/13/09
"No one ever went broke underestimating the ignorance of the American public." H.L. Mencken.
This is why 2012 will make $70-million-plus this weekend. Though I pray I'm wrong.
By IronOre at 10:01 AM ON 11/13/09
Rerun!
By macmikey at 10:35 AM ON 11/13/09
I'm not sure how anyone could evaluate one film being better than the other. In my opinion (for what it's worth)--and as much as I hate to admit it--Emmerich's film is slightly more realistic, at least biologically. If there is not living plant life, there is no photosynthesis. If there is no photosynthesis, there is no replication of O2. If there is no O2, there is no animal life (suffocation). So, no plants... no animals... about the only thing left would be microbes--even the cockroach can't survive with something more substantive to eat. And only the anaerobic organisms, at that.
2nd Captcha.
By macmikey at 10:37 AM ON 11/13/09
Correction: even the cockroach can't survive WITHOUT something more substantive to eat. Sorry for the confusion.
By Fedaykin at 11:14 AM ON 11/13/09
I swear this was posted a month ago. Unless that was on io9 and you guys stole it, but I'm pretty sure it was here.
By Daniel at 12:56 PM ON 11/13/09
I'll only see 2012 because the special effects look incredible.
By Eva at 1:03 PM ON 11/13/09
Good comparison of the films, Scifiwire.
I'll watch 2012 because of the annihilate-everything-in-sight-must-see-on-the-big-screen-special-effects and because I enjoy John Cusak's brand of humor.
I'll also watch the Road because of the book's merit, but I sincerely hope (as with some of the rest of the comments here) that it lives up to the book - a rare commodity, in my humble opinion.
By bigalOSU at 1:47 PM ON 11/13/09
IRONORE and Fedaykin:
First thought i had. Not only a bad article, but a reposting of a bad article...
By ron adrey at 5:04 PM ON 11/13/09
By classy at 5:35 PM ON 11/13/09
people pay for turd like this and dismiss avatar?? like bill curlington said, people are crazy
By wilcoy at 8:29 PM ON 11/13/09
'The Road' The only place you can't even find a cockroach to make sandwich. BWWWUUHAAAAAAAAA!!
By oddball at 6:38 PM ON 11/15/09
This is reason movies fail these days. Every possible moron has to sit and analyze every possible unlikely aspect of a movie they see.
Every movie has it's faults just shut up sit back and enjoy it. If you can't do that don't go see the movie.
The only ignorant thing about seeing an ignorant movie is the ignorant moron that sits there and watches it.... Then complains that they saw it....
By TVDIVA at 11:20 PM ON 11/15/09
Stop! You are killing me with the comparisons! I am going to see THE ROAD because I love Viggo in anything. I am going to see 2012 because I love to see things blow up.
By liesnomore at 7:55 AM ON 11/16/09
If human survival and cacroach do not then it is truly a scy-fi movie. In real life the bugs will survival.
Visit mobile.syfy.com/wire on your mobile device.
liesnomore:
If human survival and cacroach do not then it is truly a scy-fi movie. In real life the bugs will survival....More »