Puny hearts, beware

Waves as tall as the mountains come smashing through

The Chinese I-Ching made a passing reference to it.

And now Hollywood has got into the act. Yes, It’s Doomsday 2012. So if it comes true, you and I have about 36 months to prepare for the end of human civilisation, or to party like hell! The bad news is the Mayans have seldom been wrong and the I-Ching is highly respected in the East. The good news is you get to see the global calamity unfold terrifyingly before your eyes at the cinema now.

Just for the special effects alone, 2012 is worth the price of admission. Seldom has any film struck so much fear in so many puny hearts.

It is one thing to know you are going to die some day, it’s quite another to visualise death striking you down in the most horrible manner imaginable.

If there’s one message in 2012, it’s that rich people will try and buy their way out of anything. This time, the billionaires are even trying to cheat death. So if you consider the price of a ticket on the modern-day Noah’s Ark of one billion Euros (RM5.04 billion) as reasonable, then by all means get on board.

Otherwise, like Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), his ex-wife Kate (Armanda Peet) and their two children, you too have to pray for deliverance because there’s no way out.

The film is not so much about the human characters but more about what heads of state will do to ensure the survival of the select few and themselves.

The “chosen ones” have been picked by experts based on their genetic make-up as the people with the best chances of survival in the “new world”.

2012 is awesomely scary, absolutely nail-biting and brings home the fact that you shouldn’t worry about scoring an extra overtime on your last day on earth.

For sentimental reasons, most normal human beings will want to be with their loved ones or phone those who are too far away. The biggest lesson just before the Grim Reaper swings his scythe is to tell those you care about deeply that you love them.

Even though the script is porous in parts, 2012 is an unadulterated, adrenaline-pumping ride that rivals the scariest roller-coaster you have ever taken.

Production involved 13 soundstages at five separate facilities. Along with the tonnes of ash and a 7,200 sq ft deck, you and US President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) will literally get the shakes when this tiny blue planet in the Milky Way suffers severe physical upheavals.

Simultaneously across the globe, there are numerous powerful volcanic eruptions that trigger a chain of tsunamis across the oceans.

Huge waves smash into all continents and three-quarters of mankind will be wiped out in an instant.

All this is thanks to the imagination of director Roland Emmerich who was also responsible for previous smash hits like Independence Day.

This guy has an unbreakable love affair with cataclysmic events that tell of Earth’s destruction. You just got to love him for that.

What a way to bring the year to an end. 2012 takes the cake for offering the best of the best action sequences. On a more serious note, there are three years left for you to make amends. You have been warned.