What do we expect from a good disaster movie? Do we expect Oscar-caliber performances? No, not really. Do we expect compelling drama and a world where every thing that happens is believable, or even makes sense? I'd have to say no to that as well. What we expect from a good disaster movie is some wholesale, epic destruction and some characters who aren't too annoying to witness all of that destruction through. We don't need things to make sense, it just needs to be spectacular and fun; and if you can toss in some good, weepy melodrama and interpersonal conflict as well, so much the better.

Well, Roland Emmerich perfectly understands what's expected from a disaster film, and in his latest, 2012, he fulfills all of those expectations in spades. Is it a good movie? No, not really, but you'll definitely see what you expect to see, and truthfully, you'll probably have a good time as well... is it just me or does that sound like a strange thing to say about the end of the world and billions of deaths?

Let's get this out of the way right now; if you're looking for believability and for decisions made by characters to make sense, this is the wrong movie for you. This is one of those movie realities where a guy who's had two piloting lessons can fly a C5 cargo plane through gigantic crevices and crumbling buildings like he's Luke Skywalker flying the Death Star trench. Then there's the average, every-day schlub who's our hero for this movie. He may be an every-day guy, but he can drive cars like he's the stunt driver for the 007 movies and he can hold his breath underwater and swim like he's Michael Phelps.

Believable? No, it's never believable when people out-run, out-fly, and out-drive earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves and the rest of Mother Nature's big guns, but it sure is exciting to watch. Does it make sense? Of course not. Of course it would make more sense to fly out over the ocean after you take off during a major earthquake rather than flying through and dodging collapsing freeways and skyscrapers, but if these characters always did what made sense, what fun would that be? This is a disaster movie, people, and I want to see some excitement, I want to see some epicness, I want to see the outrageous and have fun gawking at. That's what you get in 2012.

Let's also touch on this fascination with the end of the world. For whatever reason we seem to find that entertaining, and if not entertaining, intriguing. The current fascination with the Mayans and the date 2012 is approaching some of the same levels as Y2K (and I'm going to guess with about as much actually happening). I don't know about everyone else, but I can tell you why I find films about the end of the world such as 2012 to be so fascinating, because I already know how the world will really end and I'm ready for it. I know that sounds odd, but it's true. It makes it easy for me to discern reality from fiction and therefore makes movies like 2012 more enjoyable. It also provides me with a sense of security and comfort knowing how the world will actually end and how to survive it.

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