2012 (2009)

[Kryptonic]

I thought the LFE was just fine. Had they gone overboard with the LFE given the magnitude of events in the film, subwoofers the world over would have been blown out. It's there in the right places where it should be and it's not overpowering like in many films.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

I thought the LFE was just fine. Had they gone overboard with the LFE given the magnitude of events in the film, subwoofers the world over would have been blown out. It's there in the right places where it should be and it's not overpowering like in many films.

I respect your opinion, but I completely disagree. I wont go back over this as its been beaten to death at this point, but MANY people/reviewers (refer to post 556 for some examples) have thought the LFE is weak in this film and unconvincing in general. They left the low end on this one much more tame then they should have. And NO, subwoofers would not have been blown out This one had all the potential to be the next BIG LFE film up there with Cloverfield, The Incredible Hulk, 9, Terminator Salvation, etc..........but not even close.

[t0nythebeat]

So I bought this some time back and just now getting to watch it ...

So far, its ok. This will prob be one of my first bad blind buys since I really don't think it's one of those movies I'm going to like all that much. For one Danny Glover as the President is quite ridiculous. We'll see.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

I respect your opinion, but I completely disagree. I wont go back over this as its been beaten to death at this point, but MANY people/reviewers (refer to post 556 for some examples) have thought the LFE is weak in this film and unconvincing in general. They left the low end on this one much more tame then they should have. And NO, subwoofers would not have been blown out This one had all the potential to be the next BIG LFE film up there with Cloverfield, The Incredible Hulk, 9, Terminator Salvation, etc..........but not even close.

I'm sure the sound engineers who are more concerned with an enveloping experience instead of pleasing people who spent hundreds on big powerful subwoofers that just want something with deep bass are quite happy with the way the film sounds on Blu-Ray as its bit for bit the way they intended it to sound.

[dolphinc]

Originally Posted by t0nythebeat

So I bought this some time back and just now getting to watch it ...

So far, its ok. This will prob be one of my first bad blind buys since I really don't think it's one of those movies I'm going to like all that much. For one Danny Glover as the President is quite ridiculous. We'll see.

+1, they really didn't do a good job in casting that role. Samuel L. Jackson would have been more convincing.

[Crimson King]

I like how all those doomsday predictors (the thick accented Patrick Geryl is the most annoying of the bunch) on the 2012 documentaries act so calm when they keep on saying the end is coming Dec 21 2012. The act more like actors than scientists. I'm sure Sony gave em all big fat checks for their partcipation!

[dolphinc]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

I like how all those doomsday predictors (the thick accented Patrick Geryl is the most annoying of the bunch) on the 2012 documentaries act so calm when they keep on saying the end is coming Dec 21 2012. The act more like actors than scientists. I'm sure Sony gave em all big fat checks for their partcipation!

They call that "Research funding"

[lucyfan40]

anybody else having trouble playing disc 2. It wont load. Disc 1 took a little time.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

I'm sure the sound engineers who are more concerned with an enveloping experience instead of pleasing people who spent hundreds on big powerful subwoofers that just want something with deep bass are quite happy with the way the film sounds on Blu-Ray as its bit for bit the way they intended it to sound.

You are completely missing the point Kryptonic.........its not about "pleasing people who spent hundreds (try thousands) on big powerful subwoofers"........its not about bass just for the sake of bass (which seems to be what you are getting at) its about supporting the onscreen action and this is where it fails, at least in the low end. All of us who are *****ing about this dont "just want something with deep bass", we want the full package which this is not unfortunately. When the earth cracking and giving away, skyscrapers falling into one another, etc, etc, etc.........barely even belt out anything on the low end, it is VERY unconvincing and does NOT fully support the on screen action and actually pulls you out of the film instead of the intended goal which is to pull you in. The low end is VERY conservative to say the least and that does not cut it for a film of this nature IMO (and the opinion of many others).

The sound engineers dropped the ball on this one as far as the low end is concerned in the opinion of MANY who have watched/listened to this

They got the surrounds right that is for sure, but when you dont have a convicing low end (Highdefdigests words), it does not "envelop" (your words ) the way it should.

Its OK if you dont agree, but the fact remains that this one should have been much better and would have been had they got the low end right

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

You are completely missing the point Kryptonic.........its not about "pleasing people who spent hundreds (try thousands) on big powerful subwoofers"........its not about bass just for the sake of bass (which seems to be what you are getting at) its about supporting the onscreen action and this is where it fails, at least in the low end. All of us who are *****ing about this dont "just want something with deep bass", we want the full package which this is not unfortunately. When the earth cracking and giving away, skyscrapers falling into one another, etc, etc, etc.........barely even belt out anything on the low end, it is VERY unconvincing and does NOT fully support the on screen action and actually pulls you out of the film instead of the intended goal which is to pull you in. The low end is VERY conservative to say the least and that does not cut it for a film of this nature IMO (and the opinion of many others).

The sound engineers dropped the ball on this one as far as the low end is concerned in the opinion of MANY who have watched/listened to this

They got the surrounds right that is for sure, but when you dont have a convicing low end (Highdefdigests words), it does not "envelop" (your words ) the way it should.

Its OK if you dont agree, but the fact remains that this one should have been much better and would have been had they got the low end right

The LFE is right because that's the way the sound was designed. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the sound engineers who worked on the film, who are some of the best in the business. This really comes down to people just wanting loud bass for the sake of it so they can show it off to their friends, not about accurate sound design. They didn't drop the ball, they created a wholly accurate and enveloping sound design that doesn't punch you in the gut with huge off the wall bass or deafening sound. Not every movie is designed to be as aggressive as Hulk or Terminator.

[t0nythebeat]

Originally Posted by dolphinc

+1, they really didn't do a good job in casting that role. Samuel L. Jackson would have been more convincing.

Yup I didn't like that casting at all ...
John Cusak was actually pretty likable in this movie and I was very fond of him. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie but I think it was just flat the 2nd half for me. Although I would have loved a serious movie, I have to say the comic relief and casualness of the flick worked just fine! Pretty entertaining.

I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. It was ok.
I recommend more of a rental on this one but the PQ was awesome and the destruction scenes (specially California & the Volcano scenes) were sick!

[MaCruz]

I watched this movie with my cousins again, and I really like this movie.

[Show spoiler]The only problem was during the end when they were stuck under the door, and had to pull the drill out. I thought that a waste of time IMO.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by MaCruz

I watched this movie with my cousins again, and I really like this movie.

[Show spoiler]The only problem was during the end when they were stuck under the door, and had to pull the drill out. I thought that a waste of time IMO.

I completly agree with your opinion...that last part was a huge letdown and a complete waste of time.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

The LFE is right because that's the way the sound was designed. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the sound engineers who worked on the film, who are some of the best in the business. This really comes down to people just wanting loud bass for the sake of it so they can show it off to their friends, not about accurate sound design. They didn't drop the ball, they created a wholly accurate and enveloping sound design that doesn't punch you in the gut with huge off the wall bass or deafening sound. Not every movie is designed to be as aggressive as Hulk or Terminator.

The LFE is NOT right because it does not fully support the on screen action. The sound team went MUCH too conservative in this area considering the material.



I completely disagree and IMO and MANY others (refer to some examples in my previous post) they DID drop the ball on this one as far as the low end. Even the best in the business dont always nail it and they missed the boat on this one.

It is not bass for the sake of bass Kryptonic, it is about supporting the on screen action and the low end in 2012 FAILS at this in MANY parts throughout the film. There should have been HUGE bass for many of the parts I have mentioned and when it does not happen, it takes some of us out of the film because it is not nearly as convincing as it should be.

Your right in that not every movie is designed (and for good reason) to be aggressive like Hulk Terminator, Hellboy 2, etc, etc........BUT 2012 should have been designed this way for it to be 100% convincing and they dropped the ball. This type of film needed that aggressive Cloverfield or Hulk type sound design in the low end to be completely convincing and it was not even close.

One other thing I would like to mention is that the reason this is so disppointing is because of how great the rest of the track is. Had the low end been up to par with the rest of the track, this would have been one of the great tracks, but it falls short just for this very reason.

We can just agree to disagree if you like though Kryptonic since neither of us is going to convince the other obviously. I stand by my statement though that 2012 is THE BIGGEST LFE disappointment/let down since Revenge of the Sith on DVD which is a real shame considering all the potential in this one

[MaCruz]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

I completly agree with your opinion...that last part was a huge letdown and a complete waste of time.

[Show spoiler]The Fat Rich Russian guy wasn't annoying the 2nd time. HAHA. His kids are though.

[awongus]

Has anyone had a problem with the Blu-ray freezing/locking up during the scene where

[Show spoiler]the limo is going thru the crumbling building

? This happened to me last nite as I was watching it on my PS3 slim.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

I completly agree with your opinion...that last part was a huge letdown and a complete waste of time.

+2..the drill was played out way too long.

[5th-beatle]

I'm thinking of buying the steelbook version released in France. Does anyone have it? Is it Region B only?

[jello_02]

Originally Posted by lucyfan40

anybody else having trouble playing disc 2. It wont load. Disc 1 took a little time.

only tried to load the main feature....doesnt even play. sometimes it loads then gets to the main menu, and everytime it just loops the main title with to options. basically i cant watch it. any suggestions? contact sony for replacement? got the 4-disc at target.

[neo_reloaded]

This movie was massively idiotic. I'm all for a fun dumb flick every now and then, but there's something so lifeless about these Emmerich disaster epics. I mean, it's not even the science that bugs me - I found the relationships between characters to be much more befuddling. Particularly

[Show spoiler]the death of the stepdad. The wife had a 5 second freakout, and then that plot point was NEVER discussed again. The movie ends a mere couple scenes later with Cusack and his ex-wife acting like everything was back to normal between them and neither cared the new husband was gone. Not even the little boy who idolized him had any reaction!