History Film / TwoThousandTwelve

* SpiritualSuccessor: Of ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' and ''Film/IndependenceDay'', of course!

* BrokenAesop: Dr. Adrian Helmsley gives a rousing speech aboard one of the Arks on the importance of humanity looking out for one another and convinces the captain to open the gates, allowing more people in. While well-intentioned, this decision indirectly results in the DiabolusExMachina offings of Gordon and Tamara via the ship flooding.\\
Then again, if Dr. Adrian hadn't persuaded the captain to open the gates, HUNDREDS MORE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED (the passengers who paid to be on the Arks and the builders).\\
Then yet AGAIN, [[spoiler:none of this would have been an issue had Jackson's crew not managed to foul the gears up in the first place when they snuck in. Makes one wonder if they ever bother to correct everyone calling Jackson a "hero." That's a secret to take to the grave.]]

Not to be confused with ''Series/TwentyTwelve'', a [[BritCom BBC sitcom]] about the committee preparing for the 2012 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames; ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'', or Music/{{Rush}}'s album ''Music/TwentyOneTwelve''.

* ArtisticLicense: In spades, [[SignatureStyle as per usual for a Roland Emmerich film]].

* AcrophobicBird: Justified in that Gordon just got his pilot's license and can barely fly. Barely fly upward, that is. He does amazingly well at dodging buildings and debris, something even an experienced pilot would have trouble with.

* BrokenAesop: Dr. Adrian Helmsley gives a rousing speech aboard one of the Arks on the importance of humanity looking out for one another and convinces the captain to open the gates, allowing more people in. While well-intentioned, this decision indirectly results in the DiabolusExMachina offings of Gordon and Tamara via the ship flooding.
** Then again, if Dr Adrian didn't persuade the captain to open the gates, HUNDREDS MORE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED (the passengers who paid to be on the Arks and the builders).
*** Then yet AGAIN, [[spoiler:none of this would have been an issue had Jackson's crew not managed to foul the gears up in the first place when they snuck in. Makes one wonder if they ever bother to correct everyone calling Jackson a "hero." That's a secret to take to the grave.]]

* ContrivedCoincidence: The various ways in which Jackson and his family meet up with the other groups in the story and manage to get on the Arks. It's lampshaded when the geological expert sees Jackson's family get aboard the Ark -- he wonders how they managed to get on...

* DeathOfAChild: Casualties includes children from [[spoiler:Tony and Satnam's families,]] along with a lot of other off-screen child deaths.

** The deaths of [[spoiler:Gordon and Tamara]] come across as gratuitously cruel.
*** [[spoiler:Tamara's death is an odd case, as her compartment was the only one to flood to that level. Note that the main characters are in the next two compartments over (with Tamara in the ''middle'') and the water level does not reach the same height. Tamara must have been in the overflow section. At least she saved one of the kids and her dog first.]]

* ExactTimeToFailure: The scientists' estimates about when the tidal waves are expected to reach the location of the Ark ships. Semi-justified in that you can calculate the time it'll take for a wave to reach the Ark, but as it's flowing over a massive landmass, it should be an estimate.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: Satnam and his family, knowing full well that they don't stand a chance in hell of escaping the oncoming tsunami, spend their final moments embracing each other as the others around them panic. Various other examples are also seen, combined with some of the facing the bullets one liners mentioned below.

* LastOfHisKind: Lampshaded by Thomas Wilson, who dies during the apocalypse as the last President of the United States of America.

* PetTheDog: Yuri is a massive SmugSnake throughout the entire film, [[spoiler:abandoning the rest of the party, including his girlfriend and the surviving pilot who helped save his life, in the Himalayas]], but [[spoiler:selflessly gives his life to save his sons]].

* TakeThatCritics: A subtle one can be found in the adoration John Cusack's character's SciFi book gets. In the movie, the book sells barely 432 copies because critics found its ridiculously CosyCatastrophe view of the world to be insufferable and unrealistic, yet major characters (the president's science adviser included!) find it be a source of great inspiration. Director Roland Emmerich also made ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', which was criticized for being offensively preachy and silly in the levels of CosyCatastrophe it brought to the screen.

* UncertainDoom: Various characters who aren't evacuated to the Arks. It does seem like a stretch that the various disasters killed every single other person on earth besides [[spoiler:The Africans]], but it's doubtful that there were many left. This is lampshaded after Tony loses connection with his son and granddaughter as an earthquake hits Japan and Harry tells him to hold out hope that they might have evaluated somewhere. [[spoiler:And then there's the ''Genesis'' itself when it's hit, but not explicitly destroyed, by a giant wave just minutes later]].

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Say what you like about Anheuser, but he genuinely wanted humanity and civilisation to survive the planetary upset.

--->'''Dara O' Briain:''' [Neutrinos] can't mutate. Their structure is fundamental to the structure of the universe. Right? They can't just change. He might as well have gone, "The electrons are angry!" Or "The light from the sun, it's gone off!"

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Amongst the animals being airlifted to the Arks include a rhinoceros and a giraffe. Due to a mixture of the high altitude, low temperatures and the frigid winds being blown over them, both of those animals - as well as any other African animals - would die of either hypothermia or oxygen deprivation.
* ArtisticLicenseEngineering: Architects and construction engineers everywhere were cringing in their seats when the earthquakes hit Italy and the Vatican Basilica topples sideways in one piece, then proceeds to roll across the whole of St Peter's Square like a giant flipper ball. A building like this (or any building at all, really) would've simply collapsed like a house of cards when subjected to such unimaginable forces. The same goes for how the destruction of most of LA's skyscrapers is depicted.
* ArtisticLicenseGeography:
** The film suggests that a journey between Yellowstone National Park and Los Angeles can be driven in a few hours. The two are 1000 miles apart. The same issue happens when they go from Yellowstone to Las Vegas. Somehow, the ground-based pyroclastic flow from the super-eruption made it all those miles without its momentum getting killed off.
** If a plane needs to be refuelled during a flight between Las Vegas and China, it would save around 1100 miles if you did so in Alaska or Siberia rather than Hawaii.
** If the highest point in the world was in South Africa, it would not look anything like it does now.
** If a cruise ship starts its voyage in San Francisco and travels westwards, within two days it would be a third or so of the distance between California and Hawaii, NOT in the middle of the Sea of Japan.
** In 2012, as it had been since 2008, the USS John F Kennedy (CV-67) was berthed at NISMF Philadelphia. For a wave to scoop it up from Philly, haul it out to the ocean, then bring it back in on its collision course with [[spoiler:Danny Glover]] is an extreme stretch.
* ArtisticLicenseGeology:
** Most of the film operates under this, particularly the depiction the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano. Except for Gordon, who raises his hand very calmly to his eyes in reaction to the brightness, the other protagonist's barely react to the eruption and come out completely unscathed. No-one [[SteelEarDrums goes deaf]] from the sound of the eruption, while the shockwave throws Charlie a couple of feet backwards, despite the trees all around him being uprooted in their thousands. Finally the pyroclastic flow slows down to let the plane time to escape unharmed, while ignoring [[ConvectionSchmonvection convection]] not to boil them alive and after emerging from the ash cloud, the plane [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking isn't even dirty]].
** According to most, if not all, geologists and volcanologists, anything within 100 miles of Yellowstone is screwed, though the rest of the world isn't any safer from the Ashes and more than likely imminent volcanic winter and possibly the next ice age.
** Much of the eruption itself is highly inaccurate. First of all, before the main eruption even takes place, there would be a series of monstrous volcanic eruptions that take place all around the caldera; the most we get to see of this is a geyser blowing its top a few minutes before Yellowstone erupts. Second of all, there were no warning signs. There are specific warning signs that scientists look out for, such as increased gas levels within geothermal structures. There would also be swarms of earthquakes that would become more and more aggressive. Temperature changes within the geysers would also result. The topography of Yellowstone would also change months before the eruption, as rising magma would bring the surface up with it, creating visible bulges - again, we don't see this happen until the eruption itself is almost upon us. During the final minutes before the eruption, new cracks in the ground would have formed and geysers release superheated water. The terror doesn't stop there either. Volcanic lava begins oozing from cracks beneath the surface. This is the perfect time to shit yourself if you haven't already. Then, boom! But there are still multiple eruptions that takes place before the main event.
** The sinking of California by a 10.9 earthquake causing the Earth crust displacement has so much wrong written all over it that it doesn't even ''try'' to stray away from this trope.
** There are no active volcanoes in Honolulu.[[note]]Since this one seems to create confusion, some clarification. Honolulu is on the island of O'ahu which, though formed volcanically, is no longer on the hot spot. The five active volcanoes in the Hawaiian chain are Haleakala (Maui), Hualalai (Hawai'i), Mauna Loa (Hawai'i), Kilauea (Hawai'i again), and Lo'ihi (just southeast of Hawai'i island at a depth of about 3,000 ft). O'ahu is volcanically dead.[[/note]]
** Modern scientists studying the caldera at Yellowstone indicate that an eruption there would send enough ash into the atmosphere to bring about a miniature ice age. [[spoiler:Combine ''that'' ash with the amount pouring from the Hawaiian island chain that has erupted, and the Earth would stay cool for a very long time. The end of the movie indicates that a mere ''27 days'' after the event, the seas are calm and the sky is clear and warm.]]
** On a related note, while the ash cloud would easily reach and probably thickly blanket Las Vegas, the pyroclastic flow would not; it would have slowed, cooled, and collapsed long before then. So, while Vegas would've definitely had a lot of ashfall, the apocalyptic, control-tower-obliterating flow shown is completely unreasonable.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory:
** The scientific paper on the shifting of the Earth's crust is said to have been published in 1958, and Albert Einstein is said to have agreed with it. How somebody who died in 1955 can agree with a paper written after their death is anybody's guess.
** The trailers called the Mayans "Mankind's Earliest Civilization". It's certainly old, with roots stretching back to 2000 BCE, but Egypt, Sumer, and the Indus Valley Civilization date back to at least 1000 years prior to ''that''. The Classic Period coincides with the decline of the Roman Empire.
* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The US Navy doesn't paint the name and pennant number of a carrier on the flight deck in the method shown. The number is painted on the island and bow of the flight deck (quite prominently) and name on the stern per maritime convention, but that's it.
* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
** The Yellowstone eruption. It manages an explosion probably measured in gigatons without any significant blast overpressure. Trees are flattened, but it abates within a mere mile or two - helpfully before obliterating all the major characters. Geologists say that in an eruption of that magnitude, anyone close enough to ''see'' it with the naked eye would not survive. First of all, any right minded person who knows about the eruptive history of Yellowstone, would know that there would be multiple monstrous eruptions before the main eruption even takes place. Yellowstone just doesn't erupt with a massive explosion like a nuclear bomb. There are several eruptions that occur, according to most volcanologists and geologists, mainly because of the fact the entire supervolcano is a tightly sealed can. Secondly, there would be pyroclastic surges that rampage.
** The tsunamis:
** A huge and incredibly heavy Tsunami is able to climb up a steep hill without changing its trajectory.
** Another tsunami is also able to carry an aircraft carrier ''on its side'' without the ship breaking up.
** The Earth is ripping itself a new one because solar neutrinos are "mutating" into a form that heats the interior of the Earth like a microwave oven. In reality, solar neutrinos '''do''' mutate -- they change between electron, muon, and tau flavors during their travels in a process called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino_oscillations neutrino oscillation]]. However, '''none''' of these neutrino flavors is capable of interacting with the Earth's interior. Or any form of normal matter.

** Now, it ''could'' be possible for neutrinos to be energized to the point that they become functionally larger and can interact with matter more easily. However, not only would this take something like a supernova to actually occur, but the resulting wave of hyper-energized neutrinos would either vaporize or lethally irradiate everything on the surface of the planet, making the consequences of them heating up the Earth's core a moot point.
** Two courtesy of the Little Prop Plane that Could:
** '''Takeoff speeds are not negotiable.''' When Gordon points out a specific speed of 85 knots he needs to take off (unsurprisingly reading his airspeed indicator's markings wrong), Cusack essentially tells him to go anyway, the fool ''agrees,'' and it ''works.'' [[note]]There are two screwups here, one a glaring oversight by anyone with the ability to read (He's reading the wrong damn numbers - the outer ring of the ASI is in miles per hour, and the inner one is knots. So if he'd said "70 knots" he would've had the right conversion for the speed he thinks he needs, but he didn't. Of course, it's only marked with a prominent white ''MPH'' at the top and he's theoretically had a flight lesson, but oh well.) while the other is basic airmanship: the white arc on the ASI indicates the flap operating speed range. The bottom of the arc (the lowest speed) is the stall speed of the aircraft with full flaps and in landing configuration (gear extended). Coincidentally, this is also the minimum takeoff speed. Trying to lift before that speed just adds drag and lengthens your takeoff roll - which, when the airport is falling into a bottomless abyss, ain't exactly a great plan. The little red mark at 82 MPH we're led to believe is takeoff speed actually indicates the single-engine controllable airspeed, and is useful only if one of the engines has failed in flight. Ironically, though, while the ASI shown on screen does not belong to a Cessna 340, he ends up being nearly right anyway; the 340's takeoff speed actually ''is'' 71 knots...if it's empty. The Cessna 340 can hold six people and up to 102 gallons of fuel in stock configuration, expandable to up to 207 gallons. The problem is that with six people aboard, their weight has to be saved somewhere, which means the pilot is going to need to ''dump some fuel'' to get down to maximum takeoff weight. Either that or leave a nonessential character behind.[[/note]]
** '''The plane apparently had a warp drive.''' When the Yellowstone caldera decides it's time to party, among other things it sends out a pyroclastic flow. This is to be expected should Yellowstone erupt again. The problem is that the average speed of a pyroclastic flow is between 300 and 450 MPH, and the top speed of a Cessna 340 is 279MPH. It is physically incapable of remaining in stable flight at greater speed. [[note]]Referring back to the airspeed indicator, you can see a very prominent red line at about 240 miles per hour. This is called the VNE speed, also known as the ''never exceed speed.'' There is a reason for this name: the plane should ''never'', not ever, not even if it's being chased by a giant angry ash cloud, go that fast or faster. Above that speed, the control surfaces will eventually cease to be able to control the plane (you can't maneuver) and the plane could even begin to come apart in midair. In the interests of full disclosure: reaching or exceeding the VNE speed may or may not cause problems ''right away'', but the plane begins to become markedly less stable. Flutter - which is exactly what it sounds like - may begin, causing a loss of control or damage to the wings. The aircraft will begin to adopt a nose-down trim as dynamic air pressure continues to build, eventually forcing it into an unrecoverable dive. (Contrary to popular and cinematic belief, though, it's very unlikely the wings will snap off.) But even if nothing deadly happens, the plane will almost certainly need depot maintenance and an inspection teardown. It's bad. There's a reason the line is red. It's also worth noting that many aircraft can't even reach their VNE speed with stock engines; they just don't have the horsepower. Now, the ASI shown on screen isn't an ASI for the Cessna 340 we see being flown (its markings are wrong). The ASI we see has a VNE of about 249 MPH, while a Cessna 340 maxes out at 279 MPH. Either way, the plane will become an uncontrollable lawn dart long before it's able to outrun a pyroclastic flow. (Given how the rest of the film plays out, this might have been preferable.) [[/note]]
** All scientists - even American ones - use metric units, so Satnam should have referred to the mine as being about 3300 metres rather than 11,000 feet deep.
** It's not possible for a ship's engines not to function when there is one door or gate open.
** It's not possible for water to flow into a watertight room when all access routes are closed.
* ArtisticLicensePolitics:
** The US President requests to speak to his fellow heads of state at the G8 Summit. If this was to happen, he'd only be speaking to the French and Russian presidents - the rest[[note]]Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom[[/note]] send their head of government (who actually exercise executive power).
** Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's term as Governor of California ended in 2011, as the state has a two term limit.

* DidIMentionItsChristmas: The supposedly MayanDoomsday is on December 21, 2012, which is almost around the time of Christmas. However for unknown reasons, there were no Christmas decorations set up in different areas. However, it is implied that the cataclysm is happening "too early" to be around Christmas, which would explain the lack of decorations (and the London ''Summer'' Olympics being call off). It would also explain when the global disaster appears to start on a Saturday even though December 21, 2012 was a Friday.

* ChekhovsSkill: Yuri Karpov easily knocks out a guard in one punch. Anyone remember him telling that he, in his younger days, was [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong a boxer in Murmansk]]?

* DidIMentionItsChristmas: The supposedly MayanDoomsday is on December 21, 2012, which is almost around the time of Christmas. However for unknown reasons, there were no Christmas decorations set up in different areas.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Laura goes barefoot in a few scenes.

----> '''Dara O' Briain''': [Neutrinos] can't mutate. Their structure is fundamental to the structure of the universe. Right? They can't just change. He might as well have gone, "The electrons are angry!". Or "The light from the sun, it's gone off!".

--> '''Jackson''': Anyone got €1,000,000,000?

* ConspiracyTheorist: Charlie Frost again. Of course, he is right about what's happening, and sets into motion the race to get to the Ark. He ''is'' wrong on one thing: the Arks aren't spaceships to get completely off the planet, just super-armored carriers. He references several other theories he has, including some about Creator/MarilynMonroe that he doesn’t go into.
* ContrivedCoincidence: The various ways in which Jackson and his family meet up with the other groups in the story and manage to get on the Arks. It's lampshaded when the geological expert sees Jackson's family get aboard the Ark - he wonders how they managed to get on...

--->'''Charlie:''' (''After Jackson asked what the map he had indicated'') They're building [[RightForTheWrongReasons spaceships]], man!\\

--->'''Jackson:''' (''After he and his children have been detained by the military'') This is a National Park! There's not supposed to be posted fences. What's going on?\\

--->'''Adrian:''' (''After hearing about the tickets to the Arks'') What about these workers? Do they get tickets?\\
'''Anheuser:''' What, [[SarcasmMode life isn't fair?]]

** Jackson is the "present in physicality only" sort who remarks with dismay that his 7 year old daughter still has a bedwetting problem.
** Harry and Tony are both estranged from their children (and in one case grandchildren).

* EarthquakesCauseFissures: Good Lord, do they ever. The entire pacific plate basically turns into one great big fissure by the time the movie's even halfway through...
* EmbarrassingDampSheets: Jackson remarks with dismay that his 7 year old daughter still has a bedwetting problem.

** UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily: a quick shot as they are loading the Arks shows an elderly well-dressed woman in a purple coat with Corgis, undoubtedly Queen Elizabeth II (and her family.)

-->'''Jackson:''' ''(after his ex-wife mentions that the news are saying the earthquake that preludes the "sinking of L.A." sequence is no cause for panic)'' When they tell you ''not'' to panic - ''that's when you run!''

-->'''Sasha''': Come on baby, lift your big ass for Sasha!

-->'''Jackson:''' (''having a phone conversation with Kate while speeding towards her home'') Kate, stop what you’re doing.
-->'''Kate:''' (''confused'') Jackson?
-->'''Jackson:''' Listen to me, I’ve rented a plane. Pack up the kids. I’ll be there in five minutes.
-->'''Kate:''' (''dismissive'') What are you talking about? We’re going about our regular Saturday. Noah has music at 2, and Lily has karate.
-->'''Jackson:''' Kate, [[CaliforniaCollapse California is going down!]] Pack up the kids, now!
-->'''Kate:''' They just got back! God, you sound like a crazy person; the Governor just said we’re fine now.
-->'''Jackson:''' The guy’s an actor; he’s reading a script! [[GenreSavvy When they tell you not to panic,]] ''[[GenreSavvy that’s when you run!]]''
-->'''Kate:''' Look, call me back when you calm down, huh? (''hangs up'')

-->'''Laura:''' He's injured. Something must have gone wrong.
-->'''Anheuser:''' Something must have gone wrong? Something must have gone wrong?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! OF COURSE SOMETHING WENT WRONG!!
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Jackson, after finding out that [[OhCrap the ships are in China.]]

** The trailers called the Mayans "Mankind's Earliest Civilization". It's certainly old, with roots stretching back to 2000 BCE, but Egypt, Sumer, and the Indus Vally Civilization date back to at least 1000 years prior to ''that''. The Classic Period coincides with the decline of the Roman Empire.