- A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
- Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
- Only a few years after the American geologist Adrian Helmsley's warnings of an impending global Armageddon by the year 2012, the Earth is devastated from end to end by cataclysmic natural disasters. As the President of the U.S. along with other leaders of the G8 Nations complete their secret project in Tibet to build colossal arks to sustain humanity, at the same time, the struggling Los Angeles author, Jackson Curtis, goes through hell and back to reunite with his ex-wife and their two kids. Inevitably, the unfathomable catastrophes are rapidly escalating, while Jackson strives to give his family a future in Tibet, however, can he make it in time?—Nick Riganas
- Geophysicist Adrian Helmsley officially visits India's Dr. Satnam Tsurutani, his pretty wife, Aparna, and their son. From thence, he is led to the world's deepest copper mine, where he finds evidence that the Earth's crust is heating up faster than expected. He quickly collects evidence, and presents it before the President of the United States. Expecting the news to hit leading media, he is instead stunned when he learns that the powers-that-be have no intention of publicizing this catastrophe, and are intent on saving wealthy families that can shell out a billion Euros per family on four mammoth arks - without realizing that if the Earth is indeed headed for the prophetic self-destruction on 21 December 2012 - how can arks and it's wealthy inhabitants survive?—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
- Several years before, geologist Adrian Helmsley comes across information that shows the world will come to an end in 2012. No announcement is made but the G8 countries begin to prepare for the event. Jack Curtis is a divorced and a less than successful writer. While on a camping trip with his children in Yosemite, he meets Charlie Frost, who is preaching that the end of the world is at hand. A series of events leads Curtis to believe what Frost has told him and with his family, heads for China where the industrialized countries have been working on a response to the impending disaster.—garykmcd
- In 2009, an American geologist named Adrian Helmsley (Ryan Mcdonland) visits astrophysicist Dr. Satnam Tsurutani (Jimi Mistry) in India and learns that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are causing the temperature of the Earth's core to rapidly increase. Arriving at a party in Washington, D.C, Helmsley presents his info to White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser who takes him to meet the President.
In 2010, U.S. President Thomas Wilson and other international leaders begin a secret project to ensure humanity's survival. More than 400,000 people are chosen to board enormous "arks" constructed at Cho Ming, Tibet, in the southwest Chinese Himalayas. A Buddhist monk named Nima is evacuated while his brother Tenzin joins the Ark project. Additional funding is raised by selling tickets for EUR1 billion per person. By 2011, valuable items are moved to the arks with the help of art expert and First Daughter Dr. Laura Wilson (Thandie Newton).
In 2012, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a science fiction writer in Los Angeles who works as a limousine driver for Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Buric). Jackson's former wife Kate (Amanda Peet), and their children Noah and Lilly, live with Kate's boyfriend, plastic surgeon Gordon Silberman (Thomas McCarthy). Jackson takes Noah and Lilly camping in Yellowstone National Park. When they arrive at the park, they find the park fenced off by the military who arrived. They cross over the fence but are captured by the U.S. Army and taken in to see Helmsley, who recognizes Jackson after he published his recent book, Farewell Atlantis. After they are released from military custody, they meet Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), who hosts a radio show from the park (also the person who spotted them enter the restricted area).
Later that night, after the military evacuates from Yellowstone, Jackson watches Charlie's video of Charles Hapgood's theory that polar shifts and the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar predict that the 2012 phenomenon will occur. Charlie also tells Jackson that those who discovered this and plotted to inform the public were killed in various accidents. After an earthquake hits Los Angeles, the family returns home. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a Cessna 340 to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon as the Earth crust displacement begins with a magnitude 10.9 earthquake, and they narrowly escape Los Angeles as California collapses into the Pacific Ocean.
As millions of people die in earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve a map from Charlie, escaping as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie stays behind to broadcast the eruption and is killed. Learning that the arks are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas to find a larger plane. They find Yuri, his twin sons Alec and Oleg, girlfriend Tamara and pilot Sasha. Helmsley, Anheuser, and Laura Wilson are aboard Air Force One where they are heading to the arks. President Wilson remains in Washington, D.C. to address the nation one last time. With the Vice President dead and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser appoints himself Acting Commander in Chief even though he is not in the presidential line of succession. Back in Las Vegas, the group steals an Antonov An-500 aircraft, and they depart for China as the Yellowstone ash cloud engulfs the city. President Wilson is later killed by a mega tsunami that sends the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House.
When the group arrive in China, the plane runs out of fuel and crashes in the mountains, killing Sasha, while the others make a narrow escape. They are then spotted by helicopters from the Chinese army. Yuri and his sons, possessing tickets, are taken to the arks, leaving the Curtis family and Gordon behind along with Tamara because Yuri knows she had an affair with Sasha. The remaining group are picked up by Nima and taken to the arks with his grandparents. They stow away on Ark 4, where the United States contingent is aboard, with the help of Tenzin. As a mega tsunami approaches the site, an impact driver becomes lodged in the gears of the ark's hydraulic doors, preventing a boarding gate from closing, which in turn prevents the ship from starting its engines. In the ensuing chaos, Yuri, Gordon and Tamara are killed, and Ark 4 is set adrift. Jackson and Noah dislodge the impact driver and the crew regains control of the ark before it collides with Mount Everest. Jackson rejoins with his family, and he and Kate reconcile.
As flood waters from the tsunamis slowly recede, the arks travel to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, where the Drakensberg Mountain range has now emerged. Helmsley starts a relationship with Laura while Jackson and Kate rekindle their relationship.
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