若论轰动效应，影片《2012》真是大获成功，上周该片盆满钵满的票房成绩已经证明了这一点。这部由德国导演罗兰•艾默里奇指导的，具有启示录性质的影片仅在上映首个周末就狂揽了2亿美元(合13.7亿元人民币)的票房。对于一部非续集性的影片，该片的全球首映也成为有史以来最成功的一次。在中国，《2012》共有1230万美元(合8400万人民币)进账，首映票房成绩更是在中国影史上名列第四。

　　In blockbuster terms, 2012 is a total smash and the box office killing last weekend proves it. German director Roland Emmerich's apocalyptic film got back the $200 million (1.37 billion yuan) that it cost to make–on opening weekend alone. It was the biggest international opening of all time for a non-sequel. In China, it made $12.3 million (84 million yuan)， the fourth biggest opening ever。

　　如此重量级的巨制怎能少了山崩地裂的剧情，而《2012》当然不会让你失望。观众们会看到

　　A film of this magnitude needs content of seismic [earthquake] proportions, and 2012 doesn't disappoint. Viewers watch struggling father Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and family attempt to save themselves as the world crumbles. A tsunami destroys the White House, an earthquake topples the Vatican, and a mega-volcano leaves Yellowstone National Park in flames. Human beings are tossed about like flakes of snow。

　　制作这些灾难是艾默里奇所擅长的手法。他之前的两部影片——《独立日》和《后天》同样以人类毁灭为主题。《2012》充斥着过多的令人激动不已的情节，以至于观众们因高度紧张而疲惫不堪：影片机会还没到达高潮，加利福尼亚洲就已经沉没在大海中了。

　　This is familiar territory for Emmerich. Two of his previous films–Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow–also feature the extinction of the human race. 2012 is so action-packed that it's exhausting: the film barely gets moving and California is already sliding into the sea。

　　但该片人物对白缺乏合理性，一些科学理论也缺乏真实性，这些只有靠特效来弥补了。在该片进行了158分钟时，大家都以为节奏应该慢下来了，但恰恰相反——恐怕你都没有时间来享用手中的爆米花。

　　But what it lacks in legitimate dialogue and questionable science, it makes up for in special effects. At 158 minutes, the film should drag, but it doesn't –though you may not have time to eat your popcorn。

　　艾默里奇略带牵强地将故事建立在一个古玛雅传说之上——世界将在2012年毁灭。长达5125年玛雅历法将时间的终结设定在2012年12月21或23日。

　　Emmerich loosely bases his story on an old Mayan legend that the world will end in 2012. The 5,125-year Mayan calendar is supposed to end on December 21 or 23, 2012.

　　本月，随着另一部灾难巨制《末日浩劫》的上映，看上去此类主题已成为当下的大趋势。“世界毁灭是许多人饶有兴趣的话题，”美国印第安纳州普渡大学，历史学助理教授迈克尔A•莱恩说。“每一种文明都有关于世界末日的传说。在危急之时，人们会提及这些传说。”

　　With the release of another apocalypse-based film, The Road, this month, it seems this theme is having its moment. "Destruction of the world is universally fascinating for many people," says Michael A. Ryan, an assistant professor of history at Purdue University, Indiana, US. "Every culture has a myth of destruction. These myths tend to surface during times of crisis。”

　　“当今的经济环境使得许多人都身处危机之中，他们或担心失业，或忧虑温饱问题。”

　　"Today's economic climate is a state of crisis for many people who are worried about retirement or whether they can afford to feed themselves."

　　显而易见，在2012对人类造成威胁的不是异性也不是致命病毒，而是由于地心升温而引发的地壳迁移。换言之，就是气候变化。然而，当我们眼看着周围一切即将毁灭的时候，就像艾默里奇说的那样，即使是神也救不了我们。基督教的传说《诺亚方舟》也成为故事一个主线(男主人公的儿子叫诺亚)，尽管如此还是不难看出艾默里奇的悲观情绪。

　　Notably, it is not aliens or a killer virus that threaten the human race in 2012, but a heating up of Earth's core leading to a shifting of its crust. In other words, climate change. And, as we watch the world fall apart around us, Emmerich says not even God can save us. Parallels to the Christian story of Noah's Arc are drawn throughout (Cusack's son is called Noah)， but Emmerich is pessimistic。

　　“当然，拥有宗教信仰是件好事，但在灾难面前祷告并不会阻止灾难的发生，”在一次《Time Out》的专访中艾默里奇说。“天意，运气以及巧合可能会帮你躲过一劫，但这都不是祈祷能够办到的。我们将这个观点放到了发生在罗马西斯廷教堂的一幕里 ——一幅绘有上帝与亚当的壁画发生严重断裂。然后整个教堂轰然倒向密集的人群。”

　　"Yes, it's good to be spiritual, but praying in the face of disaster will not stop the disaster," says Emmerich in an interview with Time Out magazine. "Fate, luck and coincidence might help you survive, but not prayer. We show this in a scene in the Sistine Chapel [in Rome] where we create a big crack in the fresco of God and Adam. And then the whole church falls on a big crowd."