observation notes: 2012 Ice Age

This latest release from The Asylum is an apocalyptic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from the brilliant pens of Paul Sinor and Victoria Dadi, the team behind last year's Airline Disaster.

When a volcano in scenic Iceland goes kablooey, it collapses an ice shelf and releases a tremendous glacier that starts on a collision course with the East Coast of the United States, the harbinger of a new ice age that one family - lead by actors Julie McCullough ("Growing Pains") and Patrick Labyorteaux ("JAG") - must try to stay ahead of.

First off, in all fairness, I should admit my love for polar apocalypse films. I think the ice age is something we as modern humans have zero capacity to plan for or fight against, so to see characters accurately struggle against such odds is always fascinating, to me, at least. 2012 Ice Age does not fail; apocalyptic thriller, family drama, FX bonanza. The script is solid as ice, the direction by the mysterious "Travis Fort" is above par and the performances sell it all.

Patrick Labyorteuax as the father/scientist at the center of the film plays the role with a duality of dedication - half to his job, half to his family, each half greater than most men's wholes. He's undeniably likable, universally relatable and just plain fun to root for. I wasn't a "JAG" watcher, but I was a big fan of Labyorteaux's as a teen - he's in two of my favorite movies ever, Summer School and Heathers - so it was awesome to not only see him again, but to see that he's still as awesome as ever.

Julie McCullough, lovely as she was twenty years ago on "Growing Pains," as Labyorteaux's estranged wife and informed-thus-concerned mother is sassy, confident, concerned and coyly radiant. She's still got a smile that could charm a buzzard off a fresh kill, and she still knows how to use it. To see her in this dramatic setting was a revelation, and hopefully the start of great things to come.

Other notables include Nick Afanasiev and Katie Wilson as the couple's teenage children, and the great Gerald Webb as another traveler.
 

The real star here - not to take away from the human performers - is the film's visual FX; from the volcano eruption to the encroaching glacier to the polar ramifications, this is easily the best-looking Asylum film, FX-wise, to date. Bar none. I often speak of how The Asylum's production values have shot through the roof since Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, and this is the best representation of that hypothesis to date.

The script is sound, scientifically and emotionally. Sinor and Dadi - as they did with Airline Disaster - do a spectacular job of balancing the technical with the human, crafting a disaster epic with an intimate heart. I never felt for an instant that our response - militarily - to the impending ice age was far-fetched or contrived. The film's realism, in fact, is part of what endeared it to me so. When the science is sound, the enjoyability is infinite.

And as for the direction, by the mysterious Travis Fort, all I can say is the typing equivalent of one, lone man in a crowd of thousands standing up and starting the applause an entire crowd reverberates. This film is great looking, well paced, gripping, thrilling, frightening, and gut-wrenching, exactly as it should be. Whoever directed this, he directed his ass off, and has earned my sincere kudos.

Overall, whatever your disaster film peccadillo - ice age, alien invasion, pandemic, war, global warming etc - if you enjoy the struggle of American average-joes against impossible, cataclysmic scenarios, then there is absolutely nothing you won't love about 2012 Ice Age. No smoke-blowing, no ass-kissing, no-sycophanting: this is a rad film, no matter which studio made it; human, horrifying, spectacular and captivating. B-movie gold, as far as I'm concerned. Gold, I say!

2012 Ice Age is on DVD THIS VERY MOMENT in retail establishments, video stores (if u can find them), those lame kiosk things and, of course, Netflix. There's no reason you should still be reading this. Go get 2012 Ice Age right now. NOW!

"Let's melt this ice!"