San Andreas
Director: Brad Peyton
Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario1
Release Date: Sunday 30th November 2014
Genre(s): Action
Running time: 114 minutes
A blockbuster with a foot firmly in the retro disaster movies of decades past, if nothing else San Andreas proves that the presence of The Rock can make any blockbuster more entertaining.
Starting off kind of cheesy, then separating into pretty much two films as Paul Giamatti's scientist attempts to predict the increasingly catastrophic earthquakes rocking California, there's not just a 70s disaster movie vibe to this, there's more than an inkling of 90s popcorn chewer Twister too.
Johnson is Ray, a helicopter rescue pilot who has had more than 600 rescues. We first meet him as he attempts to save a girl who manages to flip her car off the side of a cliff. Calm and cool in a crisis, we learn that Ray is the kind of guy you want around when Mother Nature follows through on a fart; which is handy, because California is damn near about to fall off the West Coast of America.
When his estranged wife (Gugino) and resourceful daughter (Daddario) become caught up in the carnage, Ray must utilise every skill he has to save them.
There's something comforting about a big budget original film being planted firmly in summer season. Warner Bros. obviously have a lot of confidence in this tentpole flick, and with the biggest movie star on earth headlining why shouldn't they? But while San Andreas has heap of money shots, meticulously crafted by former special effects expert turned helmer, Peyton, the film is a little too earnest to really engage its core characters.
One or two of the set pieces are a lot of fun; a tsunami hitting San Francisco stands out and offers a far more fun final third than what preceded it.
Johnson is a charismatic presence as always, while Daddario does a sterling audition for future action roles - showing the heart and physicality needed to be a headliner.
An enjoyable enough no brainer, depending on how silly your mood is.
