'San Andreas' Review

San Andreas Review:

California Goes Kablooey

BY IAN TAN

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island director Brad Peyton gives the disaster-movie genre a go. If going into this movie with that kind of filmography sounds like a recipe for disaster (pun intended), keep thinking that way, because with such low expectations, you may actually enjoy this movie. I know I did.

San Andreas, unlike other disaster movies, is a little more intimate. While other movies in the genre capitalize on the entire world getting eradicated, Peyton’s film focuses on California’s San Andreas fault and a little bit of Nevada’s Hoover Dam - the latter of which having one of the film’s standout sequences. The lead character’s (Dwayne Johnson) story is also done better here than in some of Roland Emmerich’s movies (2012, Independence Day). Whether the movie’s slightly more intimate feel is due to budget constraints or directorial choices, it’s one that differentiates this movie (even by just a little) enough for it to exist.

The Rock saves yet another movie from being a flop

         Besides that, more than other disaster movies, this one feels more like it wants to raise awareness on how to be prepared when natural disasters strike, aside from being your typical action blockbuster with such unrealistic stakes. The stakes in this one feel more real and the possibility of characters escaping near-death situations seem a little more impossible unlike in 2012 where everyone makes such fake narrow escapes and cheats death every. single. time. It doesn't feel too much like that in San Andreas, so kudos to Brad Peyton for that. There is one really cheesy death scene involving a shipping container though.

Making waves in San Francisco 

           The visual effects in this movie are pretty much on the level of what we come to expect when seeing a disaster-movie, with a little less of a cinematic touch; they don’t look as epic or as blockbuster-y as Roland Emmerich’s films, but that’s forgivable since this is Brad Peyton’s first big movie. Some of the destruction seen here has been done before i.e. grounds cracking like biscuits, buildings toppling over buildings like dominos, etc. but is shot in a way that makes the audience feel a little more involved in the action. Again, more intimate. San Andreas has its share of wide shots of destruction that made my jaw drop a couple of times, but it’s the shots taken from the ground up that really terrifies. There are noticeably more scenes of destruction seen from the point of view of a person on low-level ground here than in other disaster movies, which adds to the scare factor of the movie better.

Michael Bay's next target

           The characters and plot of San Andreas do nothing to change the game for disaster movies, unfortunately. The side characters, although charming, are flat and quite uninteresting people. Ioan Gruffudd’s character is especially wasted and underutilized. Thankfully, Dwayne Johnson steps in to prevent this movie from crumbling. Heck, there’s even a scene where he looks obliged to save Hollywood blockbusters when he catches the Hollywood sign toppling down just underneath him. I mean, he was the best part of the last few Fast & Furious movies, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Hercules and almost every other movie he’s starred in. Here, Johnson gives a more nuanced performance as his character Ray, allowing the audience to genuinely care for his down-on-his-luck-because-his-wife-left-him character. He brings a lot to this movie, and is a big reason why it worked for me. Carla Gugino wasn’t bad either as Ray’s ex-wife. Oh, and Paul Giamatti does well as a professor at Caltech doing whatever it takes to warn the public about the earthquake patterns.

Go Caltech professors!

     San Andreas, with all its visuals and Dwayne Johnson-ness, is an entertaining ride overall that’s best experienced in enhanced formats such as IMAX 3D or D-Box. There’s enough rumbling and shaking to warrant a D-Box Motion Seat screening, and just enough visual destruction to justify an IMAX 3D viewing. But still, not much saves the movie from its poor script and share of hammy dialogue and cardboard characters. But hey, what can you expect from a disaster movie, right?

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Final Verdict

San Andreas gets 6.4 out of 10 stars – An enjoyable 2 hours if you’re looking to kill time.