Story: Man uses taxpayers' rescue service chopper to pick up his ex-wife and daughter while thousands die beneath them.
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barkinguraydin23 July 2020
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claudio_carvalho3 January 2016In Los Angeles, the Fire Department Air Rescue pilot Raymond "Ray" Gaines (Dwayne Johnson) will drive his daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) to San Francisco since she has joined the university. He is divorcing from his wife Emma (Carla Gugino) that intends to move in together with her wealthy boyfriend Daniel Riddick (Ioan Gruffudd). Meanwhile the researchers Dr. Lawrence Hayes (Paul Giamatti) and Dr. Kim Park (Will Yun Lee) from the Caltech travel to a dam to check their seismic studies and there is a strong earthquake collapsing the dam that kills Kim. Lawrence discovers that the San Andreas Fault is moving and will cause a huge earthquake in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ray needs to travel to help the victims from the dam and Daniel offers to take Blake to San Francisco since he has a meeting in the city. Daniel brings Blake to his office and while waiting for him, she befriends the British architect Ben Taylor (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his younger brother Ollie Taylor (Art Parkinson). When Ray is flying to the dam, there is an earthquake in Los Angeles and he rescues Emma. When the earthquake reaches San Francisco, Daniel escapes with Blake to his limousine but the building collapses and she is trapped inside the car. Daniel flees from the building and leaves Blake behind. Blake succeeds in contacting her father but the cell phone dies. What will happen to her?
"San Andreas" is a popcorn disaster movie, a genre that was usual in the 70's, but with state-of-art special effects. Unfortunately, the lame and corny story is ridiculous. Ray uses the helicopter to rescue his wife and daughter and destroy it. He steals a pickup truck; an airplane from the hangar; and a boat to save his daughter apparently with no consequences. His ex-wife Emma resolves all her issues with Ray in the middle of the chaos. There is no cell phone, but the fixed-line telephone works perfectly despite the destruction and havoc. Blake, Ben and Ollie save the film. There is a tsunami and Ray drives the motor boat in the middle of the debris and possible survivors as if he were in a race. In the end, love is beautiful! My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Terremoto: A Falha de San Andreas"("Earthquake: The San Andreas Fault") -
Sure, the movie has a lot of clichés, inaccuracies, common mistakes in destruction scenes (a suspension bridge's towers not bending outwards when the span is broken, for example), and a predictable plot, but these things go hand in hand with the disaster movie genre. If you expect those going in, then the movie is pretty entertaining. You're not supposed to take these films too seriously, you're just intended to go along with the ride of destruction--and what a ride it is! This movie has some excellent destruction scenes; although they aren't exactly realistic and don't always make sense, they're a lot of fun to watch, and that's the whole point.
Sure, if you compare this with all other films, it's not great; but in the disaster movie genre, with other such films as 2012, the Day After Tomorrow, and Greenland, it's actually pretty decent. Remember: the whole point of these movies is to show awesome scenes of destruction, and San Andreas does that beautifully, so don't take the movie too seriously and just go along with the ride. -
damianphelps7 March 2021I'm a sucker for a disaster film, I pretty much love all of them but I do have 'some' limitations.
This one does enough to stay on the good side of the ledger.
What works, the effects (mostly) and The Rock. What doesn't, The Rock and the Disney-fying of anyone dying.
What do I mean? The Rock is hit and miss in this one, he pulls of some great scenes whereas others are just a bridge too far (he may have caught this from Fast Furious). The effects are excellent. The deaths are sanitised for perhaps younger viewers, the cost of this is tension and any real concern you may have had for the family. They are obviously going to come out ok so we don't have to explain anything to the kiddies!
But a disaster movie is a disaster movie so thumbs up from me! -
San Andreas (2015)
*** (out of 4)
After a massive earthquake strikes California, a father (Dwayne Johnson) must struggle to try and rescue his estranged wife (Carla Gugino) and his daughter (Alexandra Daddario) who finds herself somewhere in San Fransisco. While people are trying to dig themselves out of the damage, a seismologist (Paul Giamatti) warns people that the big one hasn't yet happened.
SAN ANDREAS is without question one of the dumbest movies that you're going to see in the year 2015 or perhaps any other year. I mean, things happen here that are without question quite stupid and that includes a really dumb love story and the logic of some of the scenes are downright laughable. With that said, one really shouldn't go into this movie expecting anything other than a popcorn movie meant to keep you entertained and this film certainly does that as it's a pretty good throwback to the Irwin Allen disaster pictures like EARTHQUAKE, THE TOWERING INFERNO and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.
I really can't believe I'm saying this but the special effects are certainly the highlight of the picture. I'm usually not a fan of CGI because more times than not it just looks fake and takes away from the story but we're reaching a point in technology where it's really hard to see the effect, which is just great. There's a massive amount of destruction throughout this film and I must admit that the effects make you feel that everything you're watching is real. This includes the actual earthquake footage as well as all the destruction around the state. There are countless buildings that fall and the aftermath of the quake looks extremely realistic.
The story itself is quite stupid as we get all sorts of predictable scenes but I can't really blame the film for this as the entire disaster genre had silly melodrama going on. The relationship issues between Johnson and Gugino are quite stupid and of course there's a side story dealing with him not being able to save a daughter that died. The screenplay pretty much throws everything into the mix and just hopes any of it sticks. Again, it's hard to bash the "dumb" story too much since the film is so entertaining but I will give the film credit for delivering the highest body count in the history of cinema.
Again, going into SAN ANDREAS expecting anything other than entertainment probably isn't the best idea. The actors are all entertaining in their own right and that's especially true for Daddario. As far as Johnson goes, he's certainly not the greatest actor in the world but he makes for a great action star. -
My love of the disaster genre means that I can enjoy this type of movie despite the myriad problems with it, alongside the inherent cheesiness and the poor writing which makes it laughable in places. It pales in comparison to stuff from the 1970s like THE TOWERING INFERNO and EARTHQUAKE, but it's certainly better than modern SyFy Channel and Asylum offerings, even if that's just because of the massive budget alone.
The story is written so that the disaster scenes keep occurring throughout the movie. The CGI effects work is extensive, but it's also pretty good, and certainly better than in the awful 2012. Yes, you get all the flag-waving nonsense associated with this type of film, but you also get plenty of suspense scenes and depictions of post-earthquake devastation that you don't usually get to see in the movies.
Dwayne Johnson continues to be a hulking, mildly charismatic presence in the movies, although he's no Schwarzenegger. Alexandra Daddario is there for her looks and certainly succeeds in that respect. The rest of the cast don't fare so well, with Ioan Gruffudd virtually reprising his role from SANCTUM and Paul Giamatti on autopilot, although at least we get to find out what happened to Art Parkinson (the disappearing Rickon Stark from TV's GAME OF THRONES). SAN ANDREAS is certainly undemanding entertainment, and not a film I'm in any hurry to sit through again, but compared to other offerings in this packed sub-genre, it's not THAT bad. -
I'm usually all in for disaster flicks, and the special effects in this one are spectacular (Colin Strause). There's an excellent cast as well, led by Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino with good support form Alexandra Daddario, Paul Giamatti, and Hugo Johnstone-Burt. However, I hope you're not expecting any earth shattering (no pun intended) dialogue or storyline, because the filmmakers here have taken every plot cliché and hokey line of dialogue and thrown it into this movie.
All in all, this film, directed by Brad Peyton, with a screenplay from Carlton Cuse, is just an escape filled with one tension packed scene after another, but don't be surprised if you find yourself unintentionally laughing out loud with some of the cheesy dialogue and plot elements. -
Giacomo_De_Bello28 May 2015If you understand what a disaster movie is about and how it works you will go and have a nice experience just as I did, certainly superior to the "2012" or "Day After Tomorrow" dullness.
The usual cheesiness in disaster movie is there, the characters are so stereotypical it's hardly believable and worst of all it commits the usual, stupid mistake of having characters make it out of a situation just in time before everything collapses. This mistakes really annoys me firstly because it repeats itself a dozen times in the film but most of all because it's worthless: it does not add stakes or tension, they would be exactly the same, but except for maybe twice in the film situations get resolved just in time and the uselessness of it really annoyed me. The film tries too hard to give it's characters depth and barely succeeds in it. I cannot deny I was rooting for them, that maybe being due to the fact that the actors involved are honestly all doing a good enough job, but the fact that it tries to achieve character empathy through clichés that have been present in cinema since the beginning of time is ridiculous.
That being said, it does deliver the goods of a disaster movie and delivers them much more competently than the recent disaster films we have seen on the big screen. With the exception of the finale where things are unnecessarily blown up to eleven, there isn't exaggeration. The set pieces are for the major part breath-taking and original enough. I counted actually two times where my mouth totally dropped in genuine amazement. I was riveted by many scenes and this is probably due to the fact that the director never overuses CGI. It is used in the perfect dose, there is enough practicality involved and the fact that the set pieces aren't always the biggest most blown up ones made it better, it gave the film more stakes. Moreover there is a great use of long takes in certain parts of the film, one in particular is very long and threw me right into the action like no other disaster movie ever had done before.
If you know what you are in for you will have a good time and you will be given back your money's worth, you won't want to be re-watching this movie anytime, but that is perfectly fine and fits the film in what it is trying to achieve. -
freshclean-66-31860819 January 2016Going into this film I knew it wasn't going to be one of the best films I've ever seen I just knew I would like the visual effects and the action, although there were some parts that wouldn't have happened in real life but that's standard Hollywood, it's expected. The story line and plot wasn't anything spectacular. It wasn't anything you haven't seen before, very clichéd and predictable. The Rock's performance in this film did give it that extra kick that was needed to make this film a bit more tolerable. If you're planning on seeing this film enjoy the ride for the visual effects and the action, don't expect very much more. I'm not going to say it's bad and I'm not going to say it's good. It's just a clichéd Hollywood work of art. You be the judge.
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San Andreas had me on the edge of my seat,I lost track of how many times I said "OMG". Just when you thought the worst is over, something even worse happens.
The special effects where incredible sending you through a whole range of emotions,rendering you unprepared for what you would feel next and/or to what extent.
The amazing, cinematic, awesome inspiring epic sequences were absolutely brilliant. A great depiction of a mind boggling earthquake,followed by a tsunami. This actually really frightened me into thinking about the serious,loss of human life and devastation this type of disaster would cause if it were to really happen,bone chilling to say the least.
There were great performances by all actors and actresses e.g. Dwayne Johnson as an outstanding helicopter rescue pilot who gave us a preview of his skill during an opening scene depicting a nearly impossible accident rescue. Paul Giamatti fit very well as the seismologist scientist. The family drama offered a more personal slant,making it a great ultimate survival story and suspenseful movie.
A definite must see for fans of movies like 2012 and Day After Tomorrow,this action-packed film will knock your socks off.
This film should,without a doubt be nominated for some type of award recognizing the phenomenal "over the top" special effects. -
Rob-O-Cop26 August 2015Hilariously dumb and manipulative, it's entertaining on that level alone, although scary in that it's so boarder line that you can't be sure the movie was made with tongue anywhere near cheek, I'm inclined to think not. That this movie is serious, that America needs to feel like a scared kitten rescued by a big stack of muscles. That stack of muscles is Dwayne Johnson and it's hard not to love him. He's kinda good in this, I like him, even when he's part of this manipulative propaganda. The special effects were nice. It kinda flowed, sort of, I guess, lots of plot holes but why bother looking for them when the iq level they're aiming this at is so low you're not supposed to notice. The cheesy flag at the end gives you another good piece of cheese to choke on. If we're going to go down we might as well go down stupid.
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otter-stl11 October 2015I read some of the reviews here and am wondering what all the negative reviewers expected. Who didn't know this was a huge, costly disaster movie? Who didn't know there were going to be many unbelievable scenes? Who didn't know there would be some cheesy dialogue?
Well, I, for one, enjoyed it. The last good disaster movie I saw was The Towering Inferno, and you know that was a long, long time ago. It's still my favorite disaster flick. San Andreas, of course, had much better special effects. (several decades later, better effects, right?) I thought the scenes of the destruction were amazing.
We all know disaster movies usually focus on a handful of people in it and this one was no different. The movie was entertaining for me. I hope it is for you, too. :) -
ACTORS' PERFORMANCE: For a disaster movie you don't expect much in terms of acting outside of lots of screaming and a stone cold, brave protagonist. Surprisingly San Andreas' characters slightly deviate from that formula. Johnson is ever the stoic macho man, who seems capable of anything. He primarily keeps his cool, but for once has some tragic backstory that adds some emotional turmoil and realism to his pallet. Daddario has certainly grown up from her Percy Jackson days, and continues to impress with me with her roles. Despite looking like a shallow twenty year old, Daddario has some depth to her simple role as her character pulls out some survival skills while still be vulnerable to fear. Gugino further shows women rock, as she too jumps into the ravaged quake zones to help Johnson achieve his goals. Her character starts off moot, but eventually transitions into an action woman while also assisting in keeping the plot moving, something that can be hard to do. Paul Giamatti nails the tectonics expert role, bringing a plethora of qualities to a stereotypical role that not only "explains" the science involved, but also brings some purpose to the film.
SCENES: San Andreas brings jaw dropping special effects to the fray, showing what a major earthquake in California could look like. The design team has done a fine job editing computer-generated sequences of buildings collapsing alongside live action sequences involving props "falling" on extras. Camera work adds some depth to the scenes, and for once tumbling cameras actually add to the detail of the movie, "It's a Miracle". Sound editing also hits home as a powerful symphony score is mixed into the rumbles, crashes, and explosions granting the feel as if this was a judgment from the heavens. In case you haven't gotten yet, this may be the best part of the movie.
LIKED: San Andreas is one of the better suspense movies I've seen in a while. Most movies involve the cast making stupid choices so that we can get more suspense and thrills. This film does a decent job of piecing the events together to give a point to the adventure and putting the chaos as a secondary quality. This is helped by dividing the story into three components: detecting the quake, being in the quake, and getting into the quake zone to rescue. By balancing these three plots, I felt as if I was watching a disaster unfold, while also experiencing the horror of the city coming apart. Jumping around kept the movie entertaining, while keeping the simplistic plot moving as the three plots converge to a close. Another like is the variety of action involving stunts like aircraft piloting, debris dodging, and even skydiving all used to get to their goals. The character development was not half bad, not only adding definition to a limited role, but also helping maintain interest and emotional connections to the cast.
DISLIKED: Like all disaster movies, the obvious foreshadowing in both dialog and camera-work, gives away an already predictable plot. Most likely that won't "shake" you up too much, but still surprise keeps things interesting. Second is the lack of buildup of the earthquake. Think about how most disaster movies start to teasing you before the storm hits, you get hyped up for what is about to come and it makes the movie more exciting. Not this one, the earthquake just hits and then bam the buildings begin to fall. In addition we could have used a little more character development to help out with the simple heroes, especially when there was so much tension at the start of the film. Conflicts kind of died down, forgiveness and acceptance happening in the blink of an eye (like that ever happens). As a side note, I wished they had done more with the Rock's team they introduced in the beginning. Some of my favorite natural disaster movies involve a crack team going into the void to save the innocents, and this one could have greatly benefited from such an element.
FINAL THOUGHTS: All in all, San Andreas plays its role as a thriller, giving you some suspense, some laughs, and digital destruction in one weekend. It was better than I expected, but still lacks a lot of other qualities I like to see in a movie. One thing that most will like is the beautiful specimens on the screen and the strong heroic qualities they have that may get your fire going. Those looking for some fantastic digital work and an exciting adventure should pay a visit to the theater for this one, but otherwise stick to the home renting.
My scores are: Action/Drama/Thriller: 7.5-8.0 Movie Overall: 6.5 -
Calicodreamin26 September 2021With disaster movies there are always liberties taken, San Andreas has more than typical. The helicopter in the gorge and the tsunami are just one step too far off the cliff of reality. However, it does have some glorious destruction and a few cheesy heartfelt moments.
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terryhollas11 August 2015May contain spoilers!!!
The Script was AWFUL!
The film starts with the introduction of The Rock and his job. He's a search and rescue pilot and he's attempting to rescue a girl trapped in a car on the side of a cliff. He and his buddies find this amusing as they jokingly begin with the routine rescue. There is a reporter who has tagged along for an interview and now she's asking questions about the rescue and they're are answering like there's no emergency to begin with. They fly the helicopter into the ravine. Really? I guess the basket rescue line was not long enough. Anyway we'll leave it at that.
Cut to a class in session at a University where a professor is lecturing about seismic activity and that the west coast is due for a biggie. Of course the cliché "not a matter of IF but WHEN", spits out.
Cut to Hoover Dam where same professor and assistant are doing seismic field tests when.. guess what...yup. The entire dam, gone in a matter of seconds. Like a sand castle at the beach. No repercussions, cause and effect. No small local towns obliterated, washed away. This news never makes it to the local media nor the citizens of LA. Only a mere throw- away line to the professor at a later date; "sorry about what happened to your friend"
I swear this script was written in the back of a limo on the way to the studio.
Now, it's soap opera time.The Rock and his wife are finalizing a divorce. This drama goes on throughout the movie. It's like I am watching "As The World Turns" with an earthquake in the BG.
Rock's wife is dating an architect; not just any architect; he's got his own building named after him. The daughter, sat in the waiting area of the skyscraper, meets a dude who is there for a job interview. They hit it off. She pens him her cell number and he exits the scene.
Later, "WHEN" happens and the buildings are crumbling and shaking, people screaming and panicking. Remember the dude the daughter met, briefly? His No.1 priority is to find her. WHAT??? Yes, that's right. I just met you, and rather than seek shelter and escape this hell, I am going to try to find you. AND HE DOES!!!
You know it took 3 people to write this script??!!
How can the writers think we're all stupid. That we do not know what happens in an earthquake. We've seen the images and documentaries, and testimonials on You Tube. Including the notorious Tohoku Chihou Prefecture disaster a few years back. We know that making a trying to make a call on your cell after a major quake would be impossible. We know that bottles on the shelves at a restaurant would be the first victims in a quake. But not in this movie.
I broke out laughing at a scene where The Rock, riding a motorcycle through the disaster area, passes by an elderly couple who are stranded, roadside. They're waving for help. He passes them with no interest in stopping. This, from a trained search and rescue worker. Hilarious!!!
There are scenes where The Rock and his wife are the only people in LA. wandering through the rubble. Or boating through the floating debris.
MINIMAL VIOLENCE!
That all being said, I think the most disappointing aspect of the film is that you rarely see people die. It sounds morbid but it's what you come to expect in a disaster movie. Would the "Titanic" be just as good without "Propeller Guy" and the countless screaming bodies falling off the ship? The death count in SA is really low. There's 3 dudes that fall to their death and another engulfed in flames. It's suggestive violence and not like you would find in a Final Destination movie. I think because The Rock attracts a younger audience, they wanted a PG 13 rating, minimizing violence, therefore, a bigger box office demographic.
Anyway, that's my opinion. There are pages of wonderful reviews from people who praise this movie. I will respect that. To each his own. Watch, and decide for yourself. -
ThereelscoopwithKK15 February 2023In every sense of its existence this is the prototypical disaster movie, right down to the use of the Rock as the lead character. With that being said I would say it's on the better side of average in terms of his performance.
The movie starts off by allocating a decent amount of time to a couple scientists who discover a new way of predicting earthquakes (which isn't ever really explained how). It's then said that nobody had really listened to them in the past but we don't really observe that part as viewers. The lead scientist is also credited with saving many lives even though his advice to run away was communicated as the disaster was already unfolding. Furthermore we really don't see many who survived at all except the one family.
Overall it is very corny , but in the same light it is highly entertaining . The action sequences transition smoothly and keep your attention the entire time which is mostly what you are looking for with this type of movie.
Sort of like a theme Park ride in a sense. Don't expect an outstanding backstory but enjoy everything it throws at you. -
This movie is better than a lot of disaster movies. It has the action, the suspense, big budget CGI and a somewhat heartwarming back story. The acting is never stellar in these movies but the actors still did a good job nonetheless. If you're looking for a disaster movie, this one will do it for you. I truly enjoyed it and would watch it again.
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madbird-6124314 February 2021Technical effect of the film is spectacular. But the plot is very weak. Storyline is too weak and illogical. The male lead is like a superman with great power. Everytime he manages to save his family just by coincidence. The scriptwriter fails to produce a storyline that justify male lead's successful rescue. No wonder the overall rating is below 7.
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Rawal_Afzal2 June 2015The film is earning a lot and a lot of people turning up to watch this one, but the reviews by critics and on online websites have come down hard on this one for the lack of great or proper plot and story, and I would agree with this objection. The brilliant action and the great depiction of the disaster that an earthquake is, followed by a tsunami in this case, was damaged and marred by plot that had so many holes that you couldn't even count. This film should never have been about one family to begin with, which would have been alright had it been about a common family stuck in the disaster, but here it revolved around a person who works for the rescue department. He is never shown to be in touch with his higher authorities, to be carrying orders, or to be helping people in the disaster. He is just shown to be casually flying his chopper in the air when he finally gets on with his job to rescue his wife. So it all disappointed given that they had the action to make it a great film.
I know it's just a film after all, but just merely the thought of such disasters and what everyone goes through, the running around to here and there... I remembered God Almighty after I was done with the film and had a chance to reflect upon it all once again.
The best bit was the scenes of the split/parted pieces of the earth. I am not the most educated person on such topics, or in general, although curious and a seeker of knowledge I am, but I knew that such a thing too can happen due to earthquakes, and not just that the building and houses come down, but still to watch it was mind- blowing, mind- blowing scenes they were.
So again, for the sake of some very good action, it remains a very watchable film. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 3D experience. -
kenneyken-9484912 August 2015This movie is absolutely terrible.
Imagine melting a 4kg ball of Edam, a 12kg slab of cheddar and 47 cases of mozzarella, it still wouldn't be anywhere near as cheesy as this piece of drivel.
I was dragged along to see it and for the entire time I sat there wondering if this was some kind of sick joke I wasn't in on.
The effects were decent but lets be honest, which movie doesn't have decent effects nowadays? The acting is absolutely horrific, the rock has the acting ability of a disabled fox and I wanted the two English toff kids to die every time they appeared on the screen.
The girl in it, although very attractive, has the personality of a sprout.
Bah! if anyone offers to watch this movie in your presence please punch them in the face.
The ending where the rock says something like "now we rebuild" and the American flag unfurls in the wind made me want to spew my popcorn all over the cinema floor.
Avoid at all costs. -
matthewssilverhammer5 June 2015The disaster genre isn't a high-brow affair, with films opting for exciting destruction in lieu of compelling characters and dialogue. At one point during San Andreas, a character describes another character as "cute, not bright"; that is an apt description of these films, SA included. It's predictability and dumbness are earth-shattering, so clearly it could be a better film. However, with fun 90's-era action set-pieces bolstered by state-of-the-art effects, San Andreas just plain works in spite of itself. With corny, melodramatic emotional beats drowning in giant and impressive action scenes, this skillfully made cookie-cutter flick is easy to enjoy. Story is not its strong suit; sloppy coincidences and "get outta there!"-type dialogue abound. What you do need to know is that it's also full of buildings falling, big things breaking, and beautiful people screaming as they try to survive the most epic earthquake in history. Utilizing some great faux-long takes and a sure-hand with the CGI, we are given some truly exciting and unique thrills. The cast does a commendable job heightening their performances to the eye-rolling cheese in the material, managing to get us just emotionally invested enough. Johnson is a pure movie star, Daddario is pleasantly unshrill, and I'll never tire of Giamatti. Most impressive is its ability to remain appropriately somber as we celebrate the triumphs. The immense amount of faceless death is anchored by the movie being so concerned with helping others. Sure, it's done with some not-so-thinly-veiled 9/11 allusions, but those negatives are mostly harmless and even noble within the extraordinary annihilation. Like a tsunami of tension, San Andreas is a big, dumb fun.
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justinwfirestone11 July 2015My first experience in the UltraScreen®DLX with massive screen, Dreamlounger leather reserved recliners, and Dolby Atmos immersive sound with bass you can feel (it's true), was none other than to see San Andreas. If you haven't been following my reviews this summer, my goal is to review all of the summer blockbusters on cheap movie days for $5.
My first surprise was that the seats are reserved. You get to pick your seat, although there were few left to choose from when I arrived. The second surprise was that the chairs are power recliners, so you just push a button and wham you go back and your legs go up. The third surprise was a smell I hadn't smelled in years, not since junior high locker room. It was a mix of people who don't like to shower, don't like to wash their gym clothes, and wet tile. Then a nice young couple who dry humped the whole movie sat next to me and at least she was wearing a strong perfume that mostly covered up the smell.
But I digress. What about this disaster movie? It features a family (that apparently has no last name, at least not that I ever learned, nor is there any last name listed for them in the credits, so I will call them Family #1), a pretty family, an upper-middle-class family that is going through a rather benign divorce and Emma causes trouble immediately because she is moving in with a richy rich dude (who has a last name, because he's Daniel Riddick), a thoroughly loathsome man incapable of love except for buildings.
Ray is solid as a rock, he's something sturdy, like a real man, someone you can cling to or hold on to no matter what. He loves his daughter, Blake, very much, because he blames himself for the death of his other daughter, whom we eventually learn died while rafting. You see, Ray is a professional rescue-chopper pilot, so the death of his daughter is as much personal as it was a professional blunder.
The main problem with this disaster movie is that Family #1 is split in two groups, and there is no real belief that any of them will ever actually die, although San Andreas does feature Blake enduring the longest non-death sequence I've ever seen. In better disaster movies, like the original Poseidon Adventure (it's unfortunate that I have to clarify the "original" Poseidon Adventure) the protagonists are traipsing and shambling through the disaster together, and they drop like flies until the very end, when only a handful of the worthy and fortunate survive.
The acting in San Andreas isn't bad, and it's not good. It's extremely okay. Poor Paul Giamatti, who seems typecast as himself these days.
Things blow up, collapse, and fall apart real good. The special effects are pretty amazing and realistic. It's nice to see so many Californians perish as a precursor to the Great Water Wars of 2016. In fact, even though Ray is a civil servant responsible for saving lives, he tries to fly the chopper from L.A. to San Francisco to save his daughter instead of trying to save anyone in Los Angeles or elsewhere along the way. He _does_, however, trade a stolen pickup for directions to an airfield, which I suppose is a fair trade and shows he's a Really Good Guy.
There is a bit of adventure. Ray commandeers trains and boats and planes. Well, no trains. That would've been pretty cool to drive a train through an earthquake. A simple oversight, I suppose. Nevertheless, I sensed the feeling of excitement at the thought of being in a real disaster, stealing whatever vehicles were around to go wherever I wanted. And it's nice to see a lot of chopper scenes in a movie. There should be more chopper scenes in every movie.
Forget the millions of Californians who died or were dying along the way. All we care about are a handful of pretty, well-off people trying to survive the worst earthquake in human history. We rarely see anyone die, because they get swooped up or down or crushed. No bones, no blood, no limbs flying everywhere. It's pretty WASPish death, as people disappear in clouds of dust, never to be seen or heard from again.
Despite all the Californian death and destruction, Americans can be jingoistically proud to see a final flowing flag confirming we are the best nation-state on Earth, and we will rebuild it all for the next disaster. -
MAYESY-446 June 2020Yes this film is over the top but that is what we love about it. Dwayne Johnson and the rest of the cast are brilliant and the story of the family trying to get back together is fast paced and exciting.
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smspencer6929 May 2015I went in to this with admittedly very low expectations, however I genuinely enjoyed the 2 hour action packed adventure. The premise is not exactly original; following the worst earthquake in history The Rock, a helicopter rescue pilot, sets out to rescue his ex-wife and then with her help his daughter.
The science is not too shaky (if you'll forgive the pun); major earthquake along the San Andreas fault is not beyond the bounds of possibility and the scientists subplot is only mildly irritating and does not detract from the action much.
And there's a lot of action! The Rock + ex-wife and daughter + friends bounce from one disaster to the next, barely scraping though intact in their request to re-unite. Each of these near-misses are edge of the seat stuff - you know at the back of your mind they're going to get through it but still you find yourself holding your breath each time. The stunts are excellent and the special effects are brilliant in their realism - yeah they're a bit over the top but it genuinely looks like they destroyed San Francisco in their quest to make this film.
It's not Shakespeare and no-one is expecting any of the leads to win best actor at next years Oscars for this but Dwayne proves a strong lead with the rest of the cast doing an amiable job with the exception of Aussie actor Hugo Johnstone-Burt who seems to be doing a Lee Evans impression in his attempt to play a Brit.
If you like disaster movies you'll love this; everyone else switch your brain in to neutral and enjoy the thrill ride! -
spookysully26 August 2015This was one of the worst examples of Hollywood smearing money on something until a room full of idiots gives texted approvals.
A brave, muscle bound man rescues his soon to be ex-wife, who just happens to be marrying a real Snidley McWhiplash billionaire played by one of the dingus's from fantastic 4... by commandeering a coastguard helicopter and basically doing whatever the hell he wants with it which apparently is to fly over literally millions and millions of people in immediate need of rescue to save his wife and daughter. Both of which are horribly cast, plastic coated Californians lounging poolside and enjoying the finer things in life and then... Disaster strikes! There is no connection with these characters and you just don't care if they live or die, I was hoping for the latter in every case.
Oh, and there's the "expert" quoting countless geologists from the discovery channel who conveniently and of course, narrowly escapes death dozens of times only to unfailingly "know" what's about to happen, sadly, just after it happens.
This is a perfect example of Hollywood, being Hollywood and should be avoided by anyone who's been hollywooded before, which is anyone watching this kind of crap over the last several decades. I would have given it a 0 but IMDb, sadly doesn't give that option.