WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
Being his third major Hollywood film directorial effort, Brad Peyton most certainly lets it all hang out for this newest entry in the summer arena known as “event movies”, which this most definitely qualifies for in multiple respects. The story centers around Los Angeles Fire & Helicopter Rescue ace, Ray (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), whom we get introduced to doing exactly what he’s best at. In the mix of his life are his daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario), an ex-wife Emma (Carla Gugino), and her new beau Daniel Riddick (Ioan Gruffudd), all of whom Ray is trying to negotiate relationships with. Meanwhile, Cal Tech seismic expert and researcher Lawrence (Paul Giamatti) and a colleague are very abruptly introduced to an unexpected disaster at Hoover Dam when doing earthquake studies that signals a much greater threat on the horizon. With the impact of the first event, and with Emma in Los Angeles and Blake and Daniel in San Francisco, Ray then becomes acutely aware of the upcoming chaos when major quakes strike all along the San Andreas fault line south of San Francisco, launching him into action to find his family members and ensure they are safe. However, with complete and utter destruction all around them, it soon becomes a race to save Blake, as the biggest quake yet begins tearing down every part of the Bay area, and whether they survive is put on Ray’s tenacity, piloting and rescue skills, and the love he carries for his family.
This reviewer cannot be absolutely sure whether it’s old age or radically changing tastes in films overall, but coming out of this summer “popcorn movie”, there was a lingering sense of disappointment accompanying the subsequent enjoyment of this offering. Dwayne Johnson is currently one of the most bankable stars on the planet right now (say what you want about his movies or the ones he’s involved in–they do earn!) and of course he is given plenty of opportunity to flex the muscles doing daring rescues, and still find the time to be the loving, doting father and husband in playing Ray. However, this character still felt a little less entertaining overall than previous action-based efforts he’s done, where the dry wit and bombast somehow carried more weight to it. Here, there were moments where it really felt like he was just going through the motions without that real sense of over-the-top excitement he’s normally great at generating in his roles. The beautiful duo of Gugino and Daddario perform nicely in their given parts, as does Giamatti. Visually, of course, the film is excellent in its courting of pandemonium, though seeing it in 3D was ultimately not as satisfying as expected. Understand, “San Andreas” is a fun summer romp that the season is always known for producing, but when there is still that odd desiring of watching the world fall to pieces occurring onscreen in big ways (a la “Independence Day“, “The Day After Tomorrow“, “2012“), there have simply been those that satisfied this more.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
