San Andreas (2015)

> Film San Andreas nice but to be honest I do not like the plot, why? because in the story of this movie seem monotonous and selfish. Many victims around but why Ray and Emma only focused to rescue his daughter (Blake) alone, but Ray is living as rescuers, the film tends to be lacking in the delivery of its humanitarian message.

Lots of rocks everywhere...

It's CGI destruction time as Dwayne Johnson battles earthquakes and a tsunami to go rescue his daughter - with estranged wife in tow of course.

Disaster films are easy to kick because very rarely they are nothing more than candy carnage with a trite screenplay and cheese laden dialogue. Such is the case with San Andreas. In essence this is a remake of Roland Emmerich's 2012, only this is the shorter version with the time span that 2012 should have had. This does exactly what the marketing department promised it would, namely lots of crash bang and wallop, but just like Emmerich's behemoth it gets boring entering the final third, the writing just not good enough to hold interest once the noise and destruction dies down before the big finale arrives. Suspense is absent, emotional investment in characters is null and void, while there are no worthwhile surprises in store. But on the plus side Johnson is a likable guy and he carries us through till the end of what is a fun movie if expectation levels are appropriately set at dumb popcorn fodder. 6/10

I have never been a fan of the Disaster genre, I don't seem to be able to take much more away from it than visual noise. I was hoping that the combined might of Alexandra Daddario and The Rock would be enough to turn me around on _San Andreas_, alas, it was not to be.

_Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product._

This is a classical Hollywood movie, thin plot and a lot of effects. However, this time, I quite liked it. Actually I liked it a lot. The plot, although thin, is not altogether bad, it holds together even though are quite a few unbelievable moments. However, put in the context of a traditional disaster movie, it is not bad.. Maybe this is what I like about the movie. It is really a good old fashioned disaster movie.

When I first read the blurb about this movie I was afraid that it was going to be a big apocalypse at the beginning and then it was going to be a “slow” search for Ray’s daughter. It is nothing of the kind. It has a decent build up of suspense up to quite a few more or less spectacular earth quake scenes … and then it continues. I was pretty happy that there was a decent build up from the start but I was even more happy that the initial earth wrecking event was actually not the big event.

As I wrote at the beginning, the plot is pretty thin. The special effects are not however. At least, I liked them. Not surprisingly houses a are falling over like there was no tomorrow (which for a lot of people there are not) but it is done quite well. I also liked the scenes where the earth wobbles when Ray and his wife flies over it in his chopper. I found that quite cool. There are a few moments that are, well let us say not too well thought through. For instance the classical collapsing building that collapses in the just the right pace for the heroes to do there job. The we have when Ray and his wife speeds through the waters of Los Angeles after the quake, which are riddled with trash. The amount of trash in the water would have rendered their propeller useless after a few hundred meters. But then, I think I am too much of an engineer now.

Speaking of Ray’s wife. That was one of the things I really did not like with the movie. Maybe the movie directors and actors in Hollywood are so used to divorcing all the time that they think it is a “standard” plot element and do not think twice about it but for us other “ordinary” people it is a tragedy (especially people outside of the US apparently if one should go by the trash that is spewed out from Hollywood all the time) and I really do not want to watch that crap all the time in movies and TV-shows! I was actually tempted to downgrade the movie at last a star, even two, for that crap but what the heck, it is a good movie and I do like “The Rock”.

So after, after that little outburst, I have to say that I this one was a really enjoyable movie. One of the few lately that I have watched. It is a quite good, classical, disaster movie with a good build up, really good effects and a good and happy ending (for the main characters at last) and I am a sucker for happy endings.

Solid enough, if not overly long, disaster movie. Dwayne Johnson is... well Dwayne Johnson but has more than enough charisma to carry this and never a bad thing having BOTH Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario either. Some of the effects were pretty good, others a bit iffy however. Still, I enjoy these disaster movies and while it doesn't measure up to The Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno, but entertaining nonetheless. **3.5/5**