This movie came out a few weeks after the earthquake in Nepal, but quite remarkably, it didn’t ride in on the coat tails of the disaster. A rare move of respect from Hollywood, so naturally I was intrigued. Also I don’t think there was anything else showing that week so either this or a Tagalog movie.

Here’s the round up of Brad Peyton’s (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) San Andreas.

Please note that there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

Ray (Dwayne Johnson – Hercules) is quite content with the way his work life is going – he’s a rescue pilot for the LA Fire Department who happens to be really incredibly good with his job, he’s got the respect of his workmates and his team is being covered by journalist Serena (Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife) for a segment. Well, his work life’s blooming but his personal life’s in the dumps: his divorce with wife Emma (Carla Gugino – Night at the Museum) hasn’t been finalized yet but already she and his only daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario – Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) have already moved in with rich real estate magnate Daniel Riddick (Ioan Gruffud – Fantastic Four). Quite understandably Ray feels very much like he can’t compete with what Daniel has to offer.   But when a giant 9.0 earthquake – the “big one” that seismologists like Lawrence (Paul Giamatti – Saving Mr. Banks) – threatens to split the whole of California apart, it is up to Ray to rescue his wife, daughter, and brothers Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt – Goddess) and Ollie (Art Parkinson – The Anomaly), who get caught up in the whole mess.

THE GOOD:

1. Dwayne Johson was surprisingly believable as a normal man with normal woes, despite the big hulking frame. There were a couple of scenes in the movie that really made an impact: the scene where Ray was driving away from Daniel’s mansion and the scene where it was revealed that Ray wasn’t able to save his other daughter. I’m sure a more capable actor could’ve wrung more emotions from those scenes, but considering that the actor in question is called “The Rock”, he did a pretty good job.
2. It was all very informative. I liked that they inserted tiny little lessons in the movie on what to do in case of an actual earthquake. I for one did not know that it was better to hide under a table than a doorjamb, or that it was better to stand against a solid wall rather than run around in the open. Nifty.
3. Major props for not using the disaster in Nepal to plug the movie. Like, major props. It would’ve been super easy for the sleazeballs up in Hollywood to milk that cow for all it’s worth but they didn’t, so cheers to that.
4. Alexandra Daddario is super pretty! Those eyes, man, those eyes.
5. That the movie didn’t really give off the fear-mongering vibe. Despite the movie’s overall topic, there wasn’t that preachy feeling that movies sometimes give off when tackling natural disasters (ahem Into the Storm ahem). This film genuinely felt like it wanted to inform and teach people what to do just in case a massive earthquake hits.

THE BAD:

1. Too little Colton Haynes.
2. Seriously, where were the other team members? They opened up the movie with an example of how great their team was at rescuing people, so I was sort of waiting for that big moment in the end when they all get together for that one big rescue.
3. Emma as a character, because she sort of came off as a floozy. Sure, your husband closed himself off when your daughter died, but is that really an excuse to start moving in with your rebound boyfriend even before the divorce papers have been signed?

   

4. Daniel Riddick’s death was very anticlimactic. The dude stayed alive for most of the movie through sheer will and the death scene almost felt like an insult.

THE UGLY:

1. Ben as a character. Aww, you’d think that he’s just the cute little harmless lovesick puppy who’s literally tripping over himself trying to impress the girl, right? WRONG. He’s the irresponsible asshole who’d risk his little brother’s life just to for the chance to get laid. Like, seriously dude, if you want to get yourself killed, by all means, do it. But usher your little brother out of the crumbling building first before you do it. God.

   

2. That Ray would probably end up being fired after all of this. Mostly for grand larceny of everything – a plane, a helicopter, a car and a boat – but mostly for abandoning his post just when he could’ve been most helpful. I’m sure that the other rescue pilots are hard work rescuing people not related to them, so Ray would probably be in big trouble come Monday.

All in all San Andreas was a quaint little movie that I surprised me because I ended up liking it more that I thought I would. Performances were acceptable, considering the genre and the plot that was as predictable as it gets. But the thing with this movie is that it’s not overly cheesy or preachy. Somehow it managed to strike that balance of having a totally ridiculous plot but without being annoying. I guess it’s because the filmmakers’ reasons for making this movie came from a good place, so the sincerity shone through the muck. It is one of the rare movies nowadays that felt like it genuinely wanted to be helpful.

THE VERDICT: 6/10. Tolerable, but better suited for cable TV.

*All photos are lifted from San Andreas’ IMDB page.