"a fun, popcorn action movie and when you have The Rock taking on Mother Nature it was always going to be an enjoyable ride"
Following on from the likes of other disaster movies such as The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, San Andreas director Brad Peyton adds something to the genre that was missing: humour. And it’s that light relief which lets the audience know this is, at its core, a fun action film.
After a massive earthquake in California, Ray (Dwayne Johnson), a search and rescue helicopter pilot, strives to save his estranged wife Emma (Carla Gugino) and only daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) and get them to safety.
This film is a fun, popcorn action movie and when you have The Rock taking on Mother Nature it was always going to be an enjoyable ride. However, it isn’t just Johnson who steals the show as Paul Giamatti joins him as the brains of this movie playing a leading seismologist.
Also, it’s not only Johnson who has all the action sequences; the women have their fun as well and are by no means damsels in distress, especially Daddario, who brings a Laura Croft esque quality (and attitude) to Blake.
The humour is well timed to show it’s not taking itself seriously, where the director throws in a Richard Curtis style rom com when Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) meets Blake and becomes a bumbling, Hugh Grant type Englishman.
San Andreas does have its let downs though. The 3D makes the film feel disjointed and the long shots of helicopter flying overhead look like a remote control toy. The opening music also has a Hans Zimmer Batman feel to it.
Overall, a fun popcorn action film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but is let down by the shoddy 3D.
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