Writer: Carlton Cuse (Screenplay) Andre Fabrizio, Jeremy Passmore (Story)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi, Paul Giamatti
Plot: In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey with his ex-wife across the state in order to rescue his daughter.
Tagline – Where will you be, who will you be with?
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Explosive Disaster Film
Story: San Andreas starts as we see how fire and rescue helicopter pilot Ray (Johnson) can make the most daring rescues, off duty he is a divorced father to Blake (Daddario) who is about to start her college life in San Francisco.
Earthquake expert Dr Lawrence Hayes (Giamatti) at Caltech has notices the sudden shifts in the plates, which sees the whole San Andreas plate moving, causing a mega Earthquake. Ray must save his ex-wife Emma (Gugino) before traveling to San Francisco to save Blake before the city is completely destroyed.
Thoughts on San Andreas
Characters – Ray is a fire and rescue pilot, he has a military background and is willing to risk more to save people in need. He is going through a divorce because of the loss of their daughter, remaining close with both his other daughter and wife, he hasn’t always opened up about what happened. When the earthquake hits, he risks everything to first save Emma and head to San Francisco to save his daughter, overcoming anything that comes his way. Emma is the wife that has started to move on with her life after their loss, she is moving in with her new partner, trying to get a smile back in her life. Blake is the couples daughter, she is about to start college and is already very independent, she is in San Francisco when the earthquake hits, trapped and rescued by two tourists as she uses what her father taught her to survive the mass panic in the city. Dr Lawrence Hayes has been researching earthquakes for years, along with his team, they discover something unusual in the patterns, which sees the first earthquake happen, this gives them the information about the next big threat along the San Andreas Faultline.
Performances – Dwayne Johnson is a natural in this type of role, the action hero is going to be a role he was always going to be made for, this is no different. Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario work well as the important women in the main characters life, with Paul Giamatti bring the experience to his role as the expert.
Story – The story here follows a fire and rescue pilot who after an earthquake hits, looks to rescue his ex-wife and daughter from the danger they find themselves in before it is too late. When it comes to the disaster genre, everything always splays out in a similar style, with a story that is always entertaining to watch, with this being no different, we get put through obstacles to make the rescue, while others just panic. We have a thin redemption arc for Ray who wasn’t able to save his other daughter, which plays heavily on most of his decision making.
Action/Adventure – The action in this film revolves around the destruction happening around cities after the earthquake, we have buildings falling, tsunami and crashes everywhere.
Settings – The film uses the big cities along the Western Coast of America, with San Francisco being the min target of the earthquake, the golden gate bridge, as always get destroyed.
Special Effects – The effects in this film are used to show the destruction being caused, certain bits struggle because of the scale of destruction.
Scene of the Movie – Helicopter building top rescue.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – When you think about it, Ray is getting sacked in the morning.
Final Thoughts – This is a big disaster movie that doesn’t hold back with the destruction, that is an easy to watch film that plays into Dwayne Johnson’s strengths.
Overall: Disaster Movie Treat.