San Andreas

I've always had a soft spot for Disaster movies ever since my Dad sat me down as a wee one and told me I should watch The Poseidon Adventure. It was on from there as I soon found my way to The Towering Inferno and later the increasingly cheesy Airport movies and Earthquake. I also dug more contemporary offerings that came out after, such as Twister, Deep Impact, Armageddon, Dante's Peak, The Day After Tomorrow and even 2012. There was just something about them that I couldn't help but love. The special effects, the destruction, the human melodrama, and of course the prompting of thoughts of what you would do in that situation. The latest genre offering, San Andreas, fits in nicely with the hallmarks of the genre. 

The film is anchored by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a Los Angeles rescue helicopter pilot Ray, who is going through a bit a tough time. He and his wife, Emma (played by Carla Gugino) are in the process of getting divorced. We are informed their marriage crumbled in a large part due to the impact of one their daughters accidently drowning. The remaining daughter, Blake, (played by Alexandra Daddario), is preparing to leave home to attend college at UC Berkeley. Emma and Blake are currently living with Emma's new boyfriend, the douchebag du jour real estate developer Daniel (played by Iaon Gruffudd). 

Meanwhile, a local seismologist, Lawrence (played by Paul Giamatti), is working at Cal Tech to try and come up with a way of predicting earthquakes. One of his colleagues, Kim Park (played by Will Yun Lee), discovers seismic activity in Nevada, revealing a previously unknown fault line. They head out there to check it out in time to witness it go off with a 7 point earthquake, causing the destruction of the Hoover Dam. This is just an early taste of the destruction this movie is going to unleash, but the effects are impressive and a harrowing sight indeed, especially in 3D. From then on, it's a race to try and warn the people of the west coast of the impending swarm of earthquakes before it's too late.

Upon receiving a call that he's going to be sent to Nevada to help with relief efforts, the transport of Blake to college falls to David, who is heading to San Francisco on business anyway.  Once they arrive, David and Blake stop off at David's office where she runs into Ben (played Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his younger brother Ollie (played by Art Parkinson). Ben is the impossibly cute, very British love interest for Blake, so naturally I liked him immediately. Ollie is his moppety younger brother tagging along to Ben's job interview. Before long, the first of several earthquakes hits the coast. Daniel bails, running off in a panic concerned only with his own safety, leaving Blake to fend for herself along with Ben and Ollie. They make a great team though as Blake has clearly taken plenty of survival situation lessons from her father. 

Ray meanwhile witnesses the destruction first hand being ravaged on Los Angeles and manages to rescue Emma in the nick of time from the rooftop of a high rise before it collapses. From there, the two set out to rescue their daughter by any means necessary. Of course, their journey is fraught with peril whether it be their vehicle breaking down, looters, earthquakes or resulting land mass shifts creating giant, impassable trenches. Never ones to be stopped, the two keep moving determined to try and reach San Francisco before the next big earthquake hits there. 

Of course, the main draw of this film is the orgy of destruction it presents and it is pretty intense stuff that is rendered remarkably well. The film is presented in 3D as well and I have to admit they made good use of the effect, forgoing any of the usual gimmicks, but rather using it as a tool to make the experience that much more immersive. And boy did it work on me. I mean, the level of destruction in this movie is absurd, not to mention that the San Andreas fault is not capable of producing the level of seismic activity seen in this movie, but I was still sucked into the intense moments on screen. I also have to give the movie props for it's pacing. Once the action starts, it moves at a brisk pace only pausing for a few moments for some character development. But for me, those moments were welcome as it gave me a chance to catch my breath for a moment. 

Overall, San Andreas fits in nicely among other entries in the disaster movie genre. It has all the tropes one comes to expect from the genre along with some genuinely impressive action set pieces and special effects, as well as a great use of the 3D effect to add to the pathos. It's all completely ridiculous of course and is probably not doing the California Tourism Board any favors, but the actors bring enough conviction to it that it works. If you're as much of a fan of these movies as I am, you're going to have a good time.