San Andreas (2015)

San Andreas if a movie about Ray, a rescue pilot who is afraid of losing his family in one of the biggest disasters to strike the west coast. Paul Giamatti plays a earthquake expert who has figured out a way to predict earthquakes and determine the strength of them before hand. We get our first real glimpse at the chaos when he first figures this out, and shortly after the movie picks up and takes off running. A huge quake hits the west coast and that entire plate goes active. It starts in LA and heads to San Fran and pretty much destroys everything in between. The Rock plays Ray, who is getting ready to respond for his job to assist with rescue. His daughter however is with her future step dad played by Ioan Gruffudd and is traveling in that area as he takes up up to her school. The rocks Wife played by Carla Gugino is also in the area. Once the quake hits, the Rock says screw the job and takes off on his own in the helicopter to try and save them all.

As far as story goes, there really isn't to much to this one. But that is not the point of it, it is a effects driven movie that tries to keep you excited by chaining one disaster after the other. They do try to add in a story element about the Rock failing to save his daughter year ago, and it does set up a few scenes down the line. But for the most part the story is simply there to get people into trouble.

The action is fast, and most sequences look sharp. The effects are decent, but there are a few scenes that fall flat. A boating sequence at the very end looks bad, and just kind of kills the momentum of the ending. Still most of the sequences turned out pretty good and it kept me entertained right up until the final moments. There was a pretty neat moment where you see the building falling apart as the camera zooms in. We see the people screaming and running about as the camera keeps getting closer and even cuts through the window to the action inside. The movie had some great style and like all good disaster movies it handled the chaos quite well. It also handled the human aspect of it better then some other movies I have seen. There was a conflict early on between two main characters that I didn't see coming. It was a strong moment that created emotion I wouldn't normally expect from a film like this. I enjoyed seeing Giamatti struggle with what was happening and trying to figure out how to save as many people as he could. Yes the resolution at the end was kind of weak and the feel good moment they tried to tack onto some individuals stories felt cheesy and out of place. But the majority of the movie was solid and well done. The writing was not great, but thankfully given the type of movie it is, that rarely was a issue. Sadly though one scene it did cause issues with was the final one in the movie. So we do end on a low point.

Acting was solid across the board. Yes the diolague was bland, but these people could scream and look scared. I love the Rock, he can do no wrong. Giamattis is great, and seeing him in the movie got me more excited for it. His character was on the sidelines, but contributed quite a lot. He had to make you care about his portions with his acting instead of effects and action, and he did well with that. Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario play the rocks Ex and his Daughter. They both had major roles and were likable enough. You may remember Daddario as the best character from Percy Jackson, Annabeth. I liked her character in this movie quite a bit. She was raised by the Rock and as such had a lot of his tendencies in the film. She was the calm voice in her group and took over as the leader. They had some cool moments where she would use various knowledge I would have never thought about to help them out. Gugion I was not overly familiar with, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of her. I really enjoyed how even though she had to be rescued in the beginning, she turned into a bit of a bad ass herself by the end. My favorite though was Art Parkinson as Ollie. Art and Hugo Johnstone played a pair of brothers who ended up helping out Daddario throughout the film. Art was adorable and added a lighter tone to the film that was desperately needed. Also people tend to care more when a child's life is at risk. Ioan Gruffudd played Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four. I have not liked him since and I did not like him in this. He isn't a bad actor, he just takes bad roles. Though maybe he enjoys playing unlikable characters.

In the end San Andreas is a entertaining and over the top disaster fest where if anything can go wrong, it will. The characters are tossed from one horrible event to another for your amusement, and for the most part it works. There are a few action sequences that looked rather poorly done, but for the most part the effects were enjoyable. Not much humor, but a oddly decent amount of emotion from various moments in the film. Sadly the final scene did come off rather cheesy and ended the film on a low note for me. Was it amazing, no. But it was worth seeing if you know what to expect. Grab some popcorn and just zone out for a while. Whether it is the fun action, or the attractive cast, you will find something to enjoy in this one.