Today’s quick review: San Andreas. As the San Andreas Fault begins to shift, a series of devastating earthquakes sweep across California. Raymond Gaines (Dwayne Johnson), a Los Angeles rescue pilot, flies to San Francisco to rescue his estranged wife Emma (Carla Gugino) and their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario). Meanwhile, Caltech seismologist Lawrence Hayes (Paul Giamatti) races to get the word out about an even larger quake.
San Andreas is a disaster action thriller about a series of earthquakes in California. Dwayne Johnson stars as Raymond Gaines, a helicopter pilot who drops everything to rescue his family when the disaster hits. San Andreas starts big and gets bigger, tossing everything from debris and ravines to looters and panicked civilians at its heroes. What follows is a simple but honest action movie that delivers what it promises.
San Andreas is a movie for people who want spectacle. From the initial rescue that introduces Raymond to the cataclysmic finale, San Andreas never lets up for long. The special effects do a solid job of conveying the scope of the destruction, the threat of collapsing buildings and subsequent flooding gives the movie plenty of immediate action, and San Andreas cranks things up even more with gratuitous stunts for its characters.
The tradeoff is that San Andreas sacrifices any pretense at realism. The basic premise is plausible, as well as the kinds of devastation caused, but the way the events play out onscreen is pure cinema. San Andreas also sacrifices depth when it comes to its characters and its conflicts. The story of the Gaines family is drawn in simple lines. The characters are likable enough to follow but not innovative or surprising in any way.
San Andreas is the quintessential popcorn action flick. The scale of the disaster, the hefty special effects budget, and the plain but functional characters all do exactly what they need to do in the context of the movie. Give it a shot when you’re in the mood for something big that puts its formula to good use. Skip it if you are looking for a more grounded disaster movie or something with a deeper story.
For Dwayne Johnson in a similar role, try Skyscraper or Rampage. For a different flavor of action thriller about a member of a rescue squad, try Cliffhanger. For a grittier disaster movie, try Greenland or Poseidon.
[6.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2126355/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for straightforward but satisfying action.