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| 2015 rating: *** |
That aspect takes care of itself, especially with today’s special effects, allowing just about anything to occur on the big screen – and in the case of SAN ANDREAS, the sky is the limit. Thankfully, the few humans on board are likable enough. And instead of setting up a normal story before being catapulted into turmoil halfway through, it all flows together, from one obstacle to the next.
Dwayne Johnson is the perfect fit here, and as a helicopter-flying rescuer, he has all the attributes and machinery once the crap hits the fan – the Bay Area getting pummeled by more than just the ground shaking. Meanwhile, the coolest looking sequence is also the most ridiculously far-fetched, as our heroes venture off the land and into the water, facing unbelievable odds. Yet somehow, even Rock’s corniest devil-may-care lines seem pretty natural...
The only cringe moments occur between his daughter and her two new friends – but their plight is connected enough to Johnson, who, along with an equally intrepid ex-wife, are the ones to follow through this relatively basic "save the family" action flick disguised as a big budget epic.
I was completely shocked at how much I liked this movie. It helps that the Rock is a big likeable personality. The daughter and Brit Invasion kids weren't annoying - and the young boy - my friend asked me why he looked so familiar - that kid wasn't familiar - but his doppelganger American version was the boy from the original Jurassic Park - looks the same, same mussy hair, seemingly intelligent - same archetype - different movie. And the older brit was very much a young looking Matt Damon-y and didn't have too many lines to interrupt the daughter-heroine.
ReplyDeleteUsually I would hate this movie - and I totally planned on totally hating it. I went with my friends because we hadn't hung out in a while - I was willing to see Mad Maxine again over this - and I'm glad I saw this. Entertaining, shockingly.
Main problem with the movie: The San Andreas Fault is only capable of an 8.1 magnitude earthquake - in the movie it was something like 9.7 - so completely ridiculous - like I told my friend who hates science fiction and fantasy, "Heck you want real, Mad Max Fury Road is more real world than San Andreas"
Oh well.
Another fine review.