By Ryan Dhillon (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: June 3, 2015
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is at the pinnacle of his big-screen career. With hundreds of millions in revenue, the blockbuster journeyman can do no wrong. His most recent venture, San Andreas, has the former professional wrestler portraying Ray Gaines, a hapless Los Angeles Search and Rescue chief determined to find his daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) in San Francisco following a 9.6-magnitude earthquake with the help of his soon-to-be ex-wife Emma (Carla Gugino). Perhaps expectedly, Johnson excels at carrying most of the film while playing off the superb destruction and constant shrieks of his co-stars. But the true star of the film is the overwhelmingly present CGI, creating apocalypse amid a fleeting plot and hollow supporting characters. With the inherent nature of a disaster film calling for the necessity of crumbling buildings and cracked streets, San Andreas must have been a dream playground for the visual effects editors and cinematography crew.
Aside from bracing action, there are few surprises as Ray and Emma fight to save Blake. In a moment of plight, when Emma desperately seeks his guidance, Johnson utters the defining phrase of the movie: “We’re going to get our daughter.” Thereafter, the entirety of their search takes place within conveniently accessible vessels of transportation. Even when a tsunami rolls in, there is little surprise as Johnson uses his well-documented muscular fortitude to swerve a motorboat over Mother Nature’s oceanic roar. But not even the Rock’s behemoth strength could pull this plot out of its ordinariness. Nor could Paul Giamatti’s convincing portrayal of the resident earthquake connoisseur, who delivers humbling advice to aspiring geologists everywhere, exclaiming, “Contrary to popular belief, scientists don’t know everything!” It seems as though the same could be said for the screenwriters. Indeed, San Andreas offers little anticipation other than the promise of ending credits. Let it be noted, however, that had I been unfamiliar with the nuances of the disaster genre and unexposed to similar productions of the past, San Andreas might have been a worthy escape from the day-to-day.
Although there’s a lack of narrative ingenuity, the sentimentality of Ray and Emma striving to save their daughter provides enough motive to suspend cynicism momentarily, as you wonder if they’ll actually overcome the CGI-induced disaster that plagues California. And the multiple well-timed obstacles faced by Blake on her quest to stay alive and reunite with her fervent parents were admittedly gripping.
If you can’t resist the unrelenting urge to see Dwayne Johnson in his predictably heroic glory or have been waiting to see Los Angeles and San Francisco crumble due to climatic envy, I’d recommend San Andreas — just don’t expect any new findings.
