San Andreas Review: A visual spectacle with dramatic twists

Rating: ***

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi

Direction: Brad Peyton

Genre: Action

Duration: 1 hour 54 minutes

Story: Ray (Dwayne Johnson) is a rescue pilot who is on the brink of a divorce with his wife Emma (Carla Gugino). Emma and their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) moved out of Ray's to live with Emma's rich boyfriend. When the massive earthquake strikes, the family comes closer to keep each other safe.



Review: San Andreas delivers on what it promises. Undeniably it is low on powerhouse performances but visually it's a spectacle. The CG work brilliantly builds the story's menace factor. As the epic catastrophe looms large over America's most iconic cities, the film shifts between a family torn because of a certain tragedy and cities crumbling down due to another.



Its story is rather shaky and often makes for a few unintentional laughs. The measly plot is strewn together with slick CGI that adds drama to the climactic twists in the movie. Though the narrative comes with the bane of predictability, it is sharply edited leaving zero scope for boredom.

The story is brimful with every cliche in the book that this genre might have chronicled. One can fault the film for lacking inventiveness, but in terms of its entertainment quotient, it's an enthralling treat for those who have the appetite to digest mass-destruction in movies.

Dwayne Johnson's 'Rock' solid performance minimizes the risk of the movie turning into a debacle, which was a strong possibility given its unexciting story. But Johnson delivers cheesy punch lines with his trademark panache that gives his character the charisma and the film its ardour.

It is possible that the formulaic fare can easily be branded insensitive coming so soon after the disaster in Nepal that turned ancient monuments to rubble. The after-feeling that prevails is of fear and the persistent visuals of buildings falling and people dying might have a haunting impact.



It's advisable you view this one with minimal hopes, keeping intact a neutral approach. San Andreas despite its weak plot and improper timing, has its exhilarating moments and is definitely worth a watch.



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