“San Andreas” is a new disaster film starring Dwayne Johnson. I won’t even want to go into the storyline since it is so predicatable. Johnson’s personal life is in shambles and he is the middle of a divorce, when California is hit by a swarm of massive earthquakes. So, while the Golden State is falling apart literally, Johnson and his family come together.
“San Andreas” is Hollywood’s over-the-top version of what happens when the San Andreas faultline decides to erupt. We witness mutely in (3D no less) as California is simply torn apart by a swarm of earthquakes that starts in Los Angeles and travls all the way up to San Franisco. These earthquakes range from 9.1 to 9.6 on the Richter scale.And let us not forget the huge tsunami that hits San Francisco in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Somehow Johnson is able to ride through the huge tsunami and come out on the other side unscathed in his small motor boat. He then rescues his daughter, who is trapped in a high rise building on Nob Hill. The building by the way is breaking apart. That is the other thing -buildings simply break apart in a spectacular manner in the film. Oh! I forgot to mention Johnson works for the Los Angeles Fire Department. When he finds out his daughter is trapped in San Francisco he flies the official chopper from LA to San Francisco. Let me not even go there.
There were a couple of things the film got right. The first was how you react when you are hit by an earthquake. You have to “Drop, cover and hold on.” The second thing is that once the quakes have subsided you need to make your way to the highest point in your area. And you need to have Plan B.
You have to really, really suspend your disbelief big time when you watch “San Andreas.” It beats Bollywood film in the “suspend your disbelief” department. I had so many questions while watching the film, and the only reason I sat through the film is because of Johnson. He has a great screen presence, plus he looks calm and strong and if you ever get caught in a disaster you can depend upon him to reamin calm and rescue you, right?
I only wish the director of the film had climbed a higher mountain and given his audience a little bit more respect, especially his Califonria audience, who are acutely aware that they live in a earthquake prone region.
“San Andreas” will no doubt do very well at the box-office. The film releases today in San Francisco bay area.
The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Anna Daddario, Paul Giamatti and Archie Panjabi.
There are two things that the film got right:
The Kamla Show 