I’ve always been a sucker for a disaster movie – even though most of them tend to follow pretty much the same tried and tested formula.
San Andreas (not to be confused with the hit Grand Theft Auto video game) pretty much ticks all of the usual boxes, but that doesn’t stop it being a very impressive spectacle.
So, if you liked 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and old favourite Twister, you’ll certainly be down with Brad Peyton’s (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) entertaining earthquake epic.
The general premise here is that a whopping earthquake goes off along the San Andreas Fault (which runs from Los Angeles to San Francisco) and causes absolute carnage across the west coast of America.
Holding everything together while the world around him is falling apart is a rescue helicopter pilot named Ray (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).
He’s the kind of guy you want in a disaster. Yep, he’s the hero that can operate pretty much any vehicle you can imagine and puts others ahead of himself – especially when it comes to his family.
Ray’s story is pretty standard. His daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario – True Detective) is trapped in San Francisco, so he and estranged wife Emma (Carla Gugino – Watchmen) set off on a perilous trip from the decimated remains of LA in a bid to reunite the family.
Running parallel to this is the story of seismologist Lawrence (Paul Giamatti –The Amazing Spider-Man 2). He and his team at Caltech in Pasadena (coincidentally) discover a way to predict when earthquakes are due to happen.
It doesn’t prevent him from suffering personal loss along the way, but he and a team of journalists do their best to warn the people on the west coast about another impending quake that’s likely to be the biggest ever recorded.
Blake’s story also gets plenty of air time. She’s in San Francisco with would-be step-dad Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd – Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer).
However, when the quake hits she ends up with holidaying English brothers Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and Ollie (Art Parkinson).
Hoping that Ray is coming to the rescue, they set about trying to find sanctum from the chaos.
The three storylines won’t win any awards and are far from original, but each serves a solid purpose. Of the trio, Lawrence’s feels the least fleshed out – and it’s a shame that he never really crosses paths with the other characters.
He does, however, do his best to educate the audience on the essence of earthquakes and manages to do it in layman’s terms.
Character-wise, The Rock (of course) is very much the main event. If you’re unsure of his credentials as a male lead due to his wrestling roots, don’t be.
Johnson seems much more “normal” in this role and really nailed both the action scenes and the more emotional moments.
Gugino and Daddario are both well cast too, while Gruffudd is perhaps underutilised as the stereotypical selfish “fat cat”.
The chief attraction here is the special effects, though. The destruction on show is absolutely awesome and is beautifully realised in 3D, which has to be the best way to watch San Andreas.
Watching mother nature lose her rag on the big screen is never a bad thing – and there’s everything from collapsing buildings to massive tidal waves on show here.
Of all the action disaster flicks out there, San Andreas certainly looks the best, which is perhaps the number one compliment I can offer in this review.
This is a film designed for you to enjoy at the cinema, so my advice would be to forgive San Andreas its shortcomings in the slightly cheesy storytelling department and strap in for one of the best-looking films of the year so far.
Voice Verdict: 8/10 (reviewed at Boston’s West End Cinema)
+ Incredible special effects
+ Epic destruction
+ The Rock
– Not original
– Cheesy at times
SHOWTIMES (Fri, June 5 to Thurs, June 11)
Boston’s West End Cinema
Email: [email protected]
Box office: 01205 363634
Web: www.westendcinema.co.uk/SavoyBoston
EVENT CINEMA
LA BOHEME (12A AL)
6.30pm (Tues)
FILMS SHOWING
**JURASSIC WORLD (TBC)
5.30pm in 2D (Thurs); 8.30pm in 3D (Thurs)
**INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 (15)
4.15pm (daily), 6.30pm (daily), 8.45pm (daily)
**SPY (15)
12.20pm (Sat/Sun/Wed), 3pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Wed), 5.45pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)
MAN UP (15)
10.30am (Sat/Sun), 4pm (not Sat/Sun)
SAN ANDREAS (12A)
10.30am 2D (Sat/Sun), 1pm 3D (Sat/Sun/Wed), 3.30pm 3D (not Wed/Thurs), 6pm 3D (daily) 8.30pm 2D (daily)
POLTERGEIST 3D (15)
4pm (Wed/Thurs), 8.45pm (not Wed/Thurs)
TOMORROWLAND: A WORLD BEYOND (12A)
Noon (Sat/Sun), 2.45pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Wed), 3.30pm (Thurs), 5.30pm (Fri/Mon/Tues)
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (15)
Noon 2D (Wed), 5.30pm 2D (Sat/Sun), 8.20pm 3D (daily)
PITCH PERFECT 2 (12A)
12.45pm (Sat/Sun), 3.15pm (Sat/Sun), 6pm (daily)
TWO BY TWO (U)
10am (Sat/Sun)
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 2D (12A)
1pm (Sat/Sun)
HOME 2D (U)
10am (Sat/Sun)
KIDS’ CLUB
Sat/Sun 10.30am – Big Hero 6 2D (PG)
SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (12A)
** FREE LIST SUSPENDED
Spalding’s South Holland Centre
Box office: 01775 764777
Web: www.southhollandcentre.co.uk
A LITTLE CHAOS (12A)
2pm (Fri, Tues, Thurs), 6.30pm (Weds), 7.30pm (Fri, Tues)
MOVIE CLUB: BICYCLE (PG)
7.30pm (Mon)
EXHIBITION ON SCREEN: THE IMPRESSIONISTS
2pm (Wed)
