By TANIA PHILLIPS
San Andreas
Rated: M
Running time: 114min
Starring: Dwayne “The Rock“ Johnson, Paul Giamatti, Alexandra Daddario
CHECK your brain in at the box office and sit back and enjoy almost two hours of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson in a tight T-shirt flexing every muscle imaginable (except maybe the one between his ears).
This movie is pure cheese (well anytime The Rock is on screen it is). From the moment he opens his mouth for his first line (which is so cliched, I defy you not to laugh) to the closing scene, Johnson proves he is well named – let’s face it the man has the acting ability of well, a rock. That’s not to say he isn’t actually pretty entertaining in this – drawing some great laughs (some of them are even intentional).
But despite all this, he is actually pretty well cast as a rescue helicopter pilot haunted by his past and out to save his daughter’s life when a series of huge earthquakes rip through California.
If you check your disbelief at the door, this is actually a pretty good take on the whole disaster genre, and at times it is even on-the-edge of your seat suspense.
Paul Giamatti, as the scientist who discovers he can predict earthquakes, stands out with a pretty poignant and understated performance in what is essentially a special effects romp from beginning to end.
The other standout is Alexandra Daddario as the daughter, who doesn’t need as much rescuing as you might think. The character is strong and resourceful and Daddario makes her believeable – though a lot of her scenes are stolen totally by Hugo Johnstone- Burt (Miss Fishers Mysteries) and Art Parkinson (Dracula Untold) as British brothers who are at once comic relief and the real “damsels in distress” of the piece. Actually, it’s their scenes, along with those of Giamatti, that kind of lift this movie beyond the usual dross that seems to be served up by disaster flicks these days.
But filmed on the Gold Coast, the real star of this movie (other than the Rocks T-shirt – which is stretched to the point of bursting) are the effects – that’s why we go to these flicks right? City buildings tumble, huge waves wash in and dams crumble.
Watch out for the cameo by Kylie Minogue – it’s worth the price of admission alone – that and the soulful version of California Dreaming which comes up over the credits at the end.
This is no documentary on seismic activity in Southern California and The Rock is never going to win an academy award for what he does on screen, but it’s a bit of fun if disaster movies and special effects are your thing.
