SAN ANDREAS

Well, the CGI guys have done their usual spectacular work of demolishing cyberbuildings. It could have used a little more build-up before the storms, but otherwise the directing seemed passable. The acting was appropriate to the script. All 'round, the production values were quite impressive for a conventional Disaster genre film.

But 'Conventional Disaster Genre' is where this movie runs into some trouble, imo. Rather, the contrast between 'Conventional Disaster' and 'Typical The Rock' genres. The combination of the two created some problems with tone and mood.

I've always had fun watching TR do his tongue-in-cheek, cornball thing; but here I think it caused the screenwriters to play it a little too fast and furious. The schmalz is ladled on heavy and thick, we aren't shown character motivations so much as thrashed over our heads with them, and it seemed a bit loose here and there with character actions.

MILD SPOILER

At one point our protaganist, who is sworn to protect the people of LA, is shown sailing his rescue helicopter gracefully over the heads of MILLIONS of screaming and desperate citizens of that city as he heads for San Francisco. This would be highly questionable under any circumstances, but he seems to decide upon this course even BEFORE he knows that his daughter is in grave and immediate peril and without any hand-wringing about what he is doing.

END SPOILER

I suppose that I expect conventional 'man-versus-forces of nature' movies to be a little more realistic.

I would think that the die-hard F&F fans and big fans of CG catastrophe would be satisfied.