San Andreas

A genre routine without a shred of narrative innovation and insight, served exclusively in the company of surprisingly annoying and cluttered digital effects. Where the similarly destructive 2012 had a far more entertaining story, memorable "last-minute" escape scenes, and an air of fatalism about it, San Andreas only has likeable characters – but how can we even root for them when it's clear from the start that nothing can happen to them....? A big disappointment, the muscular physiognomy of Mr Rock and the lush breasts of Ms Daddario in top form definitely deserved much better advertising. 40% (10/09/2015)

The Americans tend to shoot a disaster movie once in a while, cry their eyes out and show Americanism in its harshest form. And they usually take down Los Angeles or San Francisco. It lies on two tectonic plates, so it’s strongly fitting for a similar movie. For many decades now. Fortunately, San Andreas doesn’t deviate from the standard and performs solid popcorn entertainment, which is supported by Hulk Dwayne and solid CGI. It’s almost a surprise that a similarly tuned movie wasn’t made by Emmerich, but by the talented Peyton instead, because he massacred the surroundings very well. (05/07/2016)

The Rock acts (and is likeable) about as well as Sylvester Stallone in the 1990s, but back then, Stallone wouldn't have acted in a film this silly. One cliché after another, and it relies on amazing the viewer with effects, which are not overwhelming, and pretty soon they get old, and it takes itself almost deadly seriously. Perspective is desperately missing - the comedy string that Roland Emmerich can play so well (I was very entertained by 2012, and it’s not much more sophisticated in terms of the storyline) did not even tremble in San Andreas. Unlike me while watching Alexandra Daddario... (05/01/2019)

It's actually awful bollocks, but Dwayne Johnson is a likeable guy, Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario are very nice to look at, and there's always something going on. Sometimes that's all I need. (29/08/2015)

My guess is that the screenplay was rewritten six times which, as a result, is not able to maintain even a hint of consistency / escalation in both storylines (family / seismologist). Horrible dialogues, rubber acting, tricks that can be bought for 100 million today, amusement park directing. For 4DX cinema, it can work as a tech demo. I am giving the film a single star just for its hint of an interesting ideological storyline, in which the almost shocking selfish concentration of the man responsible for saving others on his family plays a role. There has not been such a strictly individualistic disaster film for a long time that would place the restoration of America purely on the shoulders of capable individuals who fight only their private wars. Unfortunately, even this factor is there purely for laughter. This movie as broken as the world it depicts. The earthquake comes as a divine punishment when the characters have nothing more to say. And that's basically the case all the time with San Andreas. On my Richter scale of nonsense, it’s a pure ten. (28/05/2015)