Living in California do I really need to watch a movie about what could happen to my state if our biggest fault line aka the San Andreas finally decides to give us the big one? Well with the Rock aka Dwayne Johnson heading the newest disaster flick of course I did. I have been a fan of the Rock since his days back in the WWF/E and have enjoyed his transition to the big screen. While he is the main human lead of the movie lets be real here as the focus will be on the destruction that is caused by the massive earthquake which we will see unfold before our eyes. Like Mad Max I am going into this screening with little hope of a real plot but more of seeing what cool effects I will see and how the Rock will save California. Ha Ha. Unlike Mad Max though I do expect a little more than mindless action.
Highlights :
- As a Dodger fan, on screen it appears Dodger Stadium is left intact while AT&T park in San Francisco takes major damage. God loves the blue. = )
- Top notch special effects with jaw dropping damage during the quakes.
- Minimal downtime between action pieces.
- Realistic outcome of California if all things lined up and we actually had a 9.5+ big one.
- Sad to say and see but probably a true showing of human's bad nature during a disaster. Glad to see they didn't sugarcoat it and make everyone a "good" person.
- Rock's daughter is not just in the movie for eye candy (which she is) and actually helps move the plot along and has a brain to go along with her looks.
- "Forced" love aspect between the Rock and his soon to be ex wife.
- While I know this is make believe I would like some realistic aspects still involved in the movie. The 1st scene with a damsel in distress is just asking too much for me to take seriously. She should be dead let alone being OK with no broken bones and taking a call on her cell phone.
- How the Rock is part of a rescue team and the boss for that matter but the minute this all goes down he is off to save his daughter and no one is looking for him.
I love the Rock and I love disaster movies and that is what I got when I watched this movie but it still felt like something was missing. While the movie moved briskly even at its 120+ minutes running time it did have a few down times which was mostly when the Rock and his soon to be ex wive decided to talk things out. There was plenty of death and destruction and I was very happy with all the special effects and the humor that was sprinkled around in the right places to not have this movie being too much of a downer. With all that said I did not leave totally satisfied as I wanted more but that might be because the movie was maybe too Rock centric and not the right type of Rock. I wanted to see him do more physical stunts and the such which this movie does not call for per se. His personality drives this and his other films but I think in the end the movie subject was a bit too much for him to conquer.
Again, not a terrible film but nothing more than a very good movie but when I wanted great I was left wanting. Nothing to take away from the Rock as he performed well but I am looking forward to his next film when he is doing more physical stunts. If you decided to watch this film which if you like him or special effects movies, you need to watch it on the big screen to take in all the great visuals. The falling of buildings is really something to see and hope that we in California are spared of ever seeing in real life.
Final Grade : Solid B
Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.
-Penguin
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