As the Chief Pilot of the LA Fire Dept., Ray (Dwayne Johnson) spends his life saving people. That’s probably because the one person he couldn’t save was his daughter, who drowned, and ultimately ended his marriage to his wife Emma (Carla Gugino). But the estranged couple have another daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddirio) who is headed to college in San Francisco, full of hope, a big future and new beginnings.
That is until Scientist/Professor Lawrence (Paul Giamatti’s) long time predictions coming out of the California Institute of Technology begin to take on some truth. Apparently the San Andreas fault runs up the spine of California. It happens every 150 years and according to him, we’re about 100 years overdue. Of course no sooner he says that – someplace between Vegas and the Hoover Dam – a series of mini quakes begin to trigger what could be the end-all for any California Dreamers.
The film uses 3 D, which while often an annoying crutch, seems to be the right fit. What also works… is that this movie is one of the few action films that actually has a plot, some American geography and a big dose of humanity. The action-in-your-face also touches on any and every phobia known to man (heights, claustrophobia, etc.). But the film’s ultimate success is based on its stretched ‘oh, c’mon’ factor when (for example) a young woman falls through six floors of concrete and come out without a bruise. Or Dwayne Johnson yells out “Are you hurt?” after a burning tower collapses around her. And then there’s the tsunami….
But in the end, the one too many coincidences make for half the popcorn fun. A highly entertaining, ridiculously far-fetched summer film that requires a seatbelt and a driver’s license to sit through it. ♕ ♚ ♛