SAN ANDREAS

 Disaster! It has evolved into a whole independent genre all by itself. It is no longer part of the story, it is the story! I know that this statement comes maybe three or four years late, because disaster became a full scale genre with movies like 2012 and Day After Tomorrow. We have Roland Emmerich to thank for this new genre in cinema. He kept pushing the pedal further and further till the genre got a life of its own! Now, we have Brad Peyton take on the mantle of taking this genre to the next step.

The first thing that goes through one’s mind after seeing San Andreas is, ‘What Next’? Over the years, the genre has developed into one of special effects. One can perhaps call it the cutting edge of special effects in world cinema because you have entire cities crumbling, skyscrapers dashing into each other all sorts of things you can and cannot imagine. The challenge with a disaster movie these days is the ‘how’ of exciting the audience. We have seen it all too often and are no longer surprised. We know how it will start, with minor indications that people do not notice or sometimes brush aside as an inconvenience or even a joke! But, some scientist notices that these are indications of bigger things to come. Pau Giammatti does the ‘terrified’ scientist routine this time and he does a fair job of a man caught between the joy of the ‘light of discovery’ and the fear of the realization of annihilation. But, we have seen all this, so where does the surprise come?

Fact is, the surprise never comes! In fact, there was no surprise planned, as you realize. San Andreas

is about a well mounted, well executed work of scene after scene of apocalyptic proportions. In short, the earth never stops shaking. Just when you think its over, it shakes again, and then again, and every time it shakes, someone’s life is in danger. But, the protagonists will find a way to survive, and you know that, especially because you got Dwayne Johnson. Some of the best scenes of the movie are when he makes rescues from his helicopter, especially the one right at the start.

San Andreas achieves what it set out to do; create a visually awing piece of disaster fiction. It brushes the border of being an assault on the senses, but doesn’t actually do it, which would have been a shame. The one drawback is that there are two parallel tracks of rescue happening during the first hour of the movie, with the screenplay shifting between them, a bit unevenly at times, making you wonder how much time might have elapsed. The other pitfall is the clichéd characterization. You have the family that is going through a hard time because the parents are getting a divorce, and there is the other guy, and then the disaster helps them find their love again. We have seen similar strands before and there is too much predictability on that front. Ioan Gruffud plays the ‘other guy’ in perhaps the most insignificant role of his career. It felt unnecessary.

Meanwhile, the occasional strands of light heartedness come in from an unexpected source; Art Parkinson, playing the teenaged Ollie who can’t wait to be 20. And you will love the earnestness that Hugo Johnston brings to the role of Ben. That apart, Alexandra Daddario plays Blake with conviction, and it is on her that the entire movie hinges, not forgetting that this movie is more about the disaster than about the people. Dwayne Johnson has a pretty easy outing. He is not required to do much physically here, except for a bit right at the beginning and one right at the end.

San Andreas carries no surprises. You know how it will begin, you know how it will end and you

almost know how it will happen. But, it is a compelling special effects showcase. The characters do not emotionally anchor you, even though the script tries to. But, there is not an empty or silent minute! Your eyes and ears are busy all the time, which means you do not get bored, which is good enough for a movie. It does not have the jaw dropping moment, like the ship drifting inland or the Liberty going down (which might have been a cliché, but who cares about a cliché in a genre that is driven by clichés?), but it manages to keep you engaged. Only question is, how much more can this genre go before it hits saturation? Roland Emmerich will have the answer.

Predictable but watchable special effects showcase!

2.5/5