I came to this film with low expectations: as a disaster movie I was expecting a couple of stand-out action/destruction sequences, interspersed with dreary soap opera about people no one cares about in order to provide a human element.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised.
The first 10 minutes are the slowest - then the first earthquake hits.
Apparently, the San Andreas fault is not going to tear away in a single "big one" - but instead, through a whole series of gigantic earthquakes. Yet the film still manages to build up tension to its climax.
The pace is frenetic as we roll through the process. Though there are quiet moments, they are short, as the film desperately tries to keep hold of our attention. And it does a pretty good job of that.
Rather than a big cast, we just follow The Rock, his wife, and surviving daughter. We dwell on them only long enough to established their changing relationships, before being dropped into peril.
This is a by-the-numbers action film, and it does it surprisingly well. It even manages to challenge a few tropes. It's also nice to see a disaster film that isn't all about New York or Los Angeles.
The visuals, as expected, are very well done, but even more so is a sense of detail in how everything has been put together.
I didn't expect much, and those low expectations were rewarded. This is a surprisingly good popcorn film. It rushes through action sequence after action sequence, and doesn't linger enough on the characters to let them become boring.
Overall, a decent film, with the heart-warming message that nothing brings people together like apocalyptic destruction.
