San Andreas

I feel greater ambition from this than in Emmerich's recent film, which simply rudely get your money without delivering anything interesting. Gone are the days Independence Day. San Andreas is a more ambitious film in this aspect. Although the dialogues and the concept of the script are one big American cliché with all the flaws and shortcomings that we are used to, at the same time, I occasionally see a subtle homage to the nineties in it, depending on how much someone delves into the genre. However, the formal side is captivating. So much tension and phenomenally escalating scenes, not only in terms of destruction and visual effects, but also the panoramas, the raids, the flyovers, and several great shots without cuts (especially the opening one in San Francisco on the roof of a building) – it’s definitely on a higher level than just mindless entertainment. I felt the effort there. It’s not a groundbreaking film, and will also be forgotten over time, but it definitely won't offend the intellect if approached reasonably and some things are overlooked. Dwayne Johnson can act! (05/30/2015)

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. (08/30/2015)

Nobody expected a revolutionary cliché-free contribution to the genre, not even from Warner Bros. The same goes for Emmerichian wit and insight. The characters are fine, unlike those in last year’s Into the Storm, and better than those in Poseidon. So, overall it’s an alright movie, a display of decent craft without errors and surprises. (05/27/2015)

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. (05/28/2015)

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. (07/05/2016)