I went in to this with admittedly very low expectations, however I genuinely enjoyed the 2 hour action packed adventure. The premise is not exactly original; following the worst earthquake in history The Rock, a helicopter rescue pilot, sets out to rescue his ex-wife and then with her help his daughter.
The science is not too shaky (if you'll forgive the pun); major earthquake along the San Andreas fault is not beyond the bounds of possibility and the scientists subplot is only mildly irritating and does not detract from the action much.
And there's a lot of action! The Rock + ex-wife and daughter + friends bounce from one disaster to the next, barely scraping though intact in their request to re-unite. Each of these near-misses are edge of the seat stuff - you know at the back of your mind they're going to get through it but still you find yourself holding your breath each time. The stunts are excellent and the special effects are brilliant in their realism - yeah they're a bit over the top but it genuinely looks like they destroyed San Francisco in their quest to make this film.
It's not Shakespeare and no-one is expecting any of the leads to win best actor at next years Oscars for this but Dwayne proves a strong lead with the rest of the cast doing an amiable job with the exception of Aussie actor Hugo Johnstone-Burt who seems to be doing a Lee Evans impression in his attempt to play a Brit.
If you like disaster movies you'll love this; everyone else switch your brain in to neutral and enjoy the thrill ride!
The science is not too shaky (if you'll forgive the pun); major earthquake along the San Andreas fault is not beyond the bounds of possibility and the scientists subplot is only mildly irritating and does not detract from the action much.
And there's a lot of action! The Rock + ex-wife and daughter + friends bounce from one disaster to the next, barely scraping though intact in their request to re-unite. Each of these near-misses are edge of the seat stuff - you know at the back of your mind they're going to get through it but still you find yourself holding your breath each time. The stunts are excellent and the special effects are brilliant in their realism - yeah they're a bit over the top but it genuinely looks like they destroyed San Francisco in their quest to make this film.
It's not Shakespeare and no-one is expecting any of the leads to win best actor at next years Oscars for this but Dwayne proves a strong lead with the rest of the cast doing an amiable job with the exception of Aussie actor Hugo Johnstone-Burt who seems to be doing a Lee Evans impression in his attempt to play a Brit.
If you like disaster movies you'll love this; everyone else switch your brain in to neutral and enjoy the thrill ride!