 | | | Photo Jasin Boland | | | | | | Looking for an action packed movie? You got it!
During the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, I left my office in the Embarcadero to watch the World Series. I was underground when the earthquake hit at the Embarcadero BART Station. So "San Andreas" was a movie I was looking forward to seeing for multiple reasons. Going into the press screening, I asked myself, would "San Andreas" be based on scientific research or just another Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson" action film? Well the opening scene is of a girl texting and driving on a curvy cliff along San Fernando Valley and she does it safely. But the tremor hits and sends her over the side of the cliff, the car rolling over several times. She is pretty much unscratched so I knew that all scientific research was thrown out the window.
Quickly adjusting to the fact that "San Andreas" is solely an action-packed disaster thriller, I sat back to enjoy the ride. The movie stars Johnson as Ray, the top Los Angeles Fire and Rescue employee who is dealing with his recent separation from his wife, Emma, played by Carla Gugino ("Spy Kids," "Night at the Museum"). When the 9-magnitude earthquake hits the west coast starting with the destruction of Hoover Dam, moving to Los Angeles and up the San Andreas Fault line to San Francisco, Ray realizes he must save his family. His daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario, "Percy Jackson: Sea Monster") is in San Francisco with her mother's new fiancÇe, real estate developer, Daniel Riddick (loan Gruffudd, "Fantastic Four," "Titanic").
Brad Peyton ("Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") directs "San Andreas." He keeps the film moving at a fast pace that one would except from a disaster movie. The CGI (computer generated imagery) and the special effects are worth the price of admission. I would recommend seeing the film before allowing your youngsters to attend because of the mass destruction: the tension and realism may be too much for the younger moviegoer. I do have to admit, I raced across the Bay Bridge after the press screening on Tuesday night.
"San Andreas" is rated PG13 and has a TRT (Total Running Time) of 1 hour and 54 minutes. Take it for what it is!
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA