San Andreas exceeded industry expectations as it made its box-office debut with well over US$53m. It also solidifies Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's action man status and proves that he has the clout to open a movie.
While the scope of destruction is not as widespread as The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon, Independence Day and War of the Worlds, San Andreas managed to capture the horrors and ordeal of surviving through a massive earthquake, especially when you are among concrete and steel in a modern city. The CG effects are realistic enough to help the audience immerse in the chaotic and deadly mess and I am impressed that Brad Peyton, whose past credits include kiddy fares like Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge of Kitty Galore and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, is able to stage such impressive sequences during the second wave of the earthquake.
As with most effects-laden movies, the plot and character development give way to the effects spectacle. The lazy script is also filled with inaccurate scientific theories and stereotypical characters like Ioan Gruffudd's wealthy but hypocritical real estate developer, the kind old couple who helped Dwayne Johnson's Ray along the way and of course, San Andreas lead character who seems to know everything there is to know to manoeuvre his way through a city's destruction to rescue his screen daughter played by Alexandra Daddario.
For such mass destruction, the decision to focus on just one family's fight for survival seems inadequate as the many deaths account to nothing and as a result, diminishes the emotional impact of such a disaster. Even Johnson's colleagues from the beginning scene are all missing in action when the earthquake hits. Having small groups of people fighting for their survival before converging for the finale would raise the sophistication of the movie but that would also mean that the movie requires an ensemble and a bigger budget.
