Dwayne Johnson is a likeable lead actor, but even his likeability is not enough to save this disaster film. Johnson’s performance reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance in movies like “True Lies” and “Last Action Hero.” This film is just so similar to so many other disaster films that this will likely be forgotten after this review has been written. The movie is directed by Brad Peyton who previously teamed up with Johnson in 2012 to bring you "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island."
Johnson plays Ray, a Fire and Rescue pilot who is going through a divorce with his wife, Emma (Carla Gugino). Their teenage daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario), is struggling to adjust to her father's absence as she acclimates to life with her mom’s new, rich boyfriend, Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd).
The cheesiness of the dialogue is laughable at times, like when Blake has a “bonding moment” with Daniel in his limousine; when she asks him why he never had children, he replies, “I never had kids because I was too busy raising these buildings,” a reference to the architectural firm that has made him his fortune. The dramatic piano only adds to the unintentional humor in this scene.
Paul Giamatti adds a nice touch to the movie as a seismologist working from Cal Tech who discovers catastrophic activity along the San Andreas fault and the grand-scale disaster awaiting the West Coast. Giamatti narrates the chaos from a scientific perspective, and some of his quips are enough to make you laugh out loud (the type of dramatic observations that are used in 30-second commercial clips).
The Blu-ray combo comes with Peyton's commentary and three featurettes, including “San Andreas: The Real Fault Line,” “Dwayne Johnson to the Rescue” and “Scoring the Quake,” which shows how the audio effects were achieved. In addition to that, there are deleted scenes (with and without commentary), a gag reel and a stunt reel.
This would make a decent Redbox rental if you are looking for mindless entertainment.