San Andreas - Review

The best 90s disaster movie...that isn't from the 90s

And for the most part, that is completely okay. Because if it was, it would've been directed by Roland Emmerich. Who is a director of many of my guilty pleasure movies. But I'm so glad he didn't direct this.

The Plot

Rescue Helicopter Pilot Chief Ray Gaines (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and his estranged wife, Emma (Carla Gugino), must team up to rescue their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) who is trapped in San Francisco as a catastrophic earthquake tears California apart. Meanwhile, a CalTech Seismologist (Paul Giamati) tries to warn the world that the worst is yet to come.

Review

That synopsis is pretty much the entire plot of the movie in a nutshell. And if you've seen the trailers and TV spots for this movie, then you know very well what you're getting in for. Because if you expect this to be a game changer in the disaster movie genre, then you're sadly mistaken. What you should be hoping for is does this movie deliver what it promises. And the answer is Yes, it does.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has re-teamed with his Journey 2 director, Brad Peyton, to deliver a new big budget hollywood disaster movie. And with all out honesty, I truly believe that the two prominent reasons why this movie is so entertaining, despite being a paint by the numbers disaster film, is because of these two. Peyton knows what type of film he's making. And he has an entire catalogue of disaster films to draw from, whether it be from the school of Roland Emmerich or Irwin Allen, the original disaster king. His film doesn't really differ too much from any of them, but his approach of dominantly showcasing the spectacle and the terror from the human perspective instead of the epic wide shot is what makes it so compelling. This unique approach, combined with the charisma of The Rock definitely elevates this film above its peers. It may not be a high elevation, but it is enough to give it more intensity.

Now. All that credit can't just go to The Rock Johnson, it also has to go to the rest of the cast. Carla Gugino is once again playing Johnson's wife/ex-wife/love interest for the third time and still continues to be a heavily underrated actress. She's very real and believable in her role, despite how limited it is. Which will be a recurring theme when talking about the rest of the cast. Believable despite being limited. Alexandra Daddario is believable as the heavily competent and capable daughter of a rescue pilot. Though some of her scenes of being terrified may not translate well due to her facial expressions, but the vocal and emotion she's projecting sells it. She is joined by Ben and Ollie Taylor, played by Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson, who save her on occasion but are mostly saved by her instincts and competency. Both of them were fine additions and helped showcase some of the more emotional sides of the story from within the terror.

But the one standout performance in the film has to go to Paul Giamatti as Lawrence, a CalTech Seismologist. While he is mainly there for exposition, it comes off as easy to understand for whatever rules the film has set about how its science works. This should really come as no surprise given that Giamatti is an Oscar caliber actor, and he gives in to the role that is essentially Mr. Exposition. But again, repeating my sentiment, believable despite being limited. 

After all, one does not go to these movies for a compelling story and well drawn out characters. You go for the spectacle. And to see the Rock battle an earthquake. And this movie completely delivers on that promise. As the spectacle of the movie just keeps ratcheting into more and more danger at ludicrous levels, Peyton doesn't lose sight of how horrific this event would actually be. Mad props to him and the effects team for creating a film that is both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

But really, it is a Dwayne Johnson movie after all. And while his performance is not at the same level as Giamatti, it is clear that this is definitely one of his best performances of his career yet. His chemistry with Gugino is evident, and how he handles the emotional scenes are extremely powerful for his standards. He is slowly showing the world that he's not just the charismatic action guy, he is also a good actor. And I'm pretty sure eventually, he'll become an incredible one. He's almost there, and this film shows he can get there.

Final Thoughts

I keep having to re-iterate this. It's a disaster movie. You know what happens in disaster movies. If you don't like disaster movies, then don't watch this movie. Because nothing I say will change that opinion. However if you're willing to have an open mind and turn off logic for a while to enjoy a competently made disaster movie starring one of the most charismatic actors in Hollywood. Then yes, go see this movie. It is definitely a fun and terrifying time at the theater that won't disappoint if you know exactly what you're getting in for and expecting nothing more. And who knows, maybe you'll be surprised by some of the things the team behind this film has done. Because I was sure as hell impressed by it, despite being what it is.

SCORE: 7/10 - I was genuinely entertained and moved by this film, because I know what it is and expect nothing more from it

Let's Remake Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS PURELY A "WHAT IF" SCENARIO AND NOT REAL. JUST PURE FUN. SO READ, THINK, COMMENT, THEN MOVE ON.

My Opinion of the Movie

I'm going to state this first and foremost that I am a HUGE fan of director Zack Snyder. He may not exactly make the greatest movies in the world but I will never call any of them terrible. Though his original concept film Sucker Punch nearly made me deem it his only true terrible film. I enjoyed the visuals. The anime vibe. The Heavy Metal vibe. The girls. The samurai. The Germans. The Dragon. The Robots. But most importantly of all, the potential story that was there.

It had a good idea: a young girl is placed in a world where she is exploited and uses her imagination to make her strong enough to escape that world. Sounds good on paper. But it takes a lot to pull it off. 

So let's Remake It... The Story That Is

The first thing I want to point out is that I had no problem with the cast of the film. I am aware that Amanda Seyfried was suppose to play the main role but was happy that Emily Browning was casted. Mainly because during the year Sucker Punch came out, Amanda was in almost everything so it was nice to see a different girl in this one. So I'm sticking with the cast. Emily Browning (Babydoll), Jena Malone (Rocket), Abbie Cornish (Sweetpea), Jaime Chung (Amber), Vanessa Hudgens (Blondie), Oscar Isaacs (Blue), Carla Gugino (Gorski) and Scott Glenn (Wise Man). I know Jon Hamm plays an integral role in the film and a major role in the film's director's cut, but lets see if this story still needs that role.

The basics

In the original film a girl gets sent to a mental asylum after accidentally killing her little sister during an attempt to stop her evil step father from doing god knows what to them. Once there, the asylum all of a sudden with no explanation turns into a brothel/club that exploits women in numerous ways. She is forced to become a dancer and whenever she dances she enters a fantasy world that reflects what is going on with her at the moment. She plots to escape the asylum, for no other reason than wanting to escape the asylum. She goes about doing this with the help of the star dancer and her sister along with two other girls. The lead girl dances to distract the owners and patrons of the brothel from what her cohorts are doing. Their actions are represented through the fantasy sequences. Things go horribly wrong and most of them wind up dead leaving the lead girl and the star as the ones left standing. She comes to the conclusion that the Star is the one who deserves to escape and sacrifices herself so that the star does so. During that sacrifice it reverts back to the asylum where it is revealed that she has been lobotomized and in a figurative sense has been set free.

That's pretty much what happened in the film. Now, while the fantasy elements do stand out pretty damn well on their own, they seem really out of place in the movie. A lot of pieces are there but none of them actually thought through. Now, let met give a rundown of how I personally would've made the story or would've like to see the story go:

The Remake

The beginning is the same. A mother dies. She is survived by her two children. Daughters: Babydoll (Emily Browning) and Babydoll's sister. Their stepfather believes he will inherit the mother's money only to discover that it will only go to the children. Now, in the original film it was kind of ambiguous as to what he was going to do them. The film suggests rape, but in context that wouldn't necessarily help him take the money. The stepfather knocks out Babydoll and then brings her to a Brothel owned by a mobster named Blue Jones, a man who collects special cases. The stepfather bribes Blue to ensure that she will be incapable of speaking, to which Blue accepts.

The Brothel is revealed to be a meeting point for several worlds. There are fantasy characters, sci-fi characters, and noir characters populating the Brothel. The girls of the brothel all look like they're human but in reality they all belonged to a different world. Babydoll at first believes that she has truly gone insane but becomes completely convinced that it is true when she looks out the windows to see different worlds.

This is where we start to get into the weird realms. From here, it is mainly about Babydoll wanting to escape to get revenge on her Stepfather.  That is the key component that I see missing from the original film. She wants to escape, but her reason for escaping is not clearly defined. Her mission should be to escape and get revenge from her Stepfather. From there it could go into this whole "how do I escape a realm that exists outside of reality?" That poses a powerful obstacle for her to go through. That is where the roles of the other girls come in.

They will still play a role in her escape but it would have more to do with discovering how to shift back to their respective realities. One of the girls can come from the Steampunk WWI reality, another from the Heavy Metal Fantasy reality, then the Cyberpunk reality. Part of the plot could be that in order to enter the reality they must get past a security system specifically meant for that reality. Which is where these boss fights will come in. Each boss defeated allows each girl to escape.

When it finally reaches that point where Babydoll gets to escape the asylum it reverts back to her world and she finds her stepfather. She gets her revenge on him in almost a high fantasy battle which ends with the death of her stepfather as well as her recapture.

That is when the revelation shows the big twist from the movie, she has really gone insane but used those insanities in order to stay strong to accomplish her mission. The girls that helped her all escaped the asylum and are living the lives that they see fit.

Would that have been better?

The remake I suggested sound convoluted but even then, there's no denying that some form of story can be told from this concept. Just because my vision doesn't exactly add up doesn't mean that there is no other way to do it. This is just one of many.

The big question is. If you have to. How would you do it?