If there's one crushing problem which assails far too many disaster movies, it's pacing: the filmmaker makes you wait, and wait, and wait for the carnage to kick off, such that by the time the mayhem finally starts at the 90-minute mark, you've nearly lost all interest in actually watching it unfold. San Andreas, however, for all of its...faults (pardon the pun), get this one 100% right: after an opening scene which establishes Chief Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson) as a bada** rescue helicopter pilot, there are a few minor introductions to the other principal characters, and by the 15-minute mark, the destruction has already begun. The basic formula of the movie is this: scene of epic carnage, Paul Giamatti explaining what's about to happen, family nonsense, more mayhem, and so on until the pic concludes. It ensures that the film doesn't get too weighed down with drama, nor does it exhaust audiences with relentless action. As such, the potentially cumbersome 114 minute run-time absolutely flies by for the most part.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
