San Andreas - movie review

I first saw San Andreas in theaters, and I remember having a blast with it—so much so that I decided to revisit it recently. Even on a rewatch, it holds up as a solid piece of popcorn entertainment.

We Love a Good Disaster

Disaster movies have always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. They let you shut off real-world worries and get swept up in pure spectacle, with larger-than-life scenarios that keep you glued to the screen. San Andreas fits neatly into that tradition, much like The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, both of which thrive on jaw-dropping destruction and moments that make you catch your breath.

The Simple Plot

The story itself is simple but effective: after a massive earthquake devastates California, rescue pilot Ray (Dwayne Johnson) sets out on a desperate mission to save his estranged wife, played by Carla Gugino (Gerald's Game), and their daughter.

That family focus gives the movie an emotional core that helps balance out all the crumbling skyscrapers and collapsing bridges. It reminded me a lot of how Twister centered its tornado mayhem around the relationship between its two leads, or how Armageddon tied world-ending stakes to a father-daughter bond.

What are those buildings made of?

Sure, the science is wildly exaggerated—entire cities falling like dominoes, tsunamis racing through San Francisco—but that’s part of the genre’s DNA.

It’s no more far-fetched than Manhattan freezing solid in The Day After Tomorrow or the earth’s crust shifting in 2012. The trick is that once you surrender to the spectacle, the movie does its job: it keeps you entertained.

It's not just Cities Falling Apart

What helps San Andreas stand out is how it blends that spectacle with moments of intimacy. Johnson and Gugino have a surprisingly grounded chemistry amid all the chaos, which makes their survival journey more engaging than it has any right to be.

Like many disaster films, the movie leans on the “ordinary family caught in extraordinary circumstances” formula, but it does so with enough heart to keep you invested.

A Good Escape

Ultimately, San Andreas isn’t trying to reinvent the genre, but it’s a fun and satisfying entry in it.

If you enjoyed the planet-sized disasters of 2012 or even the survival drama of newer shows like La Brea, this one hits the same sweet spot: a mix of adrenaline, escapism, and just enough human drama to make the destruction matter.

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