'San Andreas' Movie Review Starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

— -- Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Rated PG-13

Two-and-a-half out of five stars

Is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson an impressive action star? Yes and no. Lately, he has had moments when it seems he’s on the verge of becoming an above-average actor. Then he backslides.

I found Johnson backsliding a bit in "San Andreas," though I by no means think he’s bad. He’s charming and has excellent comedic timing, but some of his more emotional scenes aren’t quite as believable as they need to be. Then again, they work for an audience that just wants to watch perfectly rendered earthquake destruction and doesn’t mind an unbelievable, ham-fisted story that has more plot holes than the moon has craters.

Quick synopsis: Johnson plays Ray, a helicopter pilot for the Los Angeles Fire Department whose personal life is in turmoil. His wife, Emma (Carla Gugino), is divorcing him and dating a rich guy she’s about to move in with, along with Ray’s daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario). Ray was scheduled to take Blake to her volleyball tournament, but that was before a massive earthquake in Nevada requires all first responders on deck, even in Los Angeles. But no worries -- Emma’s rich boyfriend will fly Blake to her tournament on his private plane.

What’s a handsome, mountain-of-a-man with a thousand-watt smile supposed to do? Sulk a bit, return to his heroic job and then call Emma from his chopper to apologize. Conveniently, Emma’s having lunch on the roof of a downtown skyscraper when the first devastating earthquake hits Los Angeles. And off we go.

The plot, the beats, the character arcs? They all seem like they come from a Hollywood build-your-own-disaster movie kit. Yet as dumb as the story gets, Gugino and Paul Giamatti, who plays a Caltech seismologist, turn in terrific performances. Solid as her career has been to date, Gugino’s best days as an actress may be ahead of her. It was almost a disservice to Johnson to put him in emotional scenes with someone whose game is so good.

Daddario, yet another actress in her late 20s who’s asked to play somebody roughly 10 years younger, is also a gem.

But "San Andreas" isn’t about the acting. It’s disaster porn on another level. I’m not talking about the cheap disaster porn you can download for free. I’m talking about premium disaster porn you need a subscription for, and don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. The destruction is a work of art; we’re talking other-level CGI. It’s jaw-dropping, and if you love that sort of thing, you’ll eat it up.

If you also love intelligent movies? Not so much.