6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie PanjabiAction | 100% |
Adventure | 83% |
Thriller | 17% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Chinese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
San Andreas doesn't cover new ground. If anything, it unearths new ground by practically wiping San Francisco off the map, but its core story is one that's been around the cinema block many, many times before. Disaster strikes, family man does everything within his power to save his loved ones. Not the world, just his family. It's that intimacy that helps set the movie apart, that sense of tight-knit, believable family set against a sprawling disaster epic that may be the best of its kind, visually and dramatically both. It doesn't put movies like 2012 to shame, but it does improve on the formula by demonstrating a rare, evenly keeled balance between the raw aesthetics of destruction and grounded human interest storytelling. This film thrives on the juxtaposition of its ugly (in a good way) and complicated visual effects against a beautiful and simple story of love, separation, and the desperate quest for reunification. It's a remarkable achievement in technical wizardry but also a classically styled and relatable story of the bonds of family, all explored in a relatively grounded manner in which the hero isn't a superhero, just a human being driven by an unflappable determination, and, yes, some muscle and skill that help him along the way.
Cities fall. Oceans rise. Will hope survive?
San Andreas' Blu-ray 3D presentation satisfies with its added depth but lags behind the superior 2D-only release in several key areas. First, the 3D effects are fairly impressive. General depth is always evident, whether considering wide-open spaces, like vast city or land overheads, or more intimate, confined spaces like the helicopter interior. There's an obvious, and welcome, sense of shape and place to everything throughout the movie, real and digital alike. Various holes and chasms reveal a nice amount of natural depth, too. Minor crosstalk effects were noted during the screening. The image is a little less impressive when considering its general qualities. It's a fair bit more washed out than the 2D presentation. Colors generally lack the boldness and stability found there. Blacks are noticeably more fatigued, as is most anything that's not a blazing color, like the red seen on the helicopter. Additionally, the transfer suffers from a few blips of minor banding, evident primarily in the most complicated smoky shots, and shows a few examples of aliasing, the most prominent being around the 9:35 mark on a classroom railing. On the positive side of the ledger, details remain sharp and intricate -- clothing and faces in particular -- but there's a softness to the image not present in 2D, including several visual effects shots (see a man dangling off a piece of debris outside a restaurant at the 38:10 mark) and various smeary edges (see the above-referenced classroom scene a minute or so later when the lights come up). Watching in 3D makes for a fun ride, but the movie plays just as well in 2D and, even without that added depth, looks better, too.
San Andreas rocks and rattles and dazzles with a precise, completely immersive, and powerfully robust Dolby Atmos soundtrack. This
review,
however, pertains only to the "core" Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack (one can only imagine the detail and immersion the added speakers in an
Atmos setup would provide a movie like this). Yet even without those overhead objects, this track is certainly no slouch and is, in fact, one of the
finest listens available on Blu-ray. The opening music envelops the listening area with an impressively balanced full-stage presentation, defined by
impeccable instrumental details that reveal the finest subtleties in each of the orchestral sections. Almost immediately afterward, the listening
audience
gets a taste of what's to come with the movie in a spectacular car crash that fills the soundstage with an impressive amount of flying debris, twisting
metal, and general crashing and sonic mayhem, all of it remarkably precise in definition and placement in the stage, leaving the listener almost
feeling
the wreckage and fearing the worst. But it's in the various scenes of absolute earthquake destruction where the track really shines. It's heavy and
rumbly -- the kind of weight and power that shakes the ribcage -- and, despite the intensity and raw volume, comes packed with sonic nuance that
doesn't
just throw sound around but that defines it as perfectly aurally as the movies accomplishes visually. That attention to detail not only enhances the
quality of the listen, but
also the movie. Other elements are outstanding, such as the weighty, whirling helicopter or blaring tsunami warning sirens that blast later in the
movie.
Dialogue is outstanding, enjoying natural center placement, perfect articulation, and consistent prioritization, even in the film's most chaotic
moments.
This is a legitimate reference track, a phrase that's no stranger to movies like this but considering the dazzling level of sonic detail, this is easily one
of
the top handful of listens available on the format and up there with the likes of Fury as a contender for finest available.
The audio and subtitle specs listed at the top of this page reflect the 3D version only. See the 2D release page for specifications unique to that
disc.
San Andreas contains a commentary, deleted scenes, and a few featurettes, all included on the 2D-only disc. A UV digital copy voucher
(expiration date 10/20/18) and a
DVD copy of the film are included
with purchase. Note that no 3D-exclusive extras are included.
San Andreas may be the perfect combination of popcorn flick meets human interest drama meets special effects spectacular. Director Brad Peyton nails it -- he absolutely nails it -- by way of finding that expertly balanced middle ground in which all the pieces come harmoniously into focus, altogether and for the duration. It's first and foremost a solidly constructed story of family bonds and the unbreakable spirit to save and survive. It's also a technical achievement of the highest order, a precisely constructed masterpiece of complex digital filmmaking seamlessly integrated with real characters and key set pieces. The picture is moving but a blast to watch. Essentially, it's everything audiences could want from a summertime popcorn muncher. Bring a few tissues and be ready to applaud the effort, too. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray 3D release of San Andreas presents the same supplements and excellent audio as the 2D-only release and yields an accomplished third dimension, but it comes at the expense of the tight, practically perfect definition of the 2D-only release. San Andreas isn't necessarily a better movie in 3D -- 2D works perfectly well -- but it's a fairly fun watch in 3D. Recommended with the caveat that the 2D version is likely to see much more play than the 3D, which feels more like an exciting novelty and less the "right way" to watch the movie.
2015
2015
2015
Lenticular Slipcover / Bonus Content
2015
2015
Collectible Movie Card Included
2015
Instawatch
2015
Folded Mini Poster
2015
2015
with Ready Player One Movie Money
2015
2015
2009
2015
2004
2014
2013
2020
2011
2016
2018
20th Anniversary Edition
1996
2006
2015
Director's Cut
2009
2014
2012
2018
2018
2012
2017
2023