San Andreas (2015)

How many vehicles can one guy borrow during a single disaster? Dwayne Johnson’s Ray goes through a helicopter, a pickup truck, a small plane and a boat, and you keep waiting for a hovercraft. The destruction is legit huge, from Los Angeles towers folding over to a wall of water rolling toward the Golden Gate Bridge. The people are cardboard, though. Paul Giamatti spends the whole movie in a lab warning reporters, which is a strange way to use Paul Giamatti. Ioan Gruffudd’s rich boyfriend might as well wear a sign that says do not trust. Alexandra Daddario’s Blake is the best thing here, a smart kid who actually knows how to survive. Millions are in danger, and the movie only cares about three of them. It made $474.6 million worldwide on a reported $110M. A 4.7 because the wreckage is spectacular and everyone inside it is a prop. $381 says you feel your coffee table wobble this week and plan an escape route before you realize it was the dryer.

What works: The destruction is massive and well made, and Alexandra Daddario gives Blake more smarts than the script asks for.

What doesn’t: Every character is a stock type, Paul Giamatti is stuck in a lab, and a city full of people in danger gets ignored for one family.

Who it’s for: Disaster movie fans who want to watch famous landmarks crumble and don’t mind a story held together with tape.