San Andreas, The Rock’s latest big-budget disaster film, is drawing a ton of mixed reactions from the critical press prior to its public release this Friday.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune praised the action-thriller for the sincerity of several of its characters, including British actors Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson for their “bizarrely effective comic relief.”
A.O. Scott of the New York Times called the film’s special effects “dull and routine”, but clarified that the problem comes more from a genre filled with massive CGI effects. On the other hand, the Boston Globe’s Tom Russo puts over San Andreas’ action scenes and destruction montages, singling out the computer-generated devestation of Los Angeles and San Franciso.
The film currently sits at a pre-release score of 6.5 on IMDB, and 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means a little more than half the critics enjoyed the film. It holds a 41 Metascore, with 9 positive reviews, 14 mixed reviews and 12 negative reviews, but those numbers could all change drastically when the movie hits theaters tomorrow.
San Andreas should easily top the box office this week, as its only first-run competition comes in the form of Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone romantic comedy Aloha. The film is projected to do an estimate $40 million-plus this weekend, more than last weekend’s major releases, including George Clooney’s Tomorrowland, Pitch Perfect 2 and Mad Max: Fury Road.
WRESTLEZONE READERS: If you’re planning on seeing The Rock’s latest action flick this weekend, please consider sending me your thoughts, at Mike.Killam@wrestlezone.com. The deadline to get them in is Saturday, 11:59PM PST.
