Everyone’s talking about it: The Rock, or Dwayne Johnson as you’ll equally know him, is hotly tipped for an Oscar score for his starring role in The Smashing Machine.
The big man has been at it for years, though, coming from wrestling into acting and, like the title of aforementioned movie, absolutely smashing it – he’s been the best-paid actor in the world for a number of years.
But if you rewind the clock, you can tune into a bit of older The Rock action, as his 2015 smash-hit, San Andreas – and, no, it has nothing to do with GTA 6 – is storming Netflix’s chart, looking as though it’s quickly rising to the no.1 spot.
The movie is classic mega Hollywood; all big special effects and total chaos. It’s about California’s San Andreas fault, the fault line that’s widely expected to present a large quake sometime in the near future – as it’s long overdue.
In the movie, however, there’s no waiting: a mag 9 quake erupts – that being the largest in history, theoretically – seeing not only California, but much of the Earth crack open.
Cue Ray Gaines (Johnson), an LA Fire Department helicopter pilot, whose job is to navigate the mayhem, helping to rescue people from the destruction. As you can see from the trailer, that involves dodging lots of crumbling buildings.
There’s a heart to the story, too, of course, with his estranged wife (Carla Gugino) and their daughter (Alexandra Daddario) being the pair he must get to safety. If anyone’s got it, The Rock has.
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But while it’s rapidly rising up the Netflix chart, it’s never been particularly high up the critical reception chart. San Andreas has a mere 48% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, for example, showing it’s never been widely loved.
But if you do love big action movies then this is one unflinching, special effects-focused Hollywood belter that, should you have never seen it before, is worth strapping in for the once around.
If anything, it shows how far The Rock has come. Johnson’s acting career has gone from strength to strength and, with The Smashing Machine looking like truly credible work, you’ve got to wonder if he’d ever have achieved such heights without putting the baseline work in prior.
That, in some respects, is where San Andreas fits into the equation. It never won an Oscar, but nobody ever expected it to. Now, 10 years after its launch, it almost brings new meaning to The Rock’s career – and is well worth a watch on Netflix, which continues to be one of the best streaming services.
