Bad Bad Bad pretty much sums up this film. Bad script, bad acting, bad dialogue, bad (NO!) special effects. (Special effects basically consist of what looks like stock footage from the 1970s and a few shots of half-destroyed buildings) It's suppose to be a disaster movie, and boy is it, but not in the way it was intended! How did this get funded? The lead actress looks surprisingly like Mariska Hargitay, but clearly isn't destined for stardom. Says her lines like it's the 1st week of rehearsal. You won't care if any of these people live or die. There is zero sense of urgency for a town and cast about to suffer a level "12" Earthquake! (Seriously? Anyone who paid the least attention in school knows the Richter Scale only goes to ten! Guess they couldn't afford a science consultant..) We kept watching it just to make fun of it! "Oh dear, we must get downtown to rescue so-and-so! But let's not drive down these empty roads over the speed limit!" Clichés abound, from the "wrong side of the tracks" black person to the "rebellious stepdaughter" to the idiotic situations. "Oh dear, we can't possibly evade these two guards by ducking around some cars, let's use these conveniently placed unlocked TUNNELS while the earth is shaking!" I like a good mindless disaster movie, but there's nothing "good" about this flick!

The miracle is that it was actually made by adults. It is one short step up from something one might see at a Junior High School entry to film making presentation made by the worst student in class. The actors, while actually still breathing and showing obvious signs of life, gave performances that would make the petrified forest seem like the forest in Avatar by comparison. One time I saw a puppy being held on a leash run into the street just enough to be hit by a city bus. As the poor animal's leash was ripped from the grip of the hysterical little girl's hand and dragged, yelping in agony, under the wheels of the bus and crushed making the most awful squishing sound as the entrails of the puppy coated the wheels of the bus and the dress of the girl. This was the second most horrible thing I have ever seen, this movie is the first. The special effects were so bad I actually felt bad for the editors who had to watch this several times to edit the film. Most likely the only way the SFX guys could have done such a crappy job was to have done it blindfolded. I will give one piece of credit to the film. The title was successful at fooling me into thinking this was "San Andreas" the one with the Rock...after about an hour it sunk in that I had been had.

Looking for something entertaining to divert myself from more scholarly interests, I fell into San Andreas Quake and had a great time! This movie was crafted to the full extent of its budget. The writing was fresh and modern, all the tricks of saving costs whilst delivering full value were completed successfully (setting one's film in Los Angeles, small core cast, newscaster and IPAD inserts balancing off the costs of special effects). The cast started off a little wooden but got better -- was it shot in sequence? Having lived through the Northridge earthquake myself I was primed for a good romp from the opener and I got it. No spoilers, but you gotta stay tuned to the very last lines, because they're worth the ten grand...

I have one suggestion to the director for any future films. Make sure you hire a continuity director.I mean, after a 5.4 quake in Hollywood, the prescription bottles on the night stand a few scenes later should be on the floor, not neatly arranged. Many other things are wrong with this film.I kept watching just to find all the mistakes.. Kind of fun to watch, but expect a lot of errors. This movie has good stuff and bad stuff. And some ridiculous characters trying to be the "comic relief". Not working.