"San Andreas" is the type of movie I expected to be just like most of the other mega-disaster/ big wave that engulfs all / unprecedented event movies that we've seen countless times, replete with an over abundance of artificial looking CG effects. However, I actually found myself very much enjoying the ride, in part due to the undeniable charm and brawn of Dwayne Johnson, who, after past missteps like "The Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island", has at last arrived on the cinematic action stage, finally ready to have the "Action King" crown firmly placed upon his head.

The last three Fast and Furious movies certainly upped the anty on Johnson's power screen cred, and "San Andreas" definitely gives him a mission worth joining; finding his daughter and saving his marriage against the staggering effects of a west coast-shattering earthquake. And those effects, unlike your run-of-the-mill Roland Emmerich-type disaster fare that everyone has gotten quite tired of, are definitely compelling, and at times awe-inspiring in their roll-out when put against a sparse story and characters you actually can care about, even just enough to enjoy the disaster/adventure.

The first scene in the movie, detailing a teenage girl's drive along a dangerous hillside pass in the hills of Los Angeles, almost seems to call out that being on a cell phone, searching through your car and texting, all while driving near oncoming traffic, is cool and accepted; talk about an irresponsible message! The next moment she is hit by a rock slide and goes into a massive opening in the ground brought on by an unexpected brief earthquake.

Coming to the rescue of this scared helpless girl and her crashed car that are about to be swallowed up by the Earth, we are introduced to Dwayne Johnson's character, Ray Gaines, a Los Angeles helicopter rescue pilot who has recently been served divorce papers by his wife, Emma (Carla Gugino), now about to move in with a new boyfriend (Ioan Gruffudd), to the concern of daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario). Yes, it's a classic tale of "will the disaster that's about to unfold bring everyone back together, or will someone perhaps die by adventure's end?". Done before? Of course! Is this a great movie? Not altogether. But that still does not diminish the thrill ride handily provided in the adventure up the coast of quake-ravaged California.

Thanks to Dwayne Johnson's always winning personality, and I mean that sincerely, we don't get mired down too much in carnage and death, instead observing these shocking events almost with a lighter touch.

As the just united Ray and Emma come away from horrific events in downtown Los Angeles (an epic sequence in itself), on an air and road trip to find their daughter in San Francisco to the north, Blake, who is trapped in a building's underground garage and abandoned by her asshole stepdad, is rescued by a young Brit lad (newcomer Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his younger kid brother (Art Parkinson from "Game of Thrones") that she's just met pre-quake before the older's first interview with Blake's stepdad's major company. It's a movie-length budding friendship/potential romance that you feel at ease staying with because the characters are reasonably likable.

I was surprised to see Paul Giamatti signing up for this kind of blown out disaster movie, who does not have one scene with Johnson or his family. As a seismologist, he provides the warning signs and technical explanations in the story for what is about to, and does happen to California from Los Angeles to San Francisco to the Hoover Dam in Nevada; a location where Giamatti's character experiences the beginnings of the series of giant earthquakes.

On a side note, I was almost waiting for Christopher Reeve's Superman to come swooping around the corners of the rocks to save the dam, just as he had done in "Superman, The Movie". The landmark vision of the dam will always bring memories of that scene.

"San Andreas" is a rollercoaster ride that's fun to be on, and certainly the most enjoyable with Dwayne Johnson jumping, swimming, driving, breaking glass, flying helicopters, planes and driving boats to save his wife and daughter. It's a big popcorn movie that should be viewed as such. With that in mind, you'll have a surprisingly enjoyable, at times edge-of-your-seat experience.