Nothing can save “San Andreas” from the fact that its founding premise is so shaky the entire movie collapses like a building in the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Rescue worker Ray (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and his estranged wife Emma (Carla Gugino) alternate between talking about past trauma and how their family is falling apart traveling up the state to rescue their daughter Blake.

Meanwhile, Caltech seismology professor Lawrence (Paul Giamatti) promotes his newly proven theorem that predicts earthquakes. despite the fact that it’s not actually possible to predict earthquakes.

Johnson comes off as both sensitive and devoted to his family and he’s a generic enough protagonist to get behind.

Gugino plays Emma as the stereotypical wife, though her lines manage to pass the Bechdel test.

The romance between Blake (Alexandria Daddario) and Ben (Hugo Johnston-Burt) with the requisite kid third-wheel, Ollie (Art Parkinson), has shallow chemistry. Parkinson, does a surprisingly good job of freaking out about all of the strange events going on.

It’s hard to notice anything good about this movie while you’re stuck wondering, Hollywood, how did you so badly understanding California? Earthquakes don’t work like that. The San Andreas fault doesn’t create jagged trenches in the earth.

All Hollywood would need is a sixth-grade science education to understand this, or better yet, they could have googled pictures of the Loma Prieta earthquake to understand the effect a real 6.9 earthquake had on San Francisco.

Building codes have been updated since then, so all of the building toppling sideways wouldn’t happen. No part of this movie is remotely plausible.

It seems like ostensibly, the family reunions are important to the script writers, as they detail backstories and confessions that tap gently on your feelings.

In the end, it’s probably a good idea to at least be somewhat terrified of the natural disaster that is this movie. Maybe take an emergency preparedness class afterwards, or scare yourself with some horrifying earthquake history.

If you’re not from California, go see this movie. Be scared of the disaster that lurks directly beneath your daily lives. If you are from California, be prepared to complain the entire time you’re watching, because you learned how this worked in elementary school.

On a scale of theaters-buy-rent-pirate: maybe rent this later, if you have nothing better to do. If this wasn’t specifically an earthquake movie, “San Andreas” could easily pose as an empty action movie in which the special effects are the only thing worth remembering.