The Quake

A sequel to 2015’s The Wave, The Quake follows Kristoffer Joner’s Kristian Eikjord as he becomes convinced that his hometown of Oslo is on the verge of being destroyed by a deadly earthquake. Filmmaker John Andreas Andersen, working from a script by John Kåre Raake and Harald Rosenløw-Eeg, delivers an often excessively deliberate drama that is, in its first hour, focused almost entirely on Kristian’s growing suspicions and his eventual attempts at warning others, and it’s clear, certainly, that one’s interest does begin to wane considerably in the face of an almost distressingly uneventful atmosphere (and the ongoing emphasis on Kristian’s domestic problems does little to alleviate the far-from-enthralling vibe, as well). There’s little doubt, then, that The Quake improves demonstrably once the title event occurs, as the effectiveness of this stretch, though disappointingly short-lived, paves the way for a third act that boasts a handful of admittedly exciting and tense set-pieces (including a fantastic sequence in which Kristian attempts to save his daughter). The end result is a passable disaster picture that fares just about as well as its hit-and-miss predecessor, which is too bad, really, given the potential inherent in the seemingly foolproof setup.

**1/2 out of ****