This movie was probably the fifth or sixth disaster movie to come out in 1997. If the advertisements did not tell you what it was about, anyone could have guessed since all the disaster films have pretty much the same ingredients. There is always the clever scientist who tries in vain to tell everyone what is coming and no one believes them, except everyone in the audience, who gapes at the stubborn denial, or idiocy, of the other characters. Anne Heche tries to warn us that there is a volcano about to erupt under the city of Los Angeles, and we all know what that means! That she will try to warn people who won't listen until it is too late, and then they all wish that they had. We know we will see the moments of personal sacrifice and watch those who seem to only care about themselves start caring for others. Those who enjoy disaster films for just these reasons will not be disappointed.

However, here is where the story differs. The character who knew so much before actually turns into the one with the wrong ideas about what to do next. Her ideas are not as daring, but certainly more practical. The man who actually comes to save the day is played by Tommy Lee Jones, in the kind of role that was either written for him, or else re-written for him once he signed on. He is reminiscent of the character he played in "The Fugitive" where you believe that anyone would shut up and listen to whatever he tells them to do. If it wasn't for his presence and command, you would laugh when he, dressed in plain-clothes, leads a group of firefighters and policemen into stopping a flow of lava from travelling through Los Angeles. The rescue workers really looked a little too spread out and worried about other things for me to believe that they would actually stop and follow his orders.

The whole film gave me the impression of originally being a mini-series. You know the type, where the leads all seem to end up in ground zero of the disaster, and yet their friends and relatives all end up in the most danger. Fortunately, we are spared the romantic interludes and re-united loves that a true mini-series would have had. Another factor with the mini-series that does rear its unimaginative head here is that all the regular minorities go through their predictable motions (black sidekicks, asian-american doctor, white racist cop, etc.).

There were a couple of graphic deaths in the movie that were shocking. Burnt, and partially burnt flesh is almost always stomach turning. Most of the characters in the movie were highly bothered seeing these corpses as well. These images were balanced however, by a number of workers standing mere feet away from the rushing lava and not seeming to be very concerned about the danger. Of course the extras didn't know where the special-effects lava would actually be, but still I have seen it done a lot better.

The movie also seemed to be geologically incorrect with many of the ways it showed us volcanic action. The lava changed direction and speeds depending upon the needs of the plot. There was also a distinct lack of sulfur fumes. Also, there were some lava balls that seemed only to explode nearby after hitting cars or entering a building. It was an interesting choice to call the movie "Volcano" since we never really do see a volcano. Just the molten lava and debris that a fissure would release. With the special effects of day, I would think they would want to do a big CGI volcano erupting from under the city streets toppling downtown Los Angeles. If the film were made today, they probably would have.

One last problem I had with the film was the ending. It wanted to be a happy ending where everything turned out all right. However, it just didn't seem all that happy to me. I would have foreseen a lot more deaths and destruction due to the fires that must still be raging. There should also have been a lot more underground destruction due to the fact that the subway and sewer systems were filled with lava.

Deep down, I guess I probably didn't mind having a happy ending too much, since the film never really made me care or feel that anyone was in any danger anyway.

This review was originally written on 5/19/97.



Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12