MovieChat Forums > Volcano (1997) Discussion > Volcano: 20 Years Later

Volcano: 20 Years Later

posted 8 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8859)
20 replies | jump to latest

I've been on a disaster movie kick lately and ended up watching this one last night.

It was . . . okay. The effects are good. Tommy Lee Jones is obviously good. But I dunno, the LA setting just couldn't match the beautiful natural scenery of Dante's Peak or the grandeur of New York in The Day After Tomorrow. Nor did the characters have the charm of Twister. And calling it Volcano seemed like something of a misnomer. Lava: The Movie would've been better.

While I suppose it might scratch the itch of a disaster movie fanatic who has seen everything else, I put it pretty low on the list. Go watch Twister or Dante's Peak or even Deep Impact instead.

5.5/10

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Dante’s Peak is a masterpiece compared to this junk. LA was a terrible setting. This film reminds me of Earthquake, another bad disaster film from another era.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8859) 6 years ago

Yeah, I would definitely put Volcano pretty low on the totem pole of modern disaster movies. I wouldn't say it's the worst--it's still much more watchable than The Core, for instance--but it's a film that I doubt I will ever revisit.

Twister is still the best in my opinion, and I have my doubts about it ever being beat.

Dante's Peak is probably #2.

Volcano comes in somewhere near the bottom of the list.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

More watchable than The Core? So much for your judgment! Go watch it again and appreciate it for what it's for.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8859) 6 years ago

The Core is a terrible movie. Just atrocious.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

It's so awful there's a certain amount of entertainment value in it, but not enough.

"Volcano" is so bad it's good, but "The Core" is so bad it's just unbelievably bad.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8859) 6 years ago

Exactly.

I tried to rewatch it a little while back and give it another chance, but nope, it's a total piece of shit.

I'm not a huge fan of Volcano either, but it's definitely a more entertaining and enjoyable film than The Core.

I'm surprised to see that the Core has a 40% on RT. It's shocking to me that nearly half of all reviewers turned in a positive review for that thing.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

I always preferred "Volcano" to "Dante's Peak", because it's so much sillier. The LA landmarks, TL Jones barely able to keep a straight face, the slogan "The Coast is Toast", the horse bedding falling from the sky*, the total defiance of the sciences of geology and physics, what's not to love?

Okay, I do understand that some people prefer films that at least pretend to be serious, but I can't recommend "DP" as either a serious film or camp, it's just not very good. At least "Volcano" works as camp.

* No, really! I went to see the movie with a friend who rides horses, and she said that the "volcanic ash" falling from the sky was really a kind of horse bedding that's made from recycled paper. We already thought it was a silly movie, but from that point on it was a struggle to keep from laughing out loud in a crowded theater.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7993) 6 years ago

I liked Volcano when I first watched it as a kid. I haven't seen it in a long time though. Ought to see it again.

[–] johnmiller (4011) 4 years ago

This movie is TREMENDOUSLY silly! But, I enjoy everyone's commitment to it. To me, it's a lot of over-the-top fun. And, honestly, ending with Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."? Come on! :-)

[–] howgamer (3989) 3 years ago

I've always preferred Dante's Peak. The effects they did in that with miniatures was outstanding.

[–] alexjohans0n (2094) 3 years ago

Lava: The Movie LOL

[–] quartz (482) a year ago

was this about the time when Hollywood was showing off their latest trick of trashing an entire street from one end?

Independence Day - an explosion consumes an entire street, viewing as it comes towards you
Deep Impact - a tidal wave consumes an entire street, viewing as it comes towards you
Volcano - lava consumes an entire street, viewing as it comes towards you

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15124) a year ago

What's interesting was, this film was part of another case of "dueling disaster films," because "Dante's Peak" came out around this time period too. To be fair, this film wasn't as good as "Dante's Peak," but it's okay as far as disaster films go. I found it fascinating that a volcano that's later named "Mount Wilshire" forms in the La Brea Tar Pits.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8859) a year ago

Dante's Peak is definitely the superior film. I re-watched both a few years ago and Dante's Peak still holds up pretty well. It's a bit of a slow-burn but the practical effects for the big finale near the end still look amazing.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15124) a year ago

It's true, of the two, "Dante's Peak" is better because of better-written characters and character development, which was a little bit lacking in "Volcano." The action scenes were also way less cartoony and believable in the former. However, compared to disaster films of the mid-to-late 2000s, "Volcano" is "better" in terms of interesting story-telling, even if it's not top-notch.