Volcano (1997)

Lava lurks in La La Land

Pity us poor Los Angelinos! Already suffering thru hellish traffic, mudslides, forest fires, earthquakes, looting, veggie burgers, actors, the L.A. Clippers. And, now, friggin' lava spewing out of the La Brea Tar Pits!! Thank the Googly Moogly that there's a geologist scientist on the alert (Anne Heche) and that the ever resourceful Tommy Lee Jones is around to ramrod L.A.'s Office of Emergency Management. Even if he's stuck babysitting his sullen teenaged daughter.

VOLCANO is a cheesy but fun disaster movie, elevated by its lighthearted, self-deprecating touches and its actors' performances. It's a flimsy premise - subterranean tremors cause lava to erupt to the surface and threatens to lay waste to that mecca of glitz and self-absorption - and it's far-fetched enough that it's hard to take things too seriously, even if several characters do die horribly (and, in some cases, heroically). As per usual to disaster flicks, the cast's various personal human drama plays out in the catastrophic backdrop.

Anne Heche and Don Cheadle are fine, but it's Tommy Lee Jones who centers the film, what with him again lending that aura of weathered, no-nonsense practicality. There's no one quite so reliable as Jones in embodying calm and resilience in the maelstrom. When Anne Heche grimly declares: "We are dealing with very determined stuff here." she was referring to the lava. But that statement applies to Jones's character as well. And, here, he's even a good dad.

The CG and props and miniature models give the film a good look, although, not having seen much lava in person, I can't attest to how convincing it appears on screen (but I bought into it). There's an undercurrent of tongue-in-cheek in the devastation brought down on L.A.'s landmarks (oh, the poor Wilshire Blvd. district). And, bless the hardworking firefighters, but, in retrospect, it's pretty ridiculous watching their efforts to cool down the lava with water hoses.

I said this film was cheesy, so try not to roll your eyes at the preachy moments, which may have been well-intentioned but end up sorta insulting and heavy-handed ("Look at the faces. They all look the same."). Enjoy this for what it is, which is an entertaining, lightweight disaster flick with all its predictable tropes, but with the added hook of portions of Los Angeles getting squashed. Relish Tommy Lee Jones's reliable performance and his chemistry with Don Cheadle, and even Anne Heche's moxie. As the film ends, with the camera panning to a startling shot of the spanking new Mount Wilshire (status: ACTIVE), the end credits proceed to roll out to, what else, Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." That's pretty perfect. December 6, 2008

The perfect volcano - Tar Pits, drain tunnel, in the ocean.

. The movie starts with a emergency at St Vincent Hospital followed by an earthquake

2. "I hate that when that happens." Californians deal with disaster like it was common event, says the News anchor women reporter.

3. "Not to panic, please stay calm. Small to moderate earth quake in palmdale"

4. Mike is director of the Office of emergency management. It Mikes day off with his daughter.

5. Career heavy, Mike should be on vacation, divorced, and spending time with Kelley his only daughter.

6. Post earthquake, phone and power lines are up.

7. Speculation that a new fault system exists under Los Angels system.

8. Gas explosion in the MacArthur park, 7 deaths, thought initially to be an erupted steam pipe, but later reported as unknown.

9. Your not happy if you not declaring an emergency.

10. 30,000 people think they are taking the train tonight, says the Rail construction chief.

11. 5 feet of concrete walls in the storm drain, hot gases kill 7 public works individuals

12. Mike yells, "Find me a geologist"

13.Mojave desert 60 miles away, earthquake

14. Volcano lava flow starts in the tar pits

15. Mike declares the disaster level 1

16. Daughter, Kelly with 2nd degree burn

17. Dr J colter transports injured firemen rescued and Mikes daughter to the hospital.

18. The daugher screams "I promise I won't get in the way" as she is transported away.

19. Lava snaking its way down stanley avenue.

20. It is a warzone. Grey ash starts to fall.

21. Watch the Lava bombs and see where it will land.

22. The geologist wants to evaculate the westside, a million people, from lava stream that will extend too the ocean. Mike knows this is an impossible plan consider the speed of the lava flow.

23. Mike says "run to the hills and hide, I can't do that", a battle against the lava

24. The geolist tells Mike, the main eruption has not occurred

25. Public works to create concrete barrackads.

26. The Geologist says, "We are dealing with very determined stuff." Plan one, try to cool the lava and create a crust. It is a miracle. Hundreds of firefighter, water drops, and a concrete barrier manage to freeze the lava flow. They have accomplished the impossible.

27. There has to be a source, something feeding this. However, the lava is moving from the drain system, installed, and moving fast.

28. I want to be like Mike, red line subway, Holly Hill storm drain, onto the ocean, extend 200 yards, in 20 minutes. The contours are wrong, plan fails. The Hospital and its 2,000 occupants are at risk.

29. New plan, knock a new 20 story building (accross from the Beverly center) down by precision explosion and create a rubble dam, in 20 minutes, and divert the lava to the ocean.

30. The desparate strategy paid off. The lava diverted the ocean.Mike, Kelly, and the little boy are Ok. The volcano is shutting down. Look at their faces they all look the same
October 25, 2008

Is there a forewoman somewhere?

A catastrophe film has a simple formula. A perfectly beautiful situation. Los Angeles. With a hint of a problem. Earthquakes. Then some small elements that could lead to something else and a few geologists to prove it with theories that prove nothing but create anxiety. The geologists are women and that adds a touch of male-chauvinism when all the men (and they are only men, firemen, policemen, all kind of city workers and underground operators and security people, men, men and men again, and if you can find women they are geologists, doctors, nurses, news journalists, but not security personnel, though there might be one or two on the fringes but not in the middle of the action) of the security services don't believe her. Add to that a few simple but strongly emotional personal situations like a "single" father and his 13 year old daughter caught in the mess, and a couple more elements like that, even a couple of dogs, and you have what you need to create an emotional and fascinating catastrophe film. The rest is just special effects and there no one is better than catastrophe film makers to get these special effects right. So the catastrophe that has one chance in a million years to happen can be imagined in Los Angeles, but not too hard though like the volcanic eruptions that created Japan or those that submerged northern India with an immense basaltic plateau a couple of miles thick. Just a small little thing but right in the middle of LA with the underground as one of the main in-going avenues, along with Wilshire boulevard or whatever, for the lava to seize the city from underground. Spectacular. The heroes are set in extremely dangerous situations and miraculously saved by fate. The film you need in order to imagine the end of the world on a largo pianissimo level of intensity. We keep the vivace prestissimo for when it will really happen.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
August 10, 2008

BAD

This is just a bad movie. Despite the big names it has a B-movie feel to it. The effects look cheap and unreal. The dialogue is often sappy. I mean really, really sappy. Take for example the ending where everyone is covered in ash, and a child observes that they all look the same. What a heart-touching racial commentary. Gag me with a spoon! One more thing, the announcer's voice sounds like that of the annoying troll from TMZ and Court TV, Harvey Levin. July 15, 2008

Volcano

I will tell you up front that the vast majority of disaster movies have a hard time holding my interest. Most are so soaped down with romances I could care less about, that I shut them off after about fifteen minutes. This movie does not suffer from that movie killer affliction and in fact it is one of the few I actually like. Tommy Lee Jones is a great part of the reason. Cast in the lead as the FEMA Director trying to control a Volcano that has erupted in the city, it is well handled and with the normal available resources. Nothing over the top and therefore it earned my respect. Granted they probably could not have handled the real deal as well as they do here, but it didn't seem so outrageously ridiculous as most disaster movies. The action mainly involves Jones, Anne Heche, and their assistants trying to predict the path and scout areas to see if they have been hit and change the flow when necessary. I found the movie moved at a good pace without the undue buildup found in so many disaster movies. This one felt like it moved along from beginning to end. If you enjoyed this be sure to catch "Dante's Peak" and "Twister". Good quality DVD with decent replayability. April 23, 2008

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