Periodically fun, but too often tedious. She supplies the scientific insight to what may be happening, and together they devise various schemes to kill the monster, oops, I mean lava. The plausible chemistry between them never becomes overblown, and the usual big fight between the leads never occurs. The second problem with the script concerns the small human melodramas. Whereas the overall logic of the picture is presented plausibly enough for a movie, the unbelievable heroics of the minor actors begin to take a toll on your brain.
Several people agree to certain death only to be a hero.
The dramatics include those of the mandatory child endangerment scene and the one of the dog about to perish. Even though director Mick Jackson cannot save the sagging script, the actors and the special effects keep your attention. He manages to take the film's mundane dialog and breath life into it. His character becomes at once both funny and strong. The script could have paced the long second act better by feeding him some decent humorous fare.