it 's time to take cover .
after a hiatus of about fifteen years , the disaster movie has come back with renewed zest .
in early 1997 , there were no less than three movies about volcanoes alone , one on television and two in the theaters , with dante 's peak and volcano in heavy competition for the moviegoing dollar .
of the two , i had heard that dante 's peak was the better film , so i decided to check it out when it was released on video .
the film begins with a slow motion scene of people in a third world country trying to evacuate their little town .
the town is being covered in ash and sulfuric water from what we presume is a volcanic eruption .
flaming rocks of various sizes also fall from the sky , crushing homes and people .
we see people panicking , people crying , and even horses rearing .
it is a disaster of biblical proportions , signified to us by one person dragging a cross down a road .
symbolism does n't get much more blatant than that .
we learn that harry dalton ( pierce brosnan ) , a volcanologist with the u . s .
geological survey , was there with his wife when the eruption occurred .
harry survived , but his wife did not .
a few years later , harry is sent to investigate some unusual seismic activity detected near the small town of dante 's peak , washington ( which , we are told , has been voted second most desirable place to live ( under 20 , 000 ) by the readers of money magazine ) .
there harry meets rachel wando , a single mother of two who serves as mayor of dante 's peak and proprietor of a small coffee shop .
although the mayor does n't seem to be alarmed by the presence of a man sent to determine if the mountain next to their town is going to blow up , a few members of the city council are .
they are afraid that harry 's presence is going to scare off an investor who has pledged to put millions of dollars into developing dante 's peak .
they would rather have any news of possible stirrings within the neighboring dormant volcano swept under the rug .
however , when an amorous young couple takes a skinny - dip in the local hot springs , they turn up cooked by lava which bubbles up from a small fissure underneath .
thus begins a chain of events leading up to the inevitable eruption .
this film contains a number of cliches .
the amorous couple is one . as soon as they doff their clothes , you know they 're going to die .
the town busybody and the abrasive mother - in - law make appearances , as does the death - defying dog .
countless familiar scenarios only serve to make this film very predictable .
watching the movie , i was able to not only anticipate each of the major plot elements , but some of the dialogue as well . unfortunate , since much of the dialog is terrible .
for example , harry 's boss , paul ( charles hallahan ) , and a team from the u . s .
geological survey join harry to assess the situation .
paul basically tells the townsfolk that harry 's eruption predictions are n't cause for alarm .
this causes harry to leave in a fit of rage , only to turn up the next day , ready for work .
when paul asks harry why he stayed , he says with grim determination , " cause this town 's in trouble
and i 'm the best man you 've got .
"
even better is when harry is trying to explain the need to jolt the residents into leaving .
he likens the situation to how a frog will jump out if dropped into a pot of boiling water .
if the frog is in cold water which is gradually heated up , however , the frog wo n't move and will allow itself to be cooked .
" is that your recipe for frog soup ?
" asks one of the team members .
"
it 's my recipe for disaster , " responds harry .
dante 's peak has a singular talent for pointing out the obvious .
our heroes are in a boat in the middle of a lake which harry realizes the volcanic activity has turned to acid .
mayor wando demonstrates her brilliant powers of deduction by proclaiming , in a very grave tone , " acid eats metal .
" thanks for the tip .
when we first see the u .
s .
geological survey building
, there 's a caption labeling it as such .
this would n't have been so bad if it were n't for the fact that the caption is right above a sign on the building which reads , in large letters ,
" u . s . geological survey .
"
i suppose the caption is for people who ca n't read signs .
although harry and mayor wando become an item by the end of the film , the viewer has no idea why .
there is a severe lack of chemistry between the two characters , and the relationship seems rushed because of this .
when they get close to kissing , i was asking myself , " why do they want to kiss ?
were they even attracted to each other ? " if i were the mayor , i would sure think twice about kissing a guy who does n't even crack a smile through the whole movie , trying to pull off the rough - yet - debonair act .
who does he think he is ?
james bond ?
the eruption of the volcano feels similarly rushed .
there are several " warning signs " prior to the eruption itself , but they are so lackluster and without suspense that we do n't feel as if they are leading up to anything
.
for example , one of the survey team members makes his way down into the crater of the volcano in order to retrieve a remote controlled robot .
a tremor occurs .
does he plunge headlong to his death ?
is he engulfed in lava which shoots up from below ?
no , a couple of rocks fall on him and break his leg .
the sole purpose of this scene seemed to be to set up the subsequent chopper rescue scene , which i suppose was intended to be dramatic as well .
it was n't .
one plot thread left noticeably hanging was the investment in the town of dante 's peak .
in a disaster movie , there 's usually one guy who 's greedy enough to cover up the possibility of eruption / fire / earthquake / explosion / tsunami / tornado / meteorite , and usually gets killed by the disaster .
it 's okay , of course , because we all think he got what he deserved .
if you 're going to be unoriginal , you might as well go all the way .
in dante 's peak , the city councilmembers are concerned , but they do n't really try hard enough .
maybe the mayor 's abrasive mother - in - law should have been the one . for no apparent reason , she snaps at harry for even positing that the volcano could erupt .
perhaps her ancestors invested in some pompeii real estate .
there are a couple of good things about this movie .
the first is the scenery .
there are panoramic shots of forests , lakes and mountains that are absolutely beautiful .
the second is the special effects .
they are the closest i 've ever seen to a real pyroclastic eruption .
but when elements which do n't speak are going to be the best parts of your movie , you 'd probably better rewrite the script .
Output: N