Volcano (1997)

reviewed by
Michael J. Legeros

                                      VOLCANO
                       A film review by Michael John Legeros
                        Copyright 1997 Michael John Legeros

(Fox)
Directed by     Mick Jackson
Written by      Jerome Armstrong and Billy Ray
Cast            Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle, John Corbett,
                Keith David, Gaby Hoffmann, Jacqui Kim, John Carroll
                Lynch
MPAA Rating     "PG-13"
Running Time    105 minutes
Reviewed at     General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC 
                (25APR97)

==

You know, I used to think that firefighting, a former occupation of mine, was the perfect job for a problem solver. That was before meeting Mike Roark, director of Los Angeles' Office of Emergency Management. As played by Tommy Lee Jones, this guy has one *heck* of a problem on the city's hands: orange stuff is spewing from the La Brea Tar Pits and oozing it's way down Wilshire. Palm trees are aflame, fire trucks are melting, and these nasty little things called lava bombs (what, you didn't see DANTE'S PEAK?) are ruining everybody else's day. Oh, what to do, what to do?

Now, since Mr. R. is a Hollywood construct, he's also a single dad, who's supposedly on vacation with his surly daughter, and both of whom just happen to be riding by The Pits when they erupt. (You can decide if the story has more fuzzy logic or convenient coincidences.) His part- ner in grime is a plucky geologist ("get me a scientist!" he hilariously barks and is handed Anne Heche), who tried to warn him, yesterday, that something in the rock might be ready to roll. (Had he heeded her warn- ing, we wouldn't have a movie. Or, for that matter, the once-in-a- lifetime chance to see Ms. Heche wearing a silver, heat-reflecting suit.)

In a perfect world of guy movies, VOLCANO would be all about how to divert the lava, extinguish the fires, triage the casualties, and save the city. Director Mick Jackson (L.A. STORY), obviously bored by such linear thinking, has more on his mind. He's included a hokey moral message (black and white is gray, when covered with ash), some classic camp (how else to explain yet another dog barking at lava?), and plenty of homage to the city that, admit it, you're happy to see burn. (My favorite bit: a Metro employee reading a book on writing screenplays that sell.) All of this-- in-jokes, action sequences, cornball drama, and spectacular special effects-- is compressed into an exhilaratingly exhausting 105 minutes. If you don't shut down from sensory overload, you should be entertained.

     Grade: B-

--

Mike Legeros - Movie Hell
http://www.n-vision.com/hell

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Volcano (1997)

reviewed byMichael J. Legeros

reviewed by
Michael J. Legeros