By Phil Curtolo
Recently, disaster has been fresh on the minds of many movie director's. For instance, just last year, director Jan De Bot released the blockbuster hit Twister. It's success surprised no one, from esteemed critics to ordinary fans. It toppled the box office charts, remaining in the number one spot until the next disaster flick was released. Director Roland Emmerich's Independence Day, the 6th highest grossing film in movie history, again, took critics and fans to the edge of the seats in suspense and awe. It's astounding special effects astonished sell-out crowds in every theater throughout the nation.
As of today, just about every natural disaster has been covered in movies. Earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, alien invasions, towering infernos and whatever else picks at your brain has been covered by movie directors, each one having it's own high points of success. Yet the only natural disasters yet to be focused on and to become successful are the terror-wrenching volcanoes. On February 7 of this year, this fact ceased to exist, as director Roger Donaldson let loose on of the most death-defying, special effects enhanced films ever made. Dante's Peak had finally arrived with much acclaim.
Dante's Peak, Washington has just been named the second most desirable town in America, population under 20,000, in which to reside. It seems all is perfect for Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton, The Shadow Conspiracy) and the town's people, as the huge celebration kicks off with a mammoth, possible multi-million dollar investment by a large corporation. However, little do they know the danger they are actually in, due to their dormant, fire-breathing mountain.
In Vancouver, Washington, word spreads of reading from the near extinct Dante's Peak. Head of Operations Paul Dreyfus (Charles Hallahan, Executive Decision) sends his best volcanologist, Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan, Goldeneye) to examine the napping beast.
Dalton has quite a past with volcanoes. As it turns out, he lost his only love and fiancée to a volcano in Columbia. Yet he still proceeds with all tasks at hand.
Now for the main event. When Dalton investigates the mammoth creature of destruction, he becomes suspicious of his scientific evidence, revealing a possible eruption. However, his boss, Dreyfus, doesn't want to alarm the people and scare off the investor over something that had no hard-core proof. When Dalton presents the evidence needed, it's too late, and the evacuation is on. In a mad panic, the people of the town rush to escape without thinking of the consequences. In an extremely well done scene, citizens are trampled, cars are smashed, and roads turn to ruins, as the volcano spits out it's fiery flem.
But this is just the beginning, as the party has just begun and Dante's Peak has only just begun to begin it's reign of terror. In a desperate attempt to escape, Dalton's team of experts barely make it alive. However, he, Mayor Wando, her children, their grandmother, and her dog are stranded on the mainland, as the town's only escape point, a rickety old bridge, has already collapsed. So it's survival of the fittest between man and nature.
The movie is filled with many strong points. It's release date was it's only weak point. Why would someone release this big-budget flick one measly week after the much anticipated re-releasing of the first episode of the critically acclaimed Star Wars Trilogy. There is simply no logical answer to this question, however, no movie could go flawless, even though this one came pretty darn close. It's astonishing special effects, were obviously the strong point of this movie. With the creeping lava, the incredibly detailed, exploding buildings, throwing each brick through the air, the blinding ash storms, and the acid-filled lake, Dante's Peak's effects were twenty times more powerful than Twister's and ten times more captivating than those of Independence Day.
Although a poor release date may hamper this movie's success, any movie fan would do anything it takes to see this movie. Beat up your grandma and steal her Social Security check, or rob a homeless man of his pencil money and see one of the best special effects movie's of our time, in our opinions. Dante's Peak is a must see. Grade: A+, ***** out of *****
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