Volcano

• Directed by Mick Jackson
• April 25, 1997

Following the formation of a volcano at the La Brea Tar Pits, the people of Los Angeles struggle to divert the flow of lava.

As a disaster film Volcano is much more in line with the old style of the genre than it is with the more modern presentation which for me is a plus. It’s a little melodrama and a great deal of massive devastation. There’s a romance that blossoms during the devastating event. Enemies mostly work out their differences. The cute kid moves into maturity because of what they must survive. It has a bunch of Doubting Thomases who don’t think it can happen and that one person who believes in the possibility if not being outright certain that it will happen. And there’s just the right amount of dialogue sprinkled with science to make a volcano popping up in the middle of a populated area in California come off as not only possible but inevitable.

But what really sells this is Tommy Lee Jones as Mike Roark, the O.E.M. director of Los Angeles. Jones was in his prime and at this time he could make anything he was in work. Roark’s at a new job and he has to handle something completely out of anyone’s experience. The purpose of his character is to doubt but not to the point of dismiss. The voice of reason to even out the certain character.

And that character is also the love interest of our story. Anne Heche plays Amy Barnes who is a geologist and seismologist from the California Institute of Geological Sciences and pretty much right about everything. But she’s not there to look pretty and give heart to the story as Mike makes correct decision after correct decision based on scant data given by her character. She actually contributes to the story at multiple points with the two hashing out things.

To give this a little more heart Mike is dealing with his teenage daughter Kelly (Gabby Hoffmann) visiting from out of state. Mike finds himself not only trying to save the city but his daughter since after she gets a burn from lava, mike sends his daughter into mega harms way which is a triage area set up for the injured. Oops! Kelly is not overly cute nor unrealistically capable. In other words this spunky kid will not make your eyes roll.

The special effects are absolutely great. Starting with the initial eruption at the La Brea Tar Pits they managed to epic destruction. And they make it look cool and exciting. The effects done in 1997 still look perfect today and have not aged as poorly in the nearly 30 years since this came out as others have. I have no beef with LA, but it was weirdly satisfying watching the city get destroyed. Part of you is hoping the volcano wins if such a thing is possible.

The characterization isn’t exactly great. The focus is having the assorted characters run through trials because of the disaster. But you get enough from the story that each one is different enough you can care about most. And they all get a conclusion to whatever minimal arc they have.

This is not deep or sophisticated nor was it meant to be. It is all about the destruction and the fight to survive and it does portraying both very well. The lava is the star of the show and it looks, well, real.

Volcano is a great disaster movie done more in the classic style than in the modern style. With multiple storylines and a touch of melodrama it will certainly appeal to fans of the classic era.