... I stood on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens one-year-to-the-day after the big eruption, and watched as it built an 800 foot lava dome. I walked across the active caldera of Kilauea as steam rose from bottomless pits of boiling mud....

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Stan: Isn't this beautiful, nestled all nice and cozy right up against the mountain?
Nancy: Yeah, just like Pompeii.

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Since I reviewed The Day After Tomorrow the day before yesterday, I thought it would be interesting to review a disaster movie that got it right. You remember the formula, don't you? You introduce some characters, then you have a disaster and then you watch them try to survive. Fans of the genre will tell you that there is a standard cast too, the hero, the heroine, the Doubting Thomas, and so on... More about that later

This story is set in a small town called Dante's Peak after it has just been crowned as the second most desirable place to live in the USA. The town fathers believe that can parley their rating into tourist dollars. Unfortunately Dante's Peak, the not-so-dormant volcano after which they named the town, is showing disturbing signs of waking up. Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan), an expert vulcanologist, arrives to investigate and finds himself drawn to the towns attractive, single-mom Mayor, Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton), and her family.

Dalton is quick to spot the danger, and says so in no uncertain terms. But he is shell-shocked, jumpy and prone to over-react, since an error in his judgment at a prior volcano caused his girlfriend's death. The townsfolk, dazzled by dollars, are not hearing what they want to hear. So Rachel, as Mayor, and Dr. Paul Dreyfus (Charles Hallahan) as Dalton's boss, find themselves caught in the middle as things begin to rock and roll.

Well Dante's Peak is a disaster movie and it certainly follows the formula. However, it differs from most of the genre in three significant ways.

First, it takes the trouble to set up a scenario so that all the characters and their actions are BELIEVABLE. (Yes, I know. Shocking, isn't it.) All the standard clichéd roles are present but they are present in a believable way. Dr. Paul Dreyfus, head of the USGS team, is the Doubting Thomas, but he has to be. It's his job. He, like Dalton, senses the danger, but as a scientist, he is forced to wait till his instincts are backed up by facts. Yes, people do dumb things in this movie, but they are believably dumb, and that’s important.

Secondly, the Director, Roger Donaldson, breaks from tradition and does not cast dozens of stars in myriad lead roles. Instead, the plot concentrates on a much smaller group. The movie benefits from this approach. This close focus is combined with a decent script, and good performances from the leads, and so we soon come to know and care about these characters. Yes, their roles are still the cookie cutter roles required in a disaster epic, but the treatment makes them three dimensional. When they are in danger, we are on the edge of our seats. When they die, we cry.

Finally, the plot avoids the biggest pitfall in a disaster movie, by not having the climax at the mid point. Yes, there is an eruption half way through -- I don't think I am giving too much plot away by saying so. However, rather than it being the climax, it is just the beginning of a series of events that build to the true climax at the end of the movie, where it should be. This fact alone would make Dante's Peak one of the best disaster movies ever made.

But I have forgotten the movies biggest star, Dante's Peak itself. With excellent photography, editing and masterful timing, the Peak becomes a character. First, it looks down benevolently, then it stares, then it broods, until finally it glares down with malevolence. You really get a real feel for this mountain, and what it is capable of doing. This is exceptionally well done.

Now, one of the things you probably don't know about me is that I am an amateur volcano freak. I have traveled all over the world visiting dormant and not-so-dormant volcanoes. I stood on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens one-year-to-the-day after the big eruption, and watched as it built an 800 foot lava dome. I walked across the active caldera of Kilauea as steam rose from bottomless pits of boiling mud. I hiked thru lava tubes so big that I could have taken a bus. I tiptoed over black, crumbling, day-old lava, to within ten feet of the white plume, as molten rock spilled into a boiling sea. When I can't visit a volcano, I learn all I can about them. I am an expert on Krakatoa, Pinatubo, and the disasters at Herculaneum and Pompeii. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Let me tell you. The people who made Dante's Peak knew their volcanoes. The actions of the humans may get a bit Hollywood on occasions, but the actions of the mountain are spot on. The events, the nature of the events and the timescale in which they occur, are all perfect. This is a very real and very nasty volcano.

The special effects are incredible. Here we have everything: eruptions, explosions, pyroclastic flows, lava and lehars, but it's not unreasonable. Mt. St. Helens erupted in virtually the same way. They are only mimicking something that many people have seen first hand. This is volcano footage which is realistic, but seldom photographed in such glory. It is hard to hold a camera while running for your life. In fact, I think it was this realism that prevented Dante's Peak getting the special effects Oscar nomination which it richly deserved.

I have also seen reviews which criticize the flippant attitude of the USGS survey team. Recently, I watched a long documentary about the eruption at Mt. Pinatubo. This flippancy is EXACTLY how the real team behaved. I think it must be some sort of defense mechanism to cope with the stress. At one point, their top vulcanologist looked at some seismograph readings, and then ran though the temporary lab shouting, "Has anyone got some jelly, because we are toast." Sometimes reality is unbelievable. What can I say?

Sadly, this review is almost over. I never got a chance to say how well the romance between the leads was handled. I never mentioned their performances, which hardly ever made me think of Sarah Conner and James Bond. I never said how nice it was to see Linda Hamilton in a vulnerable, feminine role. I didn't even mention how hilarious her comments about Pierce Brosnan were in the inevitable featurette. Alas, we are out of time, and there is nothing left to do but the rating.

Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy! I so want to give Dante's Peak five stars. Roger Donaldson managed to pack a lot of characterization and effects into a hundred minute movie, and it is one of the very best of its genre. But alas, it's not perfect. It is predictable, though not as much as most of its ilk. Some of the action sequences are a bit over the top. Some of the characters are simply too cliché. It's a solid 3.5 star movie, with 5 star effects. Okay. Four stars only then, but I'm gonna hate myself in the morning.

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It's been a while since I last saw this movie, but I don't remember seeing anything that I thought would be bad for kiddies. In fact, the science part of Dante's Peak is accurate and very well done. Let them watch. They might learn something.

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First Brosnan replaces Timothy Dalton as Bond, and then he plays Harry Dalton in a movie. Coincidence? Hmmm....

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Dante's Peak (1997)

Directed by Roger Donaldson

Written by Leslie Bohem

Cast:
Pierce Brosnan - Harry Dalton
Linda Hamilton - Mayor Rachel Wando
Jamie Renée Smith - Lauren Wando
Jeremy Foley - Graham Wando
Elizabeth Hoffman - Ruth
Charles Hallahan - Dr. Paul Dreyfus
Grant Heslov - Greg, USGS Crew
Kirk Trutner - Terry, USGS Crew
Arabella Field - Nancy, USGS Crew
Tzi Ma - Stan, USGS Crew

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Please check out some of my other movie reviews:

The Day After Tomorrow ***
Finding Neverland *****
Dodgeball -- A True Underdog Story ****
Kiss of the Dragon ****
House of Flying Daggers ***
Hero *****
Sideways *****
Quest for Camelot **
The Haunted Mansion **
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ****

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older