On D List of Movie Reviews
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Dante's Peak (1997)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
1/14
1/14:
I once taught a class about volcanoes for two weeks, so naturally enough, I found many things wrong with Dante's Peak.
Although there are consistencies in regard to volcano facts, the movie gives up on them midway to begin spouting
misconceptions. Shame on Roger Donaldson who entertained thoughts of becoming a volcanologist before bolting for Hollywood.
It showcases a multitude of impossible physics including using a shirt-covered arm to paddle through the acidic water without
suffering from burns, outdriving (with no tires) a pyroclastic flow that's moving 450 miles per hour, ramming through a
boarded-up mine shaft, driving over a lava stream without testing it (the temperature must have been 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit
which is hot enough to melt steel), seeing lights everywhere after the volcano eruption, evacuating a town safely within minutes,
and getting everybody out of the mine shaft with all of them looking good, healthy, and virile with white teeth.
I guess nobody peed or crapped in their pants while waiting for the rescuers. It's cool when the truck was towed just like that
and nobody thought the rocks underneath it would collapse. On the other hand, the romantic relationship between the two lead
characters is unnecessary and deviates from what's happening. Moreover, it's not critical to save the kids when it's clear
they're going to die after reaching the point of no return.
Nevertheless, the movie can be entertaining and thrilling at times although it's amusing to see the references being made to
Dante's Peak when in fact it's Mount St. Helens. My favorite part, which is the most ridiculous,
occurs at the beginning when a man carried the heavy wood cross as if he's Jesus Christ.
All in all, while it's hard to ignore the factual errors, Dante's Peak isn't a bad disaster film although can be
hokey sometimes.