THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702080093
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 54 lines
STATE-OF-THE-VOLCANO special effects should make the box office blow its top. Gotta love that lava!
That is, when the lava is spewing.
``Dante's Peak,'' with a production price tag of $100 million, is cooking when the volcano's cooking. But the rest of the time is just a lot of talk.
It opens with a volcanic burst in which Pierce Brosnan's fiancee is killed - which is why he spends the film frowning and grimacing. It's a fiery opening, but there are no action scenes for the next hour, which could set the thrill seekers to squirming in their seats. Even the most adept of striptease artists would find it difficult to delay the payoff this long.
Of course, there's an inherrent problem with volcanic explosions as the setting for disaster flicks. Once you've blown your top, how do you keep the action going? The same thing is true of an ``Earthquake.'' Even the big ones are only a few seconds, but the makers of that classic disaster flick threw science to the box office and had the movie run almost three hours.
``Dante's Peak'' has a familiar plot. Brosnan, seeking to make a little change between James Bond jobs, is the resident doomsayer. He tells the residents of the small Pacific Northwest town that they'd best run, or else they're going to get their fannies seared. Just like the stupid folks in that seaside resort in ``Jaws,'' they refuse to acknowledge the danger. (The plot is based on exactly the same premise as ``Jaws.'' Local folks are worried that they'll lose money, a potential investor, if the word gets out).
Linda Hamilton is the mayor of the town who apparently exists to give side glances to Brosnan.
These films are dependent on characters who do silly things that put themselves in danger. In this case, Linda's two children go UP the mountain, not down, when the volcano erupts. Not a smart move, kids. They're intent upon saving grandmother, who keeps muttering things like ``I'm not leaving the mountain. The mountain won't hurt me.'' Wanna bet, granny?
The trouble with ``Dante's Peak'' is that it takes itself so seriously. ``Twister,'' in contrast, was a lot of fun and is perhaps the right way to make these silly movies, if they have to be made.
Sure, ``Twister'' had no plot and very little character development, but that was all to the good. The customers wanted a rollercoaster ride, not ``Hamlet.''
``Dante's Peak,'' under the direction of Roger Donaldson, has no such pacing and no such fun approach. Lava, after all, does flow slowly. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``Dante's Peak''
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton
Director: Roger Donaldson
MPAA rating: PG-13 (acid dips, close-ups of burns)
Mal's rating: 2 Stars