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"Tommy Lee Jones
After Reading Reviews On
This Film" |
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Directed by Mick Jackson
- Written by Jerome
Armstrong
Starring Anne Heche,
Tommy Lee Jones, Gaby
Hoffman, Don Cheadle
Distributed by 20th
Century Fox - 1997 -
104mins - Rated PG13 |
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Jacob Hall's
Review
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D+ |
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Title, Introductory Quote, Paragraph, etc. |
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Okay, I
like Tommy Lee Jones. Many would argue that he is an overrated, one
character...and he is, but he's still cool. It's a shame that he stars
in such lousy movies, like "Volcano," which has only one thing more
ridiculous than it's plot: it's characters.
Like how 1998 was the year of the asteroid movies, '97 was the year of
the volcano movies. The other one was the underrated "Dante's Peak,"
while quite cheesy, it really is loads of fun. "Volcano" on the other
hand, is just bad...bad...bad. The "plot" is about a volcano that has
somehow remain hidden beneath Los Angeles. It erupts, and it's up to
the brave men and women of LA to stop the lava from destroying the
city.
Complaint Number 1: "Volcano" tries very hard to make a point about
humanity...it tries by shoving it down our throats. A police officer
dies saving wounded people on a subway. We barely know him, but the
film really wants us to burst into tears. Near the end, a little boy
points out that, because of the ash, everyone looks the same...excuse
me? Was there supposed to be an anti-racism message here, or is the
screenwriter just stupid? Or both.
Complaint Number 2: The volcano sucks. Yeah, you heard me. The effects
are quite bad. "Dante's Peak" still impresses today, but the lava here
is just fake looking.
Complaint Number 3: Everyone is stupid. Rather than get out of town,
the people stand right in front of the lava and stare. When the cops
try a ridiculous plan to stop the lava, crowds gather. Are we, as a
species, that dumb? At the end, the city is destroyed, thousands are
dead, and yet everyone is happy.
This is simply a bad movie. I pity the poor souls involved with it.
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
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Me! |
TC Candler's Comment
This is a truly awful entry into the disaster
genre. 'Dante's Peak', another lava-filled movie
from 1997, is not exactly a world class film...
but compared to this piece of junk it seems like
'Citizen Kane'. The worst moment in any film
from 1997 happens toward the end of 'Volcano'
when a little boy points out to a black
firefighter that everyone's face looks the same
because they are all covered in ash and soot...
how pitifully manipulative can you get? I was
tempted to give this movie an F!
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PLOT - Volcano erupts in the heart of Los
Angeles... Scientist warns everyone but is not
believed... Tommy Lee Jones does his best Tommy
Lee Jones impression and takes charge of the
rescue and salvage operation. Hundreds of people
die and billions of dollars are lost, but
everyone is happy and rejoicing in the end?!?!
Richard Propes' Comment
How does Mick Jackson keep getting green-lighted
as a director? I mean you have the box office
winners "LA Story" (arguably the best flick he's
done), "The Bodyguard"," "Clean Slate" and the
award-winning TV flick "Tuesdays With Morrie."
How'd they possibly pick him to do this film? It
was a bad choice.
This film has cheesy special effects, shove them
down your throat moral issues, histrionic
performances and some of the most irresponsible
parenting seen in a feature film.
Tommy Lee Jones...well, let's face it...he's
pretty much made a living, and gotten awards,
for being a one-note actor. The guy cannot act.
I'm sorry for those of you who are Tommy Lee
Jones fans, but it's true...really...I'm not
kidding. He can't act. He can be dramatic...he
can look at you...he can even look pretty good
in black...but, he cannot act.
Likewise, there is Anne Heche. Heche is yet
another case where I simply can't figure out how
she keeps getting cast. In terms of her
character...okay, I know that women seem to have
this firefighter obsession...and well, the whole
"hero" worship thing...but, let's be real. No
woman is truly this stupid. She's making passes
at him in the middle of all this...he looks like
crap...has no personality...but, oh boy...he's a
hottie. Give me a break. It's a crappy
performance at best.
The parenting issue? First, in the middle of the
volcano issue Jones leaves his child in the
car...he keeps leaving her in the middle of a
catastrophe...as he takes control of the
catastrophe. At no point, does he exhibit one
iota of caring or compassion towards her. He's
her father? The child should be taken away.
The only decent performances here are by Don
Cheadle and Keith David...they do the best they
can with wooden writing and characters.
In a year that saw two volcano movies, neither
of which was very good...this film is a major
flop and not worth your time. If you really need
the subject, rent "Dante's Peak."
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