Volcano (Wide Screen) > Reviews > New Yorks got more than a Big Apple now.....

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Average

Advantages:	Excellent special effects
Disadvantages:	storyline does lack intensity at times

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Volcano. (Film Only Review).
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The Plot.
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Problems start to occur in downtown Los Angeles when several large tremors hit, but these are no ordinary earth tremors that Los Angeles is accustomed to, they are advanced warnings of what is about to show itself.

The Summary.
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FEMA Director Mark Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) is finally getting a well earned vacation and spending some quality time with his daughter Kelly (Gaby Hoffman) since his marriage breakdown. Suddenly Los Angeles is hit by a large tremor and FEMA are sent into action. Although he starts to investigate, he is told to stop as he is on vacation but not before Dr. Amy Barnes (Anne Heche) of what she believes does warn him is causing it. He does not believe what she tells him and goes back home to his daughter. Dr Barnes is determined to prove she is right and with the help of her friend, Rachel goes down into the subway system to get the proof she needs. Whilst there another large tremor hits and her friend Rachel is killed but she now has the proof she needs, but is she to late.
The last tremor was more damaging and as Roake Rushes to work with Kelly in tow, he is bombarded with Lava Fireballs erupting from the La Brea Tar pits. His car is stuck and ash is falling everywhere when his daughter manages to be burnt by a fireball on her leg. Dr Jay Calder is also rushing to work and has stopped to help so takes Kelly and other injured fire fighters in her car to Cedar Falls Hospital and safety.
Roark is now left to battle the Lava flow and comes up with a plan to stop it. All the emergency services and residents all spring into action to help with Roark's plan, Suddenly the Lava pools in the man-made Dam they have built and they all give a big sigh of relief as they think they have beaten this thing, but they are wrong. The Volcano has not finished with Los Angeles yet and Lava starts streaming through the subway system straight to the end of the line that is of course Cedar Falls. Roark and Dr Barnes are sent in a race against time and the Lava to try to save his daughter, the hospital and all the injured from the oncoming eruption. Will they succeed you will have to watch to find out.

The Acting / My Opinion.
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Tommy Lee Jones yet again gives us an outstanding performance in his role of Mark Roark in this film. His roguish looks and straight but firm voice give this performance and excellent realism, making him in my opinion the perfect actor cast for this role. Anne Heche also gives us a good acting performance although I think this is more down to the fact that she is being led by such a strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones, as occasionally her character seems to be lacking that something special feature about it. Gaby Hoffman however is really starting to show her acting abilities in this role yet you can still see the relatively new to the business style in her. In saying that though this has no effect on the films quality due to the character and role she has been cast in.
Don Cheadle stars as Emmit Reese and gives this character an excellent role although it is a shame we were not given a chance to see more of him in the film, and Keith David shows why he is becoming such a popular actor in his performance in this film. Again sadly his role I think could have been given a lot more in the film which it sadly does not. Therefore, in my opinion all the actors have given a good entertaining performance for this film.

The Directing.
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After getting his teeth into directing in the film `Threads`, a film set in the after-mouth of a nuclear holocaust, Mick Jackson yet again gives us a chance to see why he is so good at directing disaster movies. He has managed to make this a high-tension thriller with plenty of action and suspense all inter-twined. He really has done himself great credit with this film especially when you consider he actually started his career as an Editor for the BBC.

Summary.
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This is an action packed thriller, packed with plenty of tension and drama. The visual special effects are amazing and the actors give us a believable performance (see above). It may come across as just another disaster movie with a slightly different twist as it is set in Los Angeles, however due to all the visual effects and storyline this has managed to make this film an interesting and entertaining film to watch in my opinion.

Favourite Scene.
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I have to admit my favourite scene in this film is when Stan (John Carroll Lynch), and his men are on the subway train rescuing the passengers and Stan goes back for the driver. Suddenly the train is surrounded by Lava and Stan has to jump to his death in order to save the driver by throwing him across the Lava. I think the effects in this particular part of the film when we see Stan partially melting is fantastic

Technical Information.
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Cast.
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Mike Roark ~~~ Tommy Lee Jones
Dr Amy Barnes ~~~ Anne Heche
Kelly Roark ~~~ Gaby Hoffman
Emmit Reese ~~~ Don Cheadle
Dr Jay Calder ~~~ Jaqueline Kim
Lieutenant Ed Fox ~~~ Kieth David
Norman Calder ~~~ John Corbett
Gator Harris ~~~ Michael Rispoli
Stan Olber ~~~ John Carroll Lynch
Kevin ~~~ Marchello Thedford
Rachel ~~~ Laurie Latham
Fire chief ~~~ Bert Kramer
Bud McVie ~~~ Bo Eason

Director ~~~ Mick Jackson

Certificate ~~~ 12 years and over
Production year ~~~ 1997
Languages ~~~ English
Subtitles ~~~ Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Icelandic, English for the hearing impaired.
Running time ~~~ 1 hour and 40 mins approximately.

Widescreen 1.85:1 in Dolby Digital (5.1)

Special Features.
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Original theatrical trailer.
Interactive Menu's
Scene Access.

Purchase Information.
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Available from:-
Play.com for £5.99 or part of a 3 for £15 package deal.
Amazon.co.uk for new from £3.75 or used from 0.01 and above.

Happy Viewing.