Skyfire

If you discount the usual PRC propaganda undertones present in most Chinese movies (with the usual greedy western white villain), this is a nice disaster movie. The Chinese have always been experts in action movies, and this is no exception. Action and suspense are masterfully produced all through the movie, but you will get nothing else here. Characters and dialog are mostly silly, with the usual over the top drama, which can make for an added layer of involuntary comedy.

Tianhuo Island is as beautiful as a paradise. It almost makes people forget that it is located in the "Ring of Fire" the world-famous Pacific Rim volcanic belt. The volcano erupted, and the fate of the people in the island was entangled.

Well, I've seen my share of volcano movies (of which 'Dante's Peak' and 'Flight Crew' are my favorites, and 'Pompeii' my least favorite), so I was very excited to watch this.

The first thing that grabbed me, was the beautiful score - sweeping, melodic, epic. Then the stunning cinematography and amazing visuals. This film truly LOOKS amazing on screen. This is the type of movie I'd watch for the scenery and cinematography alone.

'Skyfire' felt like a 'Jurassic World' sequel - without the Dinosaurs, off course. From the setting to the disaster element reminded me of 'Jurassic World'. The characters and their back stories are pretty basic, but lets face it, we're not here to analyze characters, are we? We watch these films to marvel at the destruction scenes and be thrilled by action and chaos that ensues in the wake of a volcanic eruption.

The film was like a silky smooth chocolate on my palate, satisfying every craving. 'Skyfire' takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride from the very beginning. The action and suspense never lets up. This is an impressively well made film that never ceases to amaze, and there really never is a dull moment.

My biggest critique would be the acting. Hannah Quinlivan, especially, wasn't strong enough to portray the film's hero, Meng Li. We needed someone who could do for this film what Angelina Jolie did for 'Tomb Raider', or Kate Beckinsale for 'Underworld'. They are powerhouse performers who did the characters justice. Possibly the biggest issue is the fact that directors use too little practical effects nowadays, so actors have very little to work with.

Despite loads of improbabilities, this was a hell of a fun movie; exciting, thrilling and very well made. This might just rank among my favorite disaster movies - certainly on an entertainment level!

This movie is unintentionally funny with it's totally impossible stunts to what I assume are mix ups in language translation. Jason Isaacs was excellent, as usual.

Well, this was actually an enjoyable disaster movie. I hadn't even heard about it before now in 2021 when I sat down to watch it. And I must admit that I didn't really know what to expect from the movie, so writers Wei Bu and Sidney King had every opportunity to impress me and entertain me.

And they certainly did that, because "Skyfire" turned out to be an enjoyable disaster movie, much akin to "Volcano" or "2012". So if you enjoy those kind of movies, then you most certainly will also like "Skyfire".

Sure, the movie's storyline and script was fairly predictable, if not actually generic in terms of what you'd expect from a disaster movie. But still, director Simon West managed to make it into an enjoyable journey nonetheless.

Visually then I must admit that I was definitely impressed with the effects and CGI in this 2019 movie. I do like it when disaster movies have proper CGI and special effects to carry the movie and make it presentable in an enjoyable and realistic manner. And the special effects team definitely did that with "Skyfire".

Some of the events that took place throughout the course of the movie. I mean, such as the flying chucks of molten lava that miraculously also manage to strike very close where the protagonists of the movie tend to be at any given moment in the course of the story, or the fact that a certain person was struck by a flying molten rock just as the person was waving good bye. It is stuff like that which makes for stupid moments in disaster movies, and "Skyfire" does have its share of such moments.

I found "Skyfire" to be a fast paced movie, and director Simon West did manage to keep the movie flowing at a great pace from the beginning and right up to the end.

My rating of "Skyfire" lands on a six out of ten stars. I was wholeheartedly entertained by this disaster movie. And I can warmly recommend that you sit down to watch it, should you have the chance, and especially so if you enjoy disaster movies.

Here's The Lowedown on "Skyfire" (NR - 2019 - Blu)

Genre: Thriller/Disaster My Score: 5.4

Cast=4 Acting=4 Plot=5 Ending=7 Story=4 Intense=7 Pace=6 Suspense=4 Disaster=8 F/X=5

A seemingly dormant volcanic island becomes the site of a resort, using the energy of the mountain to power everything. But what would happen if this woke up the volcano?

"I'm not leaving this island...until we're done." It was like Jurassic World and Dante's Peak had a baby that tried to coast on its genetics. As a disaster movie junkie, there were parts I liked. Look for some cheesy CGI and bad acting, but then you get some crazy stunts that may keep you going for another few minutes. It's not a horrible watch...but it's not worth hunting for.