Le Pic de Dante

This "disaster film" had some of the best special effects of its day (almost 10 years ago). I have to say "of its day" because technology has made CGI become dated quickly these days.

This film is all about a volcano, a la Mt. St. Helen's, erupting and killing people and destroying a small town below it. Some of the scenes were just jaw- dropping and, at least for the first-time viewer, a lot of suspense over whether the main characters of the story will survive it.

Of course, there are some credibility gaps in here, things that just could not happen such as little boy drive van up a mountain (when his feet wouldn't reach the foot pedals!) but you just go along for the ride and enjoy the tension and special effects even if the story gets a little hokey.

It might not be the most intelligent film, but it's very entertaining 109 minutes, and that's the name of the business. It's good escapist fare, and that's all. It's worth two looks.

More than two decades later, this is still one of my favorite disaster films, and my all-time favorite volcano movie. The visual effects are sensational - even by today's standards.

The film grips you from the opening and never lets go. The suspense remains throughout. The characters are believable and likable, and the chemistry between Linda Hamilton and Pierce Brosnan was really good. As with all disaster movies, there are a few cliched moments, but it was still exhilarating and top notch entertainment. This is an all round excellent production and a classic in the disaster genre.

There is a formula for disaster movies and books. An insightful scientist sees The Bad Thing is going to happen, various foils keep him from warning people (often with sillier motivation than in this film), we get to know a bunch of average Joe characters who survive or do not survive the disaster. Earthquake movies, movies about made-up natural disasters that cannot happen, asteroid movies, even some nuclear holocaust films (like The Day After, unique in how many survive). It's a hackneyed formula, but it also works, and nothing else really does work as well for disaster plots. It was followed here.

The special effects were terrific in the day, and they still hold up very very well in 2012.

For a Hollywood film, the science was pretty good. I actually cringed back at the shots of Hawaii type basalt floes (just...no), and the ashfall cleared up nicely whenever they wanted a wide shot, which anyone in Yakima could tell you it really doesn't do, and the boat and drive-over-lava scenes were silly, and if you paddle a boat (through acid or not) with one hand, it's not going to go straight, and our heroes didn't need to cover their mouths in ashfall (meaning, IRL, the ash would turn to concrete in their lungs and they'd suffocate). However, all that having been complained about, much else was very accurate: what gets tested for by volcanologists, what monitoring stations of the day looked like, what some of the warning signs of a coming eruption might be. Most Hollywood film reviews by me on science-based movies are nothing but a list of what they did wrong, with no "however" of accurate bits to follow that list, so kudos for doing it more than half right.

A pleasant diversion, very pretty to look at.

I love the way this film builds up tension by slowly developing the characters and inducing drama between them. All of this makes a film much better than VOLCANO. The list of fine actors/ actresses include Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Charles Hallahan, Grant Heslov, Elizabeth Hoffman, Tzi Ma, Christopher Murray and more. This film shows how people might actually act and think in a volcano situation. The art direction was great as they showed the sky and ash beautifully. The scenery of the town is very nice and the whole town seems very quiet and peaceful. I would have wanted to live there.

This is the best volcano movie ever. No volcano movie will ever surpass this one. The cinematography is great also. Roger Donaldson did a great job of direction and the score by James Newton Howard is beautiful. All of these elements create a film that is unforgettable. DANTE'S PEAK gets 5/5.

Decided to view this picture only because Pierce Brosnan was starring in the film and greatly enjoyed his acting skills besides his appearing as James Bond. Pierce Brosnan,(Harry Dalton),"The Matador",'05, has a bad experience with the death of his wife during a volcano eruption and stayed in his profession as a geologist. Harry discovers from his charts that their could very well be another volcano problem effecting a small popular town. Linda Hamilton,(Rachel Wando),"The Kid & I ",'05 is the mayor and store owner of this town, who has a boy and a girl and is divorced. A romantic spark happens between Linda and Harry and the story develops into a monster of a tale. There is plenty of good action and it really keeps you on the edge of your seats. Pierce & Linda gave outstanding performances and the photography was great through out the entire picture. Very Entertaining