sddavis63
What you get from "Dante's Peak" is a pretty typical disaster movie that adds little to that broad "genre." Dante's Peak is a little town in the state of Washington that's nestled against a mountain. It's celebrating the fact that it's been named the "Second Best Place to Live In The United States With A Population Under 20,000." They'll need a huge plaque for the town hall just to get all the words on it. Well, actually they won't. Because there's not going to be a town hall - or a town - for much longer. It turns out that the mountain is a volcano that's getting ready to blow its top.The main characters are Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) - a geologist with the US Geological Survey who realizes that the mountains about to explode - and Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) - the mayor of the town. The big question is whether to prepare the town for evacuation. There's just been a company that's made a huge investment, and evacuating because of a potential volcanic eruption won't look very good. Profits before safety, you know - kind of like "Jaws" and other movies. The movie pushes the typical buttons. Rachel has a couple of kids who do something stupid and have to be saved and an ornery mother in law who won't take advice and there's a cute dog too. I was actually more worried about poor Roughy than anyone else in this.Special effects were OK. Performances were OK. Story was typical for a disaster film, although it seemed a little bit long. It's not better or worse than most of them. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to watch it, but it works if you have some time to kill. (5/10)
jpave2000
This is essentially the same plot as Jaws, but with a volcano standing in for the shark. Stupid town officials don't listen to the warnings of a scientist and boy will they regret it!
Mike LeMar
My rating's a 4.5. This one's very entertaining and is well built up (applause). It has great special effects and good acting. My problems with it are during the climax. First the WALL holds up for them just long enough for them to casually make it down the stairs upon leaving the house, then the BOAT holds up just long enough for them to make it to the DOCK which holds up just barely long enough. Finally, they crash into the MINE just barely in time, which holds up from caving in just long enough for Harry to make it back to the truck to turn the signal on. Also, at the beginning of the climax, don't keep trying, until every person's had his turn, to get a hold of the grandma. If she hung up on someone (Harry), showing how stubborn she's being, what makes them think anyone else will have any better luck? It's stupid and a waste of time. And I like how the climax is based around them going up the mountain for the stubborn grandma who doesn't even make it down with them, being dumb enough to hop into the acidic water. Lastly, the drive over the mostly- dried-up lava on the road is so much garbage. Those tires would've popped well before they made it across.
crichardson-44933
Dante's Peak Movie Review Recently, in class we watched Dante's Peak as part of our "Volcanoes and Earthquakes" topic. I went into class with low expectations that were quickly heightened when I watched this masterpiece of a movie. Drama, romance, action and horror in ONE movie! What more could you want? Both educational and exciting, this movie ticks all the boxes! For geography or science enthusiasts, you'll find Dante's Peak almost 100% accurate, give or take a few scenes. From PH tests to Sulphur Dioxide – this movie's informative, yet appealing to the naive eye. Although, I'm not sure a truck could survive driving through lava
. Not only does this movie feature amazingly talented actors and actresses but also a perfectly portrayed plot! Pierce Brosman stars as the lead role, Harry, a vulcanologist who becomes romantically involved with Rachel, the mayer and coffee shop owner, played by Linda Hamiliton who's famous for her appearance in the "Terminator" movies. Not everything's fun and games though! With a pyroclast killing Harry's previous girlfriend and now a supposedly "dormant" volcano threatening to wipe out an entire area of people! I'm definitely not a big fan of gore but even I agree they could have had more. What there was plenty of though, was explosive scenes that could easily have you cowering behind a pillow. My favourite moment was when the grandmother, known as Ruth sacrificed herself by sliding into acidic waters. Even though the scene was not truly accurate, it still reduced me to tears. She's a truly talented actress and my favourite character by far as she gave a heartfelt performance. I'd definitely recommend this movie to anybody (except young children) but hold on because this volcano will blow your socks off!
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