Volcanoes have been one of the typical tropes for films and TV shows as a way to depict disasters. When a writer needs an unstoppable cataclysm to motivate the characters, insert an active volcano in the middle of the picture. And in disaster films, it is one of the subjects of disasters. Dante’s Peak, Volcano and 2012, there are those that are volcano-centered.
And after a Pacific-situated country experienced a fallout of an active volcano, let us look at those movies centered on volcanoes that bring us at awe (and those that are actual disasters).
Spoiler alert for some parts.
WORST: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
There is a lot of hype for this follow-up to the global hit Jurassic World. So, it really says a lot that Fallen Kingdom not only disappointed but actually jumped the Mosasaurus.
There are leaps of logic in this fifth Jurassic Park movie, like the existence of another island akin to Isla Nublar that was never brought up previously and the contrived set pieces where Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) had to outrun lava, an ash cloud and active debris. That is just the tip of the iceberg of the dumbness.
BEST: The Devil at 4 O’Clock (1961)
Here is a forgotten classic that placed Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra in a single feature film. Spencer Tracy plays a cranky priest who asks help from three criminals to help him rescue a group of children from an island plagued by a seething volcano.
While this is certainly not one of his best performances, Tracy works well with the role he is given. And the cast went along with the spectacle at hand. The volcano action worked well with the period, even if it falls to disaster film clichés.
WORST: Volcano (1997)
There are two volcano movies in 1997. This is the least of the two. While Volcano boasts on its visual effects of a slow-moving lava flow from the Los Angeles La Brea Tar Pits, its story was pretty substandard, even for a cheesy disaster movie that takes itself too seriously.
Tommy Lee Jones as the evacuation czar is surprisingly bland, even if the character has an urgent role over a potential eruption of a growing volcano. The science is also loose on this one, as it depicted a fast-growing volcano.
BEST: Dante’s Peak (1997)
And this is the best of 1997 volcano movies, by a margin. Though, this is not really a great disaster movie. Still, Dante’s Peak pays off on its volcano eruption visuals and aesthetics of depicting the impact of said eruption.
Here, Pierce Brosnan stars as a volcanologist who alerts to the mayor (Linda Hamilton) about the impact that the dormant volcano within Dante’s Peak might cause. Like every disaster movie on its heyday, the story and characters were minor to the grander special effects work on creating the disasters onscreen.
WORST: Pompeii (2014)
Titanic was given little scrutiny over its depiction of a fictional love story over a real-life disaster. But that is minor to 2014’s Pompeii, which managed to be a blatant attempt of a sword-and-sandal epic with a love story on its center, then paste it with the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius that plagued the town of Pompeii.
The biggest detriment of this bland blockbuster is fabricating a generic Roman period piece that ripped off Gladiator and Immortals and having it given to life by Paul W. S. Anderson. Nope.
BEST: The Croods (2013)
While the movie is not about a volcano eruption, a disaster like it is what drives the story of this 2013 DreamWorks prehistoric adventure. The premise of this story is set on a Flintstones-like setting where a family comes across another man with a highly advanced intellect and knack for makeshift technology, and how they must cope up with him and their ever-changing world.
The story is pretty basic, yet it is executed with fine, colorful animation and decent vocal performances from Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone and more.
WORST: Apocalypse Pompeii (2014)
Of course, the mockbuster studio The Asylum has its own version of 2014’s Pompeii entitled Apocalypse Pompeii that has legendary character actor John Rhys-Davies of all people. Just like any other mockbuster, quality is not being aimed on this picture.
The movie is set on modern-day, instead of the early period, wherein a former Special Ops commando rescues his wife and his daughter in the Pompeii ruins. While the plot is absolutely bland, the effects and acting take the cake for horrendous filmmaking. Then again, it is an Asylum mockbuster.
BEST: Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
In this black comedy, Tom Hanks stars as a disease-ridden man, who accepts an offer to travel to an island and take part on a ritual that has him be sacrificed to a volcano. With a weird premise like that, expect laughs and charm to come along the way.
Hanks is very invested as a disaster-prone everyman. And between this and Sleepless in Seattle, Meg Ryan showed herself as a confident leading lady in rapport with Hanks. Both romantic and poignant, Joe Versus the Volcano is a cult hit goldmine.
WORST: When Time Ran Out (1980)
Even with genuine pieces like The Poseidon Adventure and Airport, the 70’s and early 80’s are plagued with bad disaster movies that ended up as laughable failures. The worst of the bunch has to go to When Time Ran Out…, starring, Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden (his second film with Newman after The Towering Inferno).
This film has everything that makes a disaster film as an actual film disaster. With unconvincing effects, bland performances and a convoluted story, When Time Ran Out… is a dud, critically and financially.
BEST: Krakatoa, East of Java (1969)
However, the best volcano-centered disaster film goes back to 1969 with Krakatoa, East of Java. Partially based on the 1883 Mount Krakatoa eruption, the film stars Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith as a captain of a steamer and a diver, respectively, who plots to retrieve a cargo of pearls, only to be interrupted by a ship of convicts and an erupting Krakatoa.
While it received poor reviews on its release, it was acknowledged for its spectacle and action. And it has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. While not the best volcano story, it is epic.
