On D List of Movie Reviews
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Dante's Peak (1997)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
1/14
1/14:
I once taught a class about volcanoes for two weeks, so naturally enough, I found many things wrong with
Dante's Peak.
Although there are consistencies in regard to volcano facts, the movie gives up on them midway to begin
spouting misconceptions. Shame on Roger Donaldson who entertained thoughts of becoming a volcanologist
before bolting for Hollywood.
It showcases a multitude of impossible physics including using a shirt-covered arm to paddle through the
acidic water without suffering from burns, outdriving (with no tires) a pyroclastic flow that's moving 450
miles per hour, ramming through a boarded-up mine shaft, driving over a lava stream without testing it (the
temperature must have been 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is hot enough to melt steel), seeing lights everywhere
after the volcano eruption, evacuating a town safely within minutes, and getting everybody out of the mine
shaft with all of them looking good, healthy, and virile with white teeth.
I guess nobody peed or crapped in their pants while waiting for the rescuers. It's cool when the truck was
towed just like that and nobody thought the rocks underneath it would collapse. On the other hand, the romantic
relationship between the two lead characters is unnecessary and deviates from what's happening. Moreover, it's
not critical to save the kids when they're clearly going to die after reaching the point of no return.
Nevertheless, the movie can be entertaining and thrilling at times although it's amusing to see references
made to Dante's Peak when in fact it's Mount St. Helens. My favorite part, which is the most ridiculous,
occurs at the beginning when a man carried the heavy wood cross as if he's Jesus Christ.
All in all, while it's hard to ignore the factual errors, Dante's Peak isn't a bad disaster film that
can be sometimes hokey.