Dante's Peak (1997) User Reviews

special effects that hold up today

[grnhair2001 · 7/10 · 10 May 2012]

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.

Good Effects Make It Fun To Watch

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 21 April 2006]

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.

Great then, still great now!

[egg_egan · 30 December 2017]

First watched Dante's Peak when it was released in 1997 and as a kid thought it was brilliant. Just watched it again and I have to say, wow. It is a great film, full of entertainment and action. Yes it is cheesy at times and bits are a bit far fetched e.g. driving over lava, but putting that a side it is a fantastic film.

One of the best disaster movies of the late Nineties.

[filipemanuelneto · 6/10 · 15 August 2019]

Disaster movies can be a fun way to spend some time idle, although most are not particularly cinematically remarkable. This movie fits that description well. The action takes place in a small rural village that has just been considered a great place to live in the US, but lives in the shadow of a sleeping volcano. What no one knows is that this volcano appears to be in full swing and threatens to explode.

The movie quickly creates tension among the audience, and it serves well to grab our attention. I am not the best person to judge the script's ability to be true to the scientific facts underlying a volcanic eruption, I just accept what I saw tacitly, but I admit the possibility the film is not very true to science. The initial half is slower and the action is concentrated on the final half, which is basically a race to escape the volcano. There are some loose ends and inconsistent details, like that scene where a girl, who doesn't even reach the car's pedals, can drive off in a 4-4 jeep.

Pierce Brosnan was convincing in his starring role, while Linda Hamilton made an effort but is always in his shadow. Either way, they are the ones who leverage the movie. The volcano, as it happens in such cases, is almost a character in its own right. Technically, the film was entitled to the best sound and special effects that existed in 1997... but the quick advances in film make it look old-fashioned to many today. Personally, I liked what I saw.

It's not an excellent movie and it's far from being the life movie of anyone involved, it has a dubious script and unbelievable scenes where (as always happens in these movies) some characters escapes from death by a hair. But it's still one of the best disaster movies of the late 1990s, it's fun and entertains the public well.

Oh no! It's Mount St. Helens all over again!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 18 December 2021]

Back in 1997, when I was still a carefree and stressless teenager, there suddenly came two volcano movies in one year. I enjoyed them both at the time, but all the critics and movie-going audiences unanimously claimed this "Dante's Peak" was much better than "Volcano". They were right.

Now that I re-watched them both again, shortly after one another, "Dante's Peak" is definitely the superior achievement, mainly thanks to the better and far more plausible script, but also the special effects are more splendid. What I also didn't realize in 1997, because I was too young and because I am European, is that "Dante's Peak" bears a lot resemblance with the factual events of the Mount St. Helens eruption as they occurred between end of March and mid-May 1980.

Not only does director Roger Donaldson make use of the actual Mount St. Helens craters as filming locations, but there are also many parallels with the series of events as they took place in 1980. Similar to St. Helens, Dante's Peak is the name of a quiet and peaceful little town in Washington state, located at the bottom of a beautiful volcano that has been dormant for nearly 150 years, and believed to remain like that. One geologist/volcanologist also predicts the eruption and forewarns the local authorities, but hardly anybody takes him seriously. And, last but not least, here as well the human death toll unnecessarily increases because stubborn elderly people refuse to leave their mountaintop homes when the volcano erupts. By the way, if you enjoyed "Dante's Peak", I warmly recommend seeking out the obscure 1981 disaster-movie "St. Helens" directed by Ernest Pintoff.

Enjoy the fireworks.

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 16 July 2007]

The 'old-fashioned' disaster movie scenario enjoyed a brief resurgence in the latter half of the 90s. After the success of Twister and ID4, films like Hard Rain, Titanic, Armageddon and Deep Impact followed in its wake. Like the two competing asteroid movies, Dante's Peak was in competition with the imaginatively named Volcano as THE Lava flow of 1997. Which one is better? Well, comparing the two is like comparing an atomic blast to a popping pimple.

Pierce Brosnan is Harry Dalton, a Vulcanologist (or James Bond in disguise if you want) who predicts a major eruption in the quaint Pacific-Northwestern town of Dante's Peak. No one wants to listen to him since the town has just been named the 2nd most desirable place to live in America and is in the early stages of a thriving economy. It's the politics from Jaws all over again. Despite being shouted down by his superiors, Harry sticks around to keep his eye on the imposing mountain and woo Mayor Wando (Linda Hamilton), who is the only one who believes the 4000-year dormant volcano might blow its top.

If you've seen one disaster movie, you've seen 'em all in terms of character importance. Yes, it's bloody obvious who is going to die, some of these people might as well have a death clock counting down stuck on their foreheads. And the panicking idiot mobs don't deserve anything less firey. When will nameless extras learn that following the crowd isn't the best way? I guess this is the weakest part of Dante's Peak, it never really distances itself from that single, eternal cliché of disaster films.

But the film is really nothing but a showcase for special effects and it does them surprisingly well. Made before the extreme popularity of CGI, Dante's Peak has a lot of real-life destruction, in-camera effects and stunt-work. Yes, there is a fair bit of CGI and for a 10-year-old film they still hold up really well. All Volano (Zzzz...) had to offer was a very, very slight lava flow and an unintentionally hilarious scene with a melting man but with Dante's Peak we get earthquakes, boiled skinny dippers, lakes of acid, ash blizzards that create a unique atmosphere, thunder and lightning, red hot boulders raining down from the sky, mudslides, lava (of course), a massive pyroclastic cloud and lots of deep, deep bass sound effects.

It's not a life-changing film by any means, but as disaster movies go it's one of the best, has an occasionally spooky score and entertains really well despite Brosnan taking it all so seriously. I would have given it a higher rating if they killed the dog (more original) and deleted the annoying Grant Heslov's utterly pointless character.

It's OK As Disaster Movies Go - No More Than That

[sddavis63 · 5/10 · 16 April 2018]

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)

Pierce & Linda Gave a Great Performance

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 8 January 2006]

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

Disaster Film? Or Film Disaster?

[Lechuguilla · 3/10 · 9 January 2005]

Near a picturesque little town in the American West, an inactive volcano decides to become hyper active. And, as you would expect for a disaster movie, chaos ensues.

The film's first half acquaints viewers with the two main characters, played by Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton. We also get introduced to the town, and get a tour of its main attraction, the photogenic mountain that is about to wake up. The second half is the chaos.

For people who like action films, "Dante's Peak" is a fairly good choice. The visuals, the sound, and the special effects are reasonably engaging. There's lots of exciting drama, and the film's second half is fast paced.

But, if you are looking for a credible story, go elsewhere. The formulaic screenplay is bland and unimaginative; and, it is full of cinematic clichés. Of course, that is a problem with most films in the disaster genre. The stories and plot elements are basically the same, just different disaster: tornado, burning skyscraper, sinking ship, earthquake, or (in this case) volcano. I would not say "Dante's Peak" is a film disaster. But, its screenplay is so cookie-cutter as to be a virtual clone of every disaster film that has gone before it.

Volcano Plays Its Part Very Well

[MiguelM · 8/10 · 3 January 2006]

Yes, there are some cheesy, hollywoodish moments in this movie, but the actors bring enough charisma and presence to hold the story together. Pierce Brosnan makes a convincing scientist, whose passion and desire to protect the townspeople plays off nicely with Mayor Linda Hamilton's similar concerns.

But what I most want to say is that the volcano itself was both believable and accurate. So I want to commend the filmmakers for having enough integrity to make an entertaining film within the boundaries of scientific accuracy. And face it, you don't go to a movie like Dante's Peak to see insightful drama, or peer deep into the human psyche. The people and the volcano play off each other very nicely. It's not often you get a film with both chemistry and physics.

A Disaster Movie with Realism

[mjw2305 · 7/10 · 30 December 2006]

Dante's Peak spends much of the opening half of the film building the characters and setting the scene for disaster, and it definitely helps you identify and care about the characters involved. The story concentrates mainly on Linda Hamilton who is the mayoress of Dante's Peak, along with her family; and of course on Pierce Brosnan who is sent to investigate the seismic activity in this quaint little town.

The events build steadily in this movie, eventually reaching a fantastic climax that is very realistic to watch. Dante's Peak is very dramatic and has a mild dose of sentimentality that fits seamlessly into the story.

Make no mistake, this movie is really well made and is very enjoyable to watch, but be warned; if you like your disaster movies done gung-ho style it may disappoint you.

7/10

It has really nothing new to offer

[philip_vanderveken · 5/10 · 21 December 2004]

Dante's Peak is based on the magic formula that Hollywood has used already so many times before for this kind of disaster movies. Apparently the studio's in Hollywood believe that we all are nothing but simple minds who don't like to watch a movie that's at least a little bit challenging.

I have to admit that the graphics really look nice. The eruption of the volcano is really very well done. Even about the "scientific" facts and words used in the movie I will not complain, apart from some minor things like a car driving over lava without catching fire. Overall it all seems realistic and that's not always very evident in Hollywood. But the main problem that I have with the movie is that it has really nothing new to offer.

A scientist is send to a marvelous, almost perfect little village to investigate a neighboring volcano that has already been dormant for thousands of years. But of course the volcano is getting active again and our beloved scientist, who's falling in love with a local beauty (the local coffee shop owner and mayor of the village), warns the authorities that a disaster will be inevitable if they don't react immediately. Of course no-one believes him and the disaster happens.

We all know what happens, some people die, but our main characters will survive the horror. No, if you are looking for something new, you better switch to something else, because you'll not find it in this movie. I give it a 5,5/10, which isn't even too bad for a disaster movie.

Not a bad disaster movie

[nev827 · 7/10 · 26 January 2006]

The first time I saw this movie I thought it quite good, especially the roller coaster ride of the last hour or so. I saw it again and thought it not very good at all and now having seen it recently, I not bad, but not great either. It's a well done disaster movie with one challenge after another to survive being thrown at the main characters. This roller coaster ride really pulled me in and even reminded me of the very well done remake of The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. I'll admit some of the situations are a little hard to believe, but at least they keep the film from being boring.

The chemistry between Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton, while not incredible, is still there. Also enjoyable was how the film makes use of its small town setting, including in the casting characters you'd expect to find in a small town: the female gossip, the gruff, but dedicated sheriff, and the more business-minded don't-rock-the-boat councilman. Finally, Harry (Brosnan) and Paul Dreyfus's band of colleagues also prevent the movie from being flat, but are a little too reminiscent of the characters from Twister to really leave their own mark.

Also what impressed me was some of the camera work, which I think isn't given enough credit. There are a number of composite shots of the erupting volcano with the reflection (probably understood to be from a truck's window) of Rachel (Hamilton) looking back in horror that are quite well done. And the digital editing in of the volcano is also well done as well as some of the panoramas.

A smaller problem I had with the movie is the development of Harry and Rachel's relationship. Initially their flirtations and the initial "getting to know each other" are quite cute. But I can't help but think why Rachel, who has been a small-town girl her whole life would be interested in someone like Harry who clearly states a that his job isn't exactly conducive to settling down. Sure Harry is everything her ex-husband isn't and it's obvious that the both of them are lonely to a degree, but it doesn't seem to me that a woman as sensible and who feels as great a responsibility as Rachel (to her kids, to the town, to her business) would find that to be enough. Also, Harry seems to get over the touchy subject of his dear departed Marianne to start making passes at Rachel in her kitchen quite quickly.

My biggest problem with the movie is the writing, which is so bad in some places that it really brings down the parts in the movie where it is good. Harry's line about sex being like riding a bicycle because once you learn you never forget is laughable. Some of the Wando children's lines I found to be lacking in substance too and almost condescending to the viewer. But, as I said, not all the writing is bad: an example is the excellent delivery of a reference to Pompei by one of Harry and Paul's colleagues and another's excitement over Rachel's regular coffee deliveries.

In the end, when this movie is bad, it's bad, but in general it's good.

Not bad as far as natural disaster movies go

[tastyhotdogs · 7/10 · 31 March 2006]

Saw this a video sale this week for a $1. Wifey was stoked as her favourite movie genre is "natural disasters".

The movie revolves around volcano expert Harry (Brosnan), who decides to go and take a look at a volcano in a small US town where there seems to be some minimal activity. He is expecting this just to be a routine check, but once he starts taking some PH tests, things don't look so good. Then he finds some dead bodies in a hot spring and things look decidedly worse. He warns the town Mayor (Hamilton) the old volcano looks like she's gonna blow and she should look at evacuating the town ASAP. Just before this is about to happen, Harry's boss rocks into town, playing the time-old boss who doesn't take heed of the advice of someone smarter than him. Will the evacuation be too late? Will Harry and the Mayor get romantically involved? Will Harry again be tormented by a volcano? Will Nanna survive? Will the end be predictable? See it and find out.

Still one of my favorite disaster films.

[paulclaassen · 7/10 · 14 February 2019]

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.

Loved it in 97...Loved it in 2019

[adshiel · 8/10 · 16 May 2019]

I think in between those years i have watched it numerous times.

CGI has got better but to the point where it seems a little unreal, this doesn't.

Daft plot points (we still get plenty of them) but generally a really watchable disaster movie.

An Underrated Disaster Flick

[npdeo18 · 6/10 · 12 October 2019]

I was quite surprised to see the negative reviews for the film. In fact the reviews for this film is quite critical in comparison with Volcano. But the direction of the movie and certain technical aspects of the film are better than volcano. Certain scenes may have been quite unrealistic & predictable but it still was able to evoke enough thrills for a disaster film. Pierce Brosnan was perfectly cast for the role, in fact the producers must have encased on his popularity of being the Bond. But the chemistry between Brosnan and Hamilton was not encouraging in fact someone else could have been casted in the role of Linda Hamilton and the mid portion of the film could have been edited or showcased in a better manner. Overall the film can be ranked as one of the most under-rated disaster films of all time had it been for better editing and casting.

jason kerr

[jkerr-56884 · 5/10 · 20 October 2015]

Dante's Peak is about a volcanic eruption that has happened in a village. Harry the main character is a volcanologist, a few years ago his girlfriend died in a volcanic eruption while trying to get away.

Harry works in the USGS with his boss Paul and the staff, Harry is sent into a nearby village to work on a volcano that they think might erupt. Harry goes with the major, Rachel, and her children to her mother in law, Ruth, for Harry to inspect the wild life around the volcano. Ruth offered to go swimming in the springs with the kids, when they get there they walk down the path and they spot squirrels and trees burnt down, later on they go for a swim and Harry notices the spring is boiling while the boy runs to jump in to the spring Harry jumps and catches the boy. When they go back to the village he tells the major to put the town on alert so they have a meeting to see what they should do, but Harry's boss comes and stops the commotion. The next day they go up the volcano and put a machine called a spider up for safety but the spider breaks and one of his colleagues go to try and fix it but when he was doing that an earth tremor breaks some rocks which fall on him and break his leg. A town meeting is announced and puts the town on alert, but when the meeting is still on an earthquake comes and everyone goes crazy. Harry and the major go and evacuate, but when they go to get the kids, they had already left to see her mother in law. When they get to the mother in laws house they try to escape but the road is blocked by lava so they drive through it. After they get through the lava they go on a boat across the lake to get away from the lava. When they were sailing the acid in the water burns the metal boat and the motor on the boat was also eaten away by the acid. So the mother in law gets out and pushes the boat to save them by getting them to the other side. As they walk through the ash, the mother in law stops and dies because of the wounds from the acid in the water. They find a car and drive back to the village and get a device called an elf, which is a transmitter. Harry runs back to the car and an ash cloud pushes towards them. They get into an abandoned mine shaft to get away from the ash cloud. As they walk deeper into the mine Harry goes back to get the elf as the elf is a transmitter which lets the USGS know they have survived. So they can be saved.

I found the movie Dante's Peak interesting. The characters where well played and my favourite was Harry. I would give it a 5/5

An explosively fun drama!

[That_Movie_Watcher · 7/10 · 1 January 2022]

I wasn't really expecting to like this film because I though it was going to be just another cheesy and over dramatic disaster movie, but I was proven wrong. I throughly enjoyed this movie and was honestly on the edge of my seat during certain scenes.

The characters were done pretty well and didn't feel all that poorly written/executed. There were some scenes that were funky or weird, but they didn't really harm the film much overall.

My favorite aspect about this film is the fact that most of the effects were done practically! I love to see movies use real props, destroy real sets, and interact with real environments! It makes everything that happens in the film feel real and emerges the audience into the film! I loved how Pierce Brosnan really did the stunt of being picked up by a helicopter dangling from a rope, and being flown over a real mountain! AWSOME!! I HATE how much newer movies rely on blue screens, CGI, and motion capture stuff because it just makes the movies feel fake and done lazily. I think this movie greatly benefited from using real props, sets, and effects. The lava was CG and didn't look great but everything else did!

The director being a geologist prior to directing this really showed in the film because you can tell he really put a lot of time and care into getting many of the geological aspects correct in this film!

It's not the best movie, it has its flaws, but I think it's a fun watch! Recommend to anyone who's a disaster movie buff!

I LOVE 90's DISASTER MOVIES & THIS IS A CLASSIC!!!

[lukem-52760 · 7/10 · 11 November 2020]

Dante's Peak is a fantastic, edge of the seat Disaster Thriller from the best decade that made them the 90's & this movie is definitely one of the absolute best of it's genre. The 90's was my era of being a teenager & loving movies & we had so many excellent Disaster type flicks coming out like Stallone's Daylight & Bill Paxton's Twister & Tommy Lee Jones' Volcano & Dustin Hoffman's Outbreak & many more but DANTE'S PEAK is a MASTERPIECE of that genre in my opinion. Pierce Brosnan is brilliant as the Volcano scientist expert sent to a beautiful little all American town that happens to be very near to a huge Volcano that recently has been causing some strange behaviour around the area including the surrounding forests & rivers. Brosnan is truly excellent as our lead hero & is simply an astonishing actor & is still my favourite James Bond by far!!! Brosnan gives such a convincing & dedicated performance as Harry & i loved his nice guy character & also Linda Hamilton (Terminator 1&2) is equally fantastic as the nice natured Mayor of the town who actually wants to save everyone & is a good single parent mum to her two kids & has such nice chemistry with Brosnan on screen, they make a perfect match & both give superb performances. Gotta talk abit about the legendary Pierce Brosnan as he was absolutely in his prime during the 90's with Classic films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Mars Attacks & especially his big stint as the greatest JAMES BOND ever!!! His 1997 Bond outing Tomorrow Never Dies is my favourite of all the BOND franchise & no one has ever been better than Brosnan in my opinion. Brosnan always seems like such a nice guy & is in real life I've heard many times over the years & lately he stole the show as a British Mercenary in the brilliant survival Thriller NO ESCAPE with Owen Wilson, there he was more a side character but his presence made the movie feel greater & his performance was fantastic & he stole the show & that's the power of such a great performer & veteran actor. I will always have big Nostalgic love for 90's Brosnan because that was his glory days & when he starred in his best films, especially DANTE'S PEAK.

The little town is beautiful & a stunning background for our Characters & the town looks so gorgeous, almost old fashioned like a 1950's all American town complete with a town hall for meetings with the townsfolk & the whole gorgeous town is surrounded by stunning forests & beautiful rivers, this is a postcard town & i loved everything about it from it's cozy Coffee Diners to it's big stunning bridge & we also have a lovely colourful Carnival happening too. The cinematography is beautiful, colourful & eye popping from the glow of Neon signs to the Bright Colourful Carnival it's all stunning to look at. The music is fantastic throughout the whole movie, perfect score. The action is so well spaced out & made exciting & threatening through superb build up & tension such as the horny couple who take a naked dip into a beautiful water hole pool within the forest & it's warm & peaceful but the scene plays out like it's a Slasher flick from the 80's as it builds up to the couple not getting sliced up but by boiling alive in the water, it's an impressive & thrilling scene to show what's slowly happening around the place. The Disaster sequences in this film are some of the greatest ever filmed in my opinion, the suspense is almost unbearable at times (The boat of the boiling acid lake) & the action is thrilling & exciting & absolutely edge of the seat stuff. Probably my favourite Disaster movie ever & this is the best I've seen Pierce Brosnan as a lead hero, he's fantastic & i loved his little team that join him with his investigations in the town & the like i said the building up of threat & danger is expertly done & explodes with action & devastation.

Dante's Peak is a forgotten Gem from the 90's, a Classic Disaster movie that never gets mentioned & it's such a shame because it's a thrilling Masterpiece of a Disaster movie with excellent performances & beautiful cinematography, it's top notch filmmaking & a perfect "Pop Corn" movie & to me is what movies were about back then, the entertainment, fun & excitement. A stone cold Classic

Clichéd and predictable but agreeable disaster movie with overwhelming special effects

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 2 August 2019]

Norwest volcano causing death, destruction and wreak havoc , it serves up a smurgasboard of molten disaster on the second most desirable town in the US , the titular Dante's Peak . This impressive volcano has a computer-generator peak finally get lost among the deadly emissions ,as it packs an awesome and destructive power enhanced in big screen by the stereophonic sound. It stars Pierce Brosnan as one of the most experienced scientists in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) , and a 4 years bachelor after he lost his sweetheart to a volcanic eruption in Columbia . As Brosnan is an intuitive sismologist who along with other volcanologists : Charles Hallahan , Grant Heslov , Tzi Ma , Kirk Trutne , Arabella Field predicting imminent catastrophe , while local councillors insist there's no need for panic . As geologist Brosnan comes to Washington to match wits with the towners and joins forces with the Mayor femme Wando , Linda Hamilton . Although some scientists invoking lack of real physical evidence while actually being afraid of causing huge financial losses for the investors, and countermands Brosnan's alert. Only the brave scientific Brosnan and spunky Mayor Hamilton stand between the breathtaking volcanic mountain and meldown . The pressure is building... Whatever you do, don't look back .

Acceptable disaster movie paced in fits and starts with a great cast, though a little wasted. The first 1997's Volcano movies acquits itself well in the spectacle department , but it is dwarfed by colournes characters . Flick follows the Disaster genre playbook , page by page , as script takes a backseat to nonstop action . A wonderful location has to deal with a horrible volcano , mudslides , raging fires , it is completely toasted by millions of gallons of molten lava . Ashes fall like snow , computer generator lava flows profusely , poisonous gases leak out and water turns acid all with desired nail-biting, jaw-dropping effects. The most striking aspect of this fun , old-fashioned catastrophe movie is the novelty of seeing the familiar of backdrops used as a creative recourse in its own right . As all of them have to escape through ash that falls like rain, lava, acid lakes and a pyroclastic cloud to getaway from the volcano. As an exercice in catastrophe movie logistics , this is on a par with ¨Twister¨, and it was made at the same time to ¨Volcano¨(1997) by Mick Jackson with Tommy Lee Jones , Anna Heche , John Corbett , Gaby Hoffman . This was a successful catastrophe movie that belongs to Disaster movie genre that in the 70s and 80s achieved splendor such as : Towering inferno, Poseidon, Beyond Poseidon, The swarm, Avalanche, The Russian rollercoaster, Avalanche express , Airport I, II, III.. and whose main representative was producer Irwin Allen . The fine cast cannot save this passable film , at all . It lacks deep characterization , displaying some boring moments and a tiring script that was presumibly well paid . Duo protagonists : Brosnan , Hamilton work hard to dig up an emotional rapport , while the slow but inexorable progress of the lava makes for more suspense than the usual slam bang firework display . It has Brosnan the standard take-charge guy , a volcanologist attempting to avert total destruction while being assisted by the brawny but beautiful Mayor , Linda Cameron . Wondo Mayor Hamilton along with her two children : Jamie Renée Smith , Jeremy Foley , Grandmother : Elizabeth Hoffman and dog lend the regular charm and the traditional as well as beloved requisite to be a film for the whole family .

It packs state-of-art and breathtaking special effects by computer generator that are far more varied and genuinely terrifying . It contains an atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak . Being shot on lcation in Mount St. Helens, National Volcanic Monument, Baker Hot Springs, Mt. Baker National Forest, Washington, Mexican Town Movie Ranch, Saugus, Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch, Saugus, Agua Dulce, California . And a thrilling and enjoyable musical score by John Frizzel .The motion picture was professionally directed by Roger Donaldson , though it has some flaws . Donaldon's first film, Sleeping dogs (1977), was the first made in New Zealand in 15 years and also the first to be shown in American theaters. Roger is a good director and producer, known for The Bounty (1984) , No way out (1987) , Burt Munro (2005), Species (1995) and Cocktail (1988), among others . Rating : 6/10 . It is exactly for the whole family .

A+ for escapism: C- for writing.

[Mike-369 · 6/10 · 28 November 1998]

It you are looking for a movie that you don't want to think too hard about, this is the movie. It has lots of scenes and stunts that make this movie an action thriller. If you are looking for a movie that has good writing, continuity, commonsense, etc., you'd better look elsewhere.

Harry Dalton, who is proclaimed to be a renowned scientist and foremost authority on volcanoes, comes off looking more like a spoiled brat, than an expert. He attempts to try calling a townwide alert for a pending disaster that none of his colleagues agree with. They ask him to give them some scientific proof to justify his claim of pending doom. Instead, he pouts about it.

Harry is assisting with the deployment of a mechanical device to measure seismic readings and the device gets stuck on the side of the mountain. The device cost more than 450,000. Why didn't the helicopter set the device down on the valley of the dormit crater. Harry insists on alerting the town and not one of his collegues again agrees that disaster is about to occur. Harry starts to pout again and its off to a roll in the hay with the mayor, Rachel.

When disaster finally does strike, Harry appears to lose any ability of commonsense, needed for even the simplest of disasters. He starts off the movie, driving like it was a demolishion derby, then later in the movie, attempts to push a car off the bridge. Later, he trys to cross a stream that is at least three to four feet deep. He scoffs at other cars trying to do the same thing as really stupid. He gets stuck (dah)and only by the grace of the producers did he get away safely. Then, he drives away without any problem whatsoever. The law of physics says that a motor immersed in water will not run. Harry proceeds to drive over debris with superhuman results. When it seems that they were trapped, they stumble over an alluminium boat for their getaway. They notice all the dead fish and the boat being eaten by acid. As the water eats the propeller off the boat, Harry wraps his arm with his jacket and starts rowing the boat. When Ruth fears for everyone's safety, she jumps in the water and pulls the boat to safety. They show where the acid ate her legs off, but where the water had gotten on Harry, he appeared fine. Harry finds a truck and drives the crew off to safety. When he tries to drive over hot molten lava as wide as a river, I stopped and wondered if he was sane at all. With a gas tank made out of alluminium, how did he, a scientist, expect to drive a truck, loaded with Rachel and her two kids over fifty to 100 feet of molten rock and not melt or explode as the gastank melted. Toward the end he finally gets smart and gets the NASA device. Why he didn't try to find another vehicle without melted tires is beyond me but, I guess thats Hollywood. Well, he puts that device in the truck and rams the truck into a cave. The problem is he forgets to turn it on. Dah! Harry - wake up!

Two days later, Harry's crew sees the NASA light blinking and immediately realizes that Harry is ok. Why didn't it cross their minds that someone could have come back in town and simply turned it on.

Maybe Harry was really the owner's son and constantly got into scrapes like this because he was overtly stupid and it was their jobs to lookout for Harry.

In either case, watch it for fun, but don't analyze it for quality in script or content.

Dante's unleashed hell

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 20 November 2013]

Dante's Peak was released a year after Independence Day which set new standards in destruction of buildings. Unfortunately, disaster films became fashionable (Twister was released in 1996) and two were released in 1997 that had exploding volcanoes.

This one regarded as the better of the two as it had James Bond in it.

The film starts brightly enough. Brosnan plays a workaholic volcanologist, Harry Dalton who has trauma issues. He is sent to a small town in Washington State. He soon discovers that a dormant volcano might be showing signs of coming to life.

Harry has a warm relationship with the town's mayor (Linda Hamilton.) The town of Dante's Peak is in danger. However some of the townsfolk who seemed to have formerly resided in Amity Island 20 years earlier before a great white shark attacked do not want to scare off the tourists.

Dalton's boss is all for keeping things quiet and not scare off people.

However the volcano does erupt putting lives at risk. Dalton and the Mayor with her family must evade the oncoming lava.

The set up is good but rather corny. Brosnan's work colleagues are a little bit too hip. The special effects were the best part of the film when the volcano erupts and damages the town with very good miniature effects and CGI. Although the CGI has aged over the years.

The film itself is a little hokey, the script rather shaky and maybe it needed another draft or two. The conclusion seemed rather rushed.

watchable but formulaic disaster movie

[wbg02 · 6/10 · 16 September 2003]

Dante's Peak is essentially a formulaic disaster movie. However, several aspects to this movie at least make it watchable. Most importantly, the two leads, Pierce Brosnan as the geologist and Linda Hamilton as the small town mayor, give good performances. They are likable stars, which makes the viewer care about the fate of their characters. Another good point is that the movie does not include the stereotypical sleazy government or corporate type that ignores the warnings of the disaster. The objections Brosnan's boss raises to his alarm are reasonable. Finally, the computer-generated effects are well done.

Yet, I can not give the movie a passing grade. At its heart, it is just a CGI update of a genre that died out in the 1970's. Also, possibly because of the fictional setting and the complete dependence on CGI, the danger that the town will be destroyed is never compelling. The viewer wishes that Brosnan and Hamilton (and the dog) are saved, and the movie gives you interesting visuals, but not much more. Therefore, a 6/10 for Dante's Peak, worth a viewing if its on cable but not worth renting or buying.

This Movie Rocks

[Goob16 · 10/10 · 22 September 2006]

Why the hell has this movie only gotten a 5.5 rating? It is one of the best action movies to come out of the 90's. Peirce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton are dead on in their roles. The movie has action, love, despair and redemption. I gave this movie a 10 and I'm sticking with it! Linda has been one of the most talented actresses around for a while. I was very upset that she did not get a golden globe or academy award nomination for T2:Judgement Day. She know what to bring to her roles and how to use them. Mr. Prosnan is a excellent actor. But he is better in this film than in most of the Bond films he has been in. The special effects were awesome and inspiring. Can anyone outrun a paraclastic cloud in a beat up and burned pickup that just drove over red-hot lava? The answer is yes but just barely. Dedication means that you stay with the truck and the NASA signal device for at least 2 or 3 days until someone can drag you out and also get the family you were trying to save. Then you can go sea fishing after your compound fracture heals. This is a great movie.