it's time to take cover . after a hiatus of about fifteen years , the disaster movie has come back with renewed zest . in early 1997 , there were no less than three movies about volcanoes alone , one on television and two in the theaters , with dante's peak and volcano in heavy competition for the moviegoing dollar . of the two , i had heard that dante's peak was the better film , so i decided to check it out when it was released on video . the film begins with a slow motion scene of people in a third world country trying to evacuate their little town . the town is being covered in ash and sulfuric water from what we presume is a volcanic eruption . flaming rocks of various sizes also fall from the sky , crushing homes and people . we see people panicking , people crying , and even horses rearing . it is a disaster of biblical proportions , signified to us by one person dragging a cross down a road . symbolism doesn't get much more blatant than that . we learn that harry dalton ( pierce brosnan ) , a volcanologist with the u . s . geological survey , was there with his wife when the eruption occurred . harry survived , but his wife did not . a few years later , harry is sent to investigate some unusual seismic activity detected near the small town of dante's peak , washington ( which , we are told , has been voted second most desirable place to live ( under 20 , 000 ) by the readers of money magazine ) . there harry meets rachel wando , a single mother of two who serves as mayor of dante's peak and proprietor of a small coffee shop . although the mayor doesn't seem to be alarmed by the presence of a man sent to determine if the mountain next to their town is going to blow up , a few members of the city council are . they are afraid that harry's presence is going to scare off an investor who has pledged to put millions of dollars into developing dante's peak . they would rather have any news of possible stirrings within the neighboring dormant volcano swept under the rug . however , when an amorous young couple takes a skinny-dip in the local hot springs , they turn up cooked by lava which bubbles up from a small fissure underneath . thus begins a chain of events leading up to the inevitable eruption . this film contains a number of cliches . the amorous couple is one . as soon as they doff their clothes , you know they're going to die . the town busybody and the abrasive mother-in-law make appearances , as does the death-defying dog . countless familiar scenarios only serve to make this film very predictable . watching the movie , i was able to not only anticipate each of the major plot elements , but some of the dialogue as well . unfortunate , since much of the dialog is terrible . for example , harry's boss , paul ( charles hallahan ) , and a team from the u . s . geological survey join harry to assess the situation . paul basically tells the townsfolk that harry's eruption predictions aren't cause for alarm . this causes harry to leave in a fit of rage , only to turn up the next day , ready for work . when paul asks harry why he stayed , he says with grim determination , " cause this town's in trouble and i'm the best man you've got . " even better is when harry is trying to explain the need to jolt the residents into leaving . he likens the situation to how a frog will jump out if dropped into a pot of boiling water . if the frog is in cold water which is gradually heated up , however , the frog won't move and will allow itself to be cooked . " is that your recipe for frog soup ? " asks one of the team members . " it's my recipe for disaster , " responds harry . dante's peak has a singular talent for pointing out the obvious . our heroes are in a boat in the middle of a lake which harry realizes the volcanic activity has turned to acid . mayor wando demonstrates her brilliant powers of deduction by proclaiming , in a very grave tone , " acid eats metal . " thanks for the tip . when we first see the u . s . geological survey building , there's a caption labeling it as such . this wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that the caption is right above a sign on the building which reads , in large letters , " u . s . geological survey . " i suppose the caption is for people who can't read signs . although harry and mayor wando become an item by the end of the film , the viewer has no idea why . there is a severe lack of chemistry between the two characters , and the relationship seems rushed because of this . when they get close to kissing , i was asking myself , " why do they want to kiss ? were they even attracted to each other ? " if i were the mayor , i would sure think twice about kissing a guy who doesn't even crack a smile through the whole movie , trying to pull off the rough-yet-debonair act . who does he think he is ? james bond ? the eruption of the volcano feels similarly rushed . there are several " warning signs " prior to the eruption itself , but they are so lackluster and without suspense that we don't feel as if they are leading up to anything . for example , one of the survey team members makes his way down into the crater of the volcano in order to retrieve a remote controlled robot . a tremor occurs . does he plunge headlong to his death ? is he engulfed in lava which shoots up from below ? no , a couple of rocks fall on him and break his leg . the sole purpose of this scene seemed to be to set up the subsequent chopper rescue scene , which i suppose was intended to be dramatic as well . it wasn't . one plot thread left noticeably hanging was the investment in the town of dante's peak . in a disaster movie , there's usually one guy who's greedy enough to cover up the possibility of eruption/fire/earthquake/explosion/tsunami/tornado/meteorite , and usually gets killed by the disaster . it's okay , of course , because we all think he got what he deserved . if you're going to be unoriginal , you might as well go all the way . in dante's peak , the city councilmembers are concerned , but they don't really try hard enough . maybe the mayor's abrasive mother-in-law should have been the one . for no apparent reason , she snaps at harry for even positing that the volcano could erupt . perhaps her ancestors invested in some pompeii real estate . there are a couple of good things about this movie . the first is the scenery . there are panoramic shots of forests , lakes and mountains that are absolutely beautiful . the second is the special effects . they are the closest i've ever seen to a real pyroclastic eruption . but when elements which don't speak are going to be the best parts of your movie , you'd probably better rewrite the script .
