Volcano (1997)
51%RT Audience Score: 32%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
Volcano’s prodigious pyrotechnics and Tommy Lee Jones’ crotchety sneers at lava aren’t quite enough to save this routine disaster film
Volcano may not be the most original disaster movie out there, but it sure knows how to bring the heat. The special effects are eye-popping and the action never stops, even if the characters are a bit thin. But who needs character development when you have Tommy Lee Jones as the chief of emergency services, determined to save L.A. from a malevolent tide of melted butter? It’s a glorious, over-the-top spectacle that’s perfect for a movie night with friends. Just don’t forget the popcorn and fire extinguisher.
Production Company(ies)
Armada Productions,
Distributor
20th Century Fox, Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lanai Lookout – 8102 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 25, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 9, 1999
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Gaby Hoffmann, Don Cheadle, Jacqueline Kim, Keith David, directed by Mick Jackson, written by Jerome Armstrong, Billy Ray, action, disaster film, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Bill Stamets, William Thomas, David Ansen, Owen Gleiberman, Todd McCarthy, Kenneth Turan, produced by Neal H Moritz, Andrew Z Davis, PG-13, Los Angeles, volcano, emergency management, geologist, lava, sewer tunnels, earthquake, police lieutenant, fire department, special effects, Tommy Lee Jones’ crotchety sneers, Anne Heche’s warning, diverting lava, 20th Century Fox, Fox, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $39,404,261
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $90,842,164
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,068
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,906,452
US/Canada gross: $39,404,261
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $90,842,164
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 796
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,252,232
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,329,997
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 624
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $57,634,734
Production budget ranking: 703
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $31,036,304
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,171,126
ROI to date (est.): 2%
ROI ranking: 1,384
Anne Heche – Dr. Amy Barnes
Gaby Hoffmann – Kelly Roark
Don Cheadle – Emmit Reese
Jacqueline Kim – Dr. Jaye Calder
Keith David – Police Lieutenant Ed Fox
Director(s)
Mick Jackson
Writer(s)
Jerome Armstrong, Billy Ray
Producer(s)
Neal H. Moritz, Andrew Z. Davis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (24)
Unfortunately, Volcano is also faithful to Hollywood’s legendary lack of originality…
June 15, 2022
Bill Stamets
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
None of it makes a hell of a lot of sense and the supporting cast are wallpaper thin, but Volcano is at least hot on entertainment.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
William Thomas
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Volcano, busily and cheerfully hysterical, always has some new fish to fry, new truck to melt, new skyscraper to tumble or new manhole to pop with a radiant gusher of movie magma.
February 28, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Never generates a head of true excitement, partly because the characters remain constructs designed to perform defined functions, and partly due to the time-worn hokiness of the whole disaster-film format.
March 26, 2009
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The coast may be toast, but it’s the lava, covering everything like a malevolent tide of melted butter, that makes this a disaster picture that’s tastier than usual.
February 14, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Volcano might not be the best volcano movie from 1997 but the action never stops.
April 25, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
There’s a glorious faux-plausibility to the proceedings that makes movies like Volcano all the more entertaining.
January 8, 2019
Louis Peitzman
io9.com
Movies like “Volcano” exist for their gigantic, humongous, eye-popping special effects and this picture delivers those — Big Time.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World
You leave “Volcano” feeling a bit singed.
January 7, 2019
Michael Ollove
Baltimore Sun
Volcano was really ahead of its time and time still hasn’t caught up. In Volcano they thought of ways to stop the lava. They weren’t going to give up L.A. You don’t cast Tommy Lee Jones as the chief of emergency services and ask him to run.
May 23, 2017
Fred Topel
We Live Entertainment
The fairly anticlimactic final stretch ensures that Volcano concludes on a less-than-engrossing note…
March 24, 2017 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews…
Plot
Joe versus the Volcano is a fable which opens with somewhat surrealistic scenes of the dehumanization of Joe Bank’s job and work environment (at a company whose product rather literally screws people) with imagery that seems to have been inspired by the classic film Metropolis. Joe is diagnosed with an incurable disease, quits his dehumanizing job, and accepts an offer to briefly “live like a king, die like a man” – but to fulfill his agreement he must willingly jump into a live volcano on the island of Waponi Woo in order to appease the volcano god. En route to the island, Joe meets a series of interesting characters in NYC and LA, then boards a yacht, captained by Patricia Graynamore. During the voyage Joe and Patricia survive disaster, fall in love, and finally arrive at the island where they face their destiny.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels mentions Tommy Lee Jones’ “crotchety sneers at lava” in their review of Volcano.
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