Volcano

PG-13

Released Apr 25, 1997

1h 42m

Action

List

49%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

32%

Audience Score

100,000+ Ratings

When a massive earthquake rocks the city of Los Angeles, Emergency Management department head Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) returns from his vacation to help with the city's response. After geologist Dr. Amy Barnes (Anne Heche) warns that a volcano may be forming in sewer tunnels, another severe earthquake unleashes the lava flowing underfoot, threatening to destroy the whole city. As the fiery molten rock runs through the streets, Roark and Barnes must figure out how to divert it.

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Critics Consensus

Volcano's prodigious pyrotechnics and Tommy Lee Jones' crotchety sneers at lava aren't quite enough to save this routine disaster film.

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Bill Stamets

Chicago Reader

Unfortunately, Volcano is also faithful to Hollywood’s legendary lack of originality...

Jun 15, 2022

Full Review

William Thomas

Empire Magazine

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.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 8, 2019

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

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.

Feb 28, 2018

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

The more I watch Volcano, the film holds up as the best volcano movie from 1997 with never-ending action.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 25, 2022

Full Review

Louis Peitzman

io9.com

There's a glorious faux-plausibility to the proceedings that makes movies like Volcano all the more entertaining.

Jan 8, 2019

Full Review

Dennis King

Tulsa World

Movies like ``Volcano'' exist for their gigantic, humongous, eye-popping special effects and this picture delivers those -- Big Time.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 8, 2019

Full Review

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This Old G

Your typical disaster plot but hilarious and entertaining. This movie cracks me over every time I watch it. And I love Tommy Lee Jones.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/03/24

Full Review

bill V

I saw this film in a theater when first released. I thought it was kinda OK at the time. Just saw it on the Sci-Fi channel an hour ago. This was a terrific film. They just don't make films like this anymore.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/24/24

Full Review

Michael B

Fantastic Disaster Movie, One Of My Faverts Credics Go To Bed!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/15/24

Full Review

Joseph C

What is so bad about this movie, aboslutely nothing. This is the perfect disaster film for the modern era and it's surreal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/24

Full Review

Carson P

Really good movie tommy lee Jones is great in this, the charachters are likeable and the story is coherent, the special effects are astonishing and is is very thought provoking with a dramatic score and lots of destruction showing dramatic tension and emotion of how people would react to a disaster this felt like a movie Roland emmerich would make and because of that it's well directed and is one of the better disaster films I heard this came with another similar disaster film Dante's peak the same year well volcano in my opinion is the superior of the two because it has better acting, better special effects and charachters I feel bad for not to mention it being more convincing this is the ultimate disaster film of 97 only behind titanic I give volcano a very strong A-

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

Sebastian L

The obvious problem is the total lack of plot. The next obvious problem is the total lack of dynamic pace. It's just one thick disaster migraine. Lee Jones and Cheadle deserve better.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

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Mick Jackson

Director

Tommy Lee Jones

Mike Roark

Anne Heche

Dr. Amy Barnes

Gaby Hoffmann

Kelly Roark

Don Cheadle

Emmit Reese

Jacqueline Kim

Dr. Jaye Calder

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Synopsis

When a massive earthquake rocks the city of Los Angeles, Emergency Management department head Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) returns from his vacation to help with the city's response. After geologist Dr. Amy Barnes (Anne Heche) warns that a volcano may be forming in sewer tunnels, another severe earthquake unleashes the lava flowing underfoot, threatening to destroy the whole city. As the fiery molten rock runs through the streets, Roark and Barnes must figure out how to divert it.

Director: Mick Jackson
Producer: Neal H. Moritz, Andrew Z. Davis
Screenwriter: Jerome Armstrong, Billy Ray
Distributor: Fox, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 25, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $47.5M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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