Dante's Peak

Twister, only no twists

Features: Pierce Brosman, Linda Hamilton
Director: Roger Donaldson
Tell you what folks, I ought to be in Hollywood writing screenplays. If a movie such as Dante's Peak can get produced from a "script" which is nothing more than a Twister ripoff, then I can surely do just as well.

Consider how both movies:

  • Begin with a prelude where a loved one of the scientist is killed by said phenomena.
  • Have ground crews chasing the phenoms which consist of wacky eccentrics.
  • Use Chrysler trucks and vans.
  • Have a grandmotherly character who needs her ass rescued.
  • The main characters have to outrun the phenom, fail, and end up taking shelter from the phenom.

    Well! I wish I was this creative. Golly! Oh, Peak strikes out with a note of difference from Twister by throwing in a couple of bratty kids ("The boat is sinking! The boat is sinking!" God I wish it was.) But that just means they're ripping off Jurassic Park for this section instead.

    Talk about your word-processed cut-and-paste jobs. If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then this screenplay is the literary equivalent.

    The dialogue is nothing more than something to fill the gaps before we get on to the next SFX extravaganza. Linda Hamilton as the plucky mayor and Pierce Brosman as the dedicated scientist are nothing more than archetypes mouthing words as filler. While it is great to see Hamilton back on the screen, I wish it was something better. Brosman repeats his part from Mars Attacks! and needs to watch that he doesn't get stereotyped with these roles.

    While the movie as a story leaves a lot to be desired, the SFX are jaw-droppers. As I've said before, the day is rapidly coming where a movie will be crunched in a computer with no actors, sets, or locations. And it will be indistinguishable from a filmed movie. Peak raises the bar with its computer SFX and they are stunning. When the volcano blows, you swear that there really and truly is a volcano doing its thing. And when the pyroplastic cloud hits the town (and I mean hit), it is more "real" than a Godzilla-set model breaking apart could ever hope to achieve.

    So it's like this: the movie is A-1 lame. I cannot really recommend it. If you could see another movie at your local megaplex and manage to duck in to Peak for the last half hour and its wowser SFX, then do that.

    Movie's suitability for:

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