volcano be set in los angeles where a minor earthquake have just hit and vacation bos of the o. e. m. ( the offcie of emergency management ) mike roark ( tommy lee jones ) decide to cut his holiday short and go in and once there he see that everything be alright but then drive off to the epicentre of the quake where seven underground worker have be kill by a fire or intense heat of some kind . mike isn not sure what to think so he bring geologist dr. amy barnes ( anne heche ) in to try and explain thing and unfortunately a huge underground river of molten lava have be release after the quake and erupts at the la brea tar pit send the lava pour out into the city street engulf anything and everything it touch in flame . mike and his men and the emergency service have their work cut out try to stop the river of lava and save a many life a possible . direct by mick jackson this be the second big budget disaster flick revolve around the idea of an erupting volcano during 1997 with dante peak ( 1997 ) be release a mere two month or so before volcano be and while dante peak be hardly any sort of masterpiece at least it slightly well and more plausible than volcano be . the script here be total nonsense and be not base in reality at all and underground river of lava that seem to appear and then disappear just a quick and various character stand inch from a river of lava yet not be affect by the heat ( when that guy be on the train the metal seat around him start melt but he remain perfectly fine and as far a i be aware human skin be not a heat resistant a metal and be it . ) and it constantly happen and helicopter fly be cloud of ash ( in reality it would be impossible ) and one simple blockade at the end of a street will stop the flowing lava ( what about down the other street and other direction . ) and be able to blow a perfect trench in a street and then blow a huge building up to make a massive dam and when kelly see the lava heading towards her car she get out just like anyone would but then for some reason just stand there and watch two fireman get burn to death and wait for her dad to save her even though by this stage her leg have catch fire and despite all those concrete block be place together to make a barrier in less than twenty minute the guy do such a great job not one bit of molten lava manages to seep through and load more besides like that massive building fall on tommy lee and his daughter yet then both be fine afterwards . the character be awful too although they be not as clichéd a usual with no romance blossom between tommy lee and anne heche and minimal city official who try to shut tommy lee and anne heche up before the event label them scaremonger . there a few badly write and at time embarrass moral moment a los angeles pull together and the black guy and that semi racist cop who warm to each other and by the end be wish each other well and that little kid at the end when he say everyone look the same be cringe worthy and be surely a ham fisted attempt and try to say whatever colour we be we be still human being and we can all get along in time of a crisis a it bring people together . have say that i think volcano be one of those so bad it good film and it entertain and it move along at a decent pace but just do not expect anything ground in reality or any human drama either . i suppose a film like volcano could be see a an updating of a 70 disaster film such a the poseidon adventure ( 1972 ) or earthquake ( 1974 ) but on a huge budget with modern effect work . speaking of the effect they be alright but none stand out that much and the set piece be also surprisingly forgettable and sure there be a few impressive explosion and a few ok river of lava flow through los angeles effect but little else . generally volcano just isn not very exciting and while occasionally unintentionally funny and completely ridiculous it doesn not really work in the way the maker intend . with a supposed budget of about $ 90 and 000 and 000 it open to a little under $ 15 and 000 and 000 at the box office and it look alright and there lot of fire but nothing stand out and volcano be a pretty forgettable film overall . film in los angeles i think most of the place feature here be shoot at their real life location . the cast go through the motion with some terrible dialogue and ridiculous set piece to contend with and tommy lee jones deserves good than this . volcano be a bit of a disaster in both sens and it be a disaster theme film that end up a bit of disaster itself . worth it for a few unintentional laugh and the ridiculousness of it all but it nothing great and i doubt i would ever want to see it again .