Volcano
When a volcano erupts beneath Los Angeles, an emergency chief and a volcanologist race through fire, lava, and collapsing infrastructure to save the city.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Moderate
- propulsive
- heightened
- campy
- blockbuster night
- disaster movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film energetic and pyrotechnically ambitious but undermined by familiar disaster-movie clichés, uneven effects, and a repetitive latter half.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The eruption emerges beneath the La Brea Tar Pits and sends lava through streets, subways, and storm drains across Los Angeles.
Mike Roark’s emergency command responsibilities intersect with the urgent need to protect his daughter Kelly during the eruption.
The film foregrounds fire bombs, lava flows, collapsing infrastructure, and large-scale urban destruction.
Firefighters, emergency officials, scientists, subway routes, storm drains, and dynamite become central tools for containing the eruption.
Films like Volcano, and why
Dante's Peak
shared disaster-film structure, urban catastrophe, emergency responders, and spectacle-driven action
The Day After Tomorrow
shared large-scale natural disaster, ensemble rescue drama, and escalating survival peril
The Towering Inferno
shared citywide destruction, heroic first responders, and heightened disaster-movie thrills
Twister
shared 1990s action spectacle, emergency leadership, and melodramatic crisis plotting
Movie Details
- Director
- Mick Jackson
- Release Date
- 1997-04-25
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (1767)
Cast
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Anne Heche
- Gaby Hoffmann
- Don Cheadle
- Jacqueline Kim
- Keith David
- John Corbett
- Michael Rispoli
- John Carroll Lynch
- Marcello Thedford
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Volcano about?
- When a volcano erupts beneath Los Angeles, an emergency chief and a volcanologist race through fire, lava, and collapsing infrastructure to save the city.
- What is Volcano like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Volcano as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Volcano violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Volcano as moderate.
- What did critics think of Volcano?
- Critics broadly found the film energetic and pyrotechnically ambitious but undermined by familiar disaster-movie clichés, uneven effects, and a repetitive latter half.
- Which films are like Volcano?
- Films with a similar feel include Dante's Peak, The Day After Tomorrow, The Towering Inferno, and Twister.
- How long is Volcano?
- Volcano runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch Volcano?
- In United States, Volcano streams on Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel.
