Dante's Peak

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Released: Universal Pictures, 1997

Sooner or later, Pierce Brosnan had to succumb to the desire to branch out from the James Bond franchise; unfortunately, like most actors to try on the tux and sip the shaken-not-stirred martinis, he doesn't get very far. Co-starring Linda Hamilton (of the Terminator films), this essentially feels like a James Bond film without any of the puns or gizmos. Brosnan's role as a volcanologist for the USGS tops the list of dubious heroes Hollywood has produced of late, and when he can't get his hands on a Walther PPK, it becomes painfully apparent. The title's volcano explodes moments later, prompting Brosnan, Hamilton, and Co. to flee the town -- unfortunately, because it's a volcano and it doesn't movie, director Roger Donaldson can't generate Twister-style natural disaster action sequences. If you simply must watch a movie about a belching cinder cone, see the Tommy Lee Jones-Anne Heche flick, Volcano.