--- title: "Dante's Peak: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dantes-peak/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dantes-peak" critics_score: 50 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dante's Peak (1997): what the critics said Critics' score 50 from 9 reviews: 0 positive, 6 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics land in the middle. The reviews agree that the eruption is the point and that the effects deliver it: collapsing buildings, roads running with molten rock, a whole town coming apart on a convincing scale. More than one notice also credits the sound design with much of the impact. Nobody is enthusiastic, though; the warmest verdicts call it a serviceable Saturday-night disaster film that does what the genre asks and not much else. The complaints cluster around the people. Bland characters, flat dialogue and a formulaic storyline recur in almost every review, along with a long wait before the mountain finally goes. The spread is wider than the average suggests. The New York Times and Variety find the human story weak enough to sink the whole thing, and The AV Club, writing some years later, calls even the effects dull. Eye for Film, also looking back, is kinder, crediting the cinematography and some unusual volcanic set-ups with making the danger feel real. ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The review text was unavailable, so its verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint could be verified from the accessible page. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dantes-peak-1997) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds the film an entertaining but formulaic disaster movie that works well enough for a Saturday night. The spectacular volcanic effects are praised, while weak dialogue and a lack of panic are singled out as drawbacks. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dante-peak-review/) ## Radio Times — Jason Caro Rating 3/5. Caro finds the disaster film entertaining in its set pieces but lacking in characterisation and dialogue. He singles out the collapsing buildings and molten roads as exciting effects-driven moments. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-pya900/dantes-peak/) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 3/5. 28 March 1997. The review finds the film entertaining but formulaic, with a slow build-up before an exciting finale. It praises the top-notch effects and immersive THX sound, while faulting the clichés and dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/dantes-peak-review/) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). The review finds the film effective as spectacle but let down by its colorless characters. It singles out the computer-generated spectacle as a strength, while the characters are overshadowed. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dantes-peak) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 7 February 1997. Maslin finds the disaster film noisy and formulaic, with only a faint hint of genre parody to enliven it. She praises the suitably catastrophic effects but says they lack cleverness and the long wait for danger weakens the excitement. [Read the review](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/dante-film-review.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 1997. McCarthy finds the film’s spectacle impressive but its human story dramatically unconvincing. He praises the realistic, large-scale eruption and destruction effects, while faulting the bland characters and silly storyline. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/dante-s-peak-1200448842/) ## The AV Club — John Krewson Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 25 April 2002. Krewson finds the film’s plot stultifying and its special effects boring. He singles out the grandmother’s death in boiling sulphuric acid as a moment of grisly flair. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/dantes-peak-1798197431) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2012. Kermode finds the film formulaic and uneven, but ultimately an entertaining thrill ride. She praises its unusual volcanic scenarios and striking cinematography, which make the danger feel real. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dantes-peak-1997-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dantes-peak.md