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When it comes to disaster movies, no decade did it better than the ‘90s. Following a lull in the 1980s, the decade saw the genre experience a massive resurgence with the return of high-stakes, big-budget disaster films like Twister, Independence Day, and Armageddon. Other movies in the genre didn’t get the same kind of love, and fans can now rediscover a ‘90s disaster thriller everyone’s forgotten about after it erupted onto Peacock in April.
Dante’s Peak takes the cake as an underappreciated gem of 90s disaster cinema. Directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton, the movie centers around a volcanologist and a small-town mayor who struggle to save the residents of a Pacific Northwest community from a long-dormant volcano that wakes up to destroy the town. The movie struggled to return a profit against its high $116 million budget and earned rotten 34% and 39% critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s one of those movies that are better than their initial critical reception. 90s disaster movie fans can now stream Dante’s Peak on Peacock after it joined the platform on April 1st.
Dante’s Peak Is a Forgotten 1997 Volcano Movie Worth Revisiting
After Twister popularized and revived the modern environmental disaster genre, 1997 was the year for volcanoes on the big screen. Dante’s Peak released in theaters that year alongside Volcano, the Tommy Lee Jones-starring film about a volcano erupting in Los Angeles that acted as a direct competitor to, and in some ways overshadowed, Donaldson’s film. But Dante’s Peak is definitely an underrated gem that offers pure ‘90s nostalgia and thrilling, high-stakes action, and it’s one worth revisiting.
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So much of what makes Dante’s Peak so great is its realism. Whereas Volcano took a high-octane spectacle approach to the volcanic disaster scenario, Dante’s Peak centered its classic, formulaic, but effective disaster narrative on the rising tension of realistic volcanic threats, such as ash fall, superheated mud, volcanic gas, and acid lakes. The movie quickly moved from mounting tension to non-stop chaos and brought it to life with a blend practical effects and CGI that still hold up surprisingly well. All of that volcanic chaos is anchored by the relationships between the characters as they band together in an effort to survive the surrounding disaster. Dante’s Peak isn’t the best-remembered disaster movie from the ‘90s, but there’s no doubt that it’s one that is extremely entertaining and effectively balances personal drama with catastrophic action.
What’s New on Peacock?
Dante’s Peak was one of several movies that started streaming on Peacock on April 1st amid a wave of fresh arrivals. Peacock subscribers can now also stream movies like the classic disaster movie spoof Airplane!, Steve Carell’s iconic comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and the Robin Williams classic Dead Poets Society. Other new arrivals include Crocodile Dundee, Interstellar, Pulp Fiction, and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
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