Special effects burn up the screen in "Volcano"

It's summertime, and to combat the sluggish ennui caused by the heat and the humidity comes "Volcano," the special effects extravaganza that will knock you off your feet.

REVIEW
	Volcano 3 stars At Briarwood and Showcase

Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche, "Volcano" captivates with hours of breathtaking action and cardiac arrest-level excitement.

Jones plays Mike Roark, the director of Los Angeles' Office of Emergency Management. When he, geologist Amy Barnes (Heche) and millions of other civilians find themselves faced with a fiery volcano eruption in the middle of the City of Angels, they must all work together in the fight of their lives.

"Volcano" erupts with awesome special effects and destruction on a colossal scale in the same fashion as last summer's natural disaster hit, "Twister." It also gives an inorganic entity an eerie, lifelike quality similar to the way fire was depicted in "Backdraft,"as the ravenous lava seems to actively hunt down and consume everything in sight.

As Heche's character remarks, "This city is finally paying for its arrogance." "Volcano" delivers nonstop images of frightening devastation - from exploding buildings and ubiquitous flying shards of glass, to monstrous flaming eruptions and disastrous meteors of charred earth bombing the frantic civilians below. The special effects used to create these scenes are absolutely incredible and shockingly realistic.

But amid the horror, the heroism of people bonding together to save their city is extremely moving. Some of the most compelling scenes include a daring rescue in a subway train trapped in a tunnel, and the grand effort of stopping the spreading lava before it reaches the residential area. For a city whose inhabitants aren't exactly known for brotherly love, this movie shows Los Angeles at its best through disaster at its worst.

Tommy Lee Jones gives another stunning performance worthy of a standing ovation. He plays the hero with such modesty, grace, dignity and wit that audiences can't help falling in love with his character.

Also noteworthy is Heche, who plays the physically and emotionally strong female lead that is absent from many films these days, and Jacqueline Kim as Dr. Jaye Calder, one of the many compassionate and caring individuals who struggle to help others in a time of disaster.

Though near the end the obvious moral message of "help thy neighbor" gets a bit sappy, "Volcano" is able to maintain its overall focus. By the movie's end, audiences will feel physically and emotionally drained, as if they have also experienced the nightmare first-hand, but will nevertheless leave satisfied.

Even though earthquakes, fires and random acts of violence may be more realistic concerns to Los Angelenos than volcanoes, "Volcano" is bound to scare the heck out of everyone thinking about moving out there.

Or if nothing else, "Volcano" will give people a spectacular and heart-pounding ride for their money.

Mudslides, riots, volcanoes ... why do people still live in Los Angeles?

05-07-97