Magma: Volcanic Disaster

Magma: Volcanic Disaster
Written by	Rebecca Rian
Directed by	Ian Gilmour
Starring	Xander Berkeley Amy Jo Johnson
Theme music composer	Nathan Furst
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Jeff Beach Thomas Becker Michael Braun Phillip J. Roth T.J. Sakasegawa Jörg Westerkamp
Running time	87 minutes
Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release
Original release	January 21, 2006 (2006-01-21)

Magma: Volcanic Disaster is a 2006 television film by Sci Fi Pictures. Written by Rebecca Rian and directed by Ian Gilmour, the film stars Xander Berkeley and Amy Jo Johnson.^[1] It was filmed in Bulgaria.

Plot

A volcanologist and his graduate students believe that all of the volcanoes in the world are going to erupt and kill every living thing on the planet. They try to convince the government that their theory is true while also trying to figure out how to stop it.

Dormant for 700 years, the Trollsvatn volcano in Iceland suddenly erupts and kills a USGS survey team. Volcanology professor Dr. Peter Shepherd (Xander Berkeley) takes four of his graduate students to study Grímsvötn, a dormant volcano near the first. It also erupts suddenly, but the group is able to escape. Shepherd is convinced it is not a coincidence and visits Dr. Oscar Vallian (Valentin Ganev), a wheelchair-using volcanologist who recently quit working for the USGS. He explains that many dormant volcanoes have started to erupt around the world. In the past, Vallian had formulated a theory known as Exodus, in which all 1,500 of the Earth's volcanoes could erupt within a short period of time. Vallian leaves for Honshu, Japan, to be on the front lines when Mount Fuji erupts.

Shepherd goes to Washington, D.C. to explain the Exodus theory and the need to stop it. Dr. William Kincaid (George R. Sheffey), the head of the USGS, hates O'Neil (Ryan Spike Dauner) and Shepherd, and is given the task of reviewing their data. He promises the president's representative Stephen Daugherty (Jonas Talkington) to disprove the theory. Shepherd leaves knowing nothing will happen, returning to his students to explain the government will not act unless they get proof.

Shepherd's soon to be ex-wife Natalie (Reiko Aylesworth), a Park Ranger, arrives at work at Yellowstone National Park to be told that Old Faithful hasn't done anything for the last day. In Honshū, Vallian and his companion Melanie (Dessi Morales) wait for Fuji's expected eruption. Shepherd makes plans with his students to go to South America to check out another volcano that should be next in the list. That night, Shepherd calls his estranged wife. During the call, she mentions fire season has started in the middle of winter. Shepherd does not mention the volcano issues. The next day, Fuji erupts, destroying much of the island of Honshū and triggering large tsunamis. Vallian calls Shepherd to bid farewell before he and Melanie are swallowed up and incinerated by a pyroclastic surge. Shepherd spends the night in a bar, mourning his friend. His student Brianna (Amy Jo Johnson) offers comfort and advice while listening to him explain how his marriage ended.

In the morning, news arrives that Mount Kilimanjaro has erupted, so the group heads to Pasto, Colombia to do some investigating in a mine. A local explains that some men working in the mine were killed earlier in the week when it began to "bleed fire." Exploring the mine, Shepard's group finds massive amounts of heat, but do not realize that they had inadvertently moved from the mine's shafts into attached lava tubes. They continue their explorations and find temperatures rising incredibly fast with high levels of radiation filling the "shafts". Students Jacques (Rushi Vidinliev) and CJ (David O'Donnell) take rock and vapor samples while Shepherd and Brianna head back. Magma falls from the ceiling and burns CJ's shoulder just as Jacques begins to suspect that they are in a lava tube. They flee, but the ceiling collapses and lava spills into the tunnel, killing Jacques. CJ survives but will require a skin graft.

The news reports that Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius have erupted and destroyed Rome and other parts of Italy. Kai (Vlado Mihailov) tells Dr. Shepherd that the samples from the mine were of the same composition and that someone from the USGS had hacked into their server. Kincaid admits to the hacking and stealing the data, and that he plans to present the findings to Washington as his own. During his presentation to the President and to Daugherty, Shepherd and his group interrupt and explain that they have additional evidence that Kincaid had not managed to steal. The President listens as Dr. Shepherd explains the full Exodus theory, explaining that human pollution has caused the Earth's core to heat up and expand causing all of the eruptions. Shepard also lists which volcanoes will be next. Using projections he predicts that the Earth will head into another Ice Age within 2 weeks, and explains his solution to release the Earth's pressure in a controlled manner under the ocean rather than letting the Earth choose. By using a series of nuclear warheads at strategic points within oceanic faults.

After the meeting, Shepherd calls his ex-wife again and begs her to leave Yellowstone because it is the largest volcanic hotspot in North America, but she refuses. While he's on the phone, Daugherty calls to let him know that the President has approved their plan and they know have all of the resources of the CIA at their disposal to map the ocean and figure out the plan. With the coordinates set, Daugherty lets Shepherd know that he and one of the students will work hand in hand with the naval fleets from two of its flagships, the Hyperion and the Reprisal. Brianna is left at the USGS as the go between. Shepherd leaves his wedding ring with her and asks her to give it to his wife and let her know he was sorry.

Shepherd boards the Hyperion, in the Pacific Rim, by jumping from a helicopter and diving down to the sub. Kai boards the Reprisal in the Atlantic. Shepherd shows the Hyperion captain where the explosions must go in the middle of the Mariana Trench. In the morning, Natalie starts packing up her campground, while another Ranger and some scientists examine Old Faithful. Kai contacts Brianna to confirm the coordinates for his sub, which will also be passed on to Russian and British sub who will aid in the attack. Meanwhile, the Hyperion gets bounced around by volcanic activity in the trench which pummels them with debris. Natalie arrives at the next set of campgrounds only to find an eruption already taking place. She turns around and heads back out. The Hyperion continues to take heavy damage, but is able to reach its coordinates and launch the warheads. It fires its first round of torpedoes, but torpedo goes off track and hits the trench wall. Two more are fired and hit successfully. The plan appears to be working, as they move on to their next targets.

At the same time, the Reprisal has also fired its first four torpedoes, however it takes heavy damage from the resulting debris. Shepherd loses contact with Kai, while the Hyperion continues trying to avoid debris and hit its remaining targets. Natalie tries to flee Yellowstone as eruptions continue and multiple park visitors are killed. The President explains that a total of 44 nuclear tipped torpedoes are being fired to try and heal the Earth. As Shepherd prays for his wife, the lava flow at Yellowstone stops just before reaching Natalie and a large group of visitors. The Reprisal sinks, killing its crew and Kai. With the last of the torpedoes fired, the plan succeeds and the Hyperion is able to stabilize. The volcanoes of the world return to normal. Shepherd turns down a position as head of the USGS and reconciles with his wife.

Cast

• Xander Berkeley as Peter Shepherd
• Amy Jo Johnson as Brianna "Bree" Chapman
• David O'Donnell as C.J.
• George R. Sheffey as Dr. William Kincaid
• Michael Durrell as President Fletcher
• Reiko Aylesworth as Natalie Shepherd
• Vlado Mihailov as Kai Senakoia
• Rushi Vidinliev as Jacques
• Valentin Ganev as Oskar Valenteen
• Assen Blatechki as Holloway
• Scott Owens as Harv
• Jonas Talkington as Stephen Daugherty
• Ryan Spike Dauner as O'Neil
• Dessi Morales as Melanie

Critical reception

Scott Weinberg of DVD Talk wrote that the film "is as pre-fabricated and ultra-conventional as you could ever imagine", he found the dialogue unbelievable, the direction poor, the plot to be unimaginative, and the effects to be "kistchy at best, hilariously inept otherwise." He summarized by writing "If you rent these flicks for the goofiness, this one's worthy of a rental."^[2] David Johnson of DVD Verdict found the special effects to be unconvincing, noting that "any time there's lava onscreen, the film stumbles." He poked fun at the "talkiness of the plot", but found the acting to be "decent enough to make the cataclysm sound halfway believable". Opining that as he might have been able to find the film acceptable otherwise, "a batch of putrid CGI would find its way onto the screen, and the taste soured."^[3] Ben Rhudy of Monsters and Critics found the pacing to be slow and the film to be cliché, offering that the film "is yet another prime example of a promising premise marred by a cable TV budget." He noted the DVD release included an awful theatrical trailer that "surpasses the film it represents in both pacing and excitement."^[4]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Magma: Volcanic Disaster

• Magma: Volcanic Disaster at the Internet Movie Database
• Magma: Volcanic Disaster at Rotten Tomatoes