Ever wonder what might happen if a fancy hotel was built on a small island home to an active volcano? Skyfire solves that little riddle for you exactly as a movie called Skyfire might–with a hearty dose of the lava, eruptions, and pyroclastic clouds we’ve come to expect from volcano movies over the years. There’s plenty of family drama, as well (too much, per me), but it isn’t overwhelming and thankfully once the volcanic action starts there aren’t very many lulls before everything wraps up.

Volcanologists Meng Li (Hannah Quinlivan) and her father, Wentao (Xueqi Wang), have a tragic history with the volcano located on beautiful Tianhuo Island–now home to a posh resort run by Jack Harris (Jason Isaacs). While tourists enjoy up-close sights of the volcano and local lovebirds Jiahui Dong (An Bai) & Bo Teng (Lingchen Ji) take in some exotic nature the island violently rumbles awake after a couple decades of peace. Will Meng Li, her father, and thousands of tourists/residents who must flee for their lives as the erupting giant consumes the island find a way off before it’s too late?

In order to recommend a volcano movie it should above all else at least be fun and I feel comfortable saying Skyfire hits that mark. I definitely laughed at the action movie silliness on display so kudos to director Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Expendables 2) and writers Wei Bu & Sidney King for checking off a bunch of boxes from ‘90s disaster classics Dante’s Peak & Volcano–only now on an island in the Pacific Rim and mostly in Mandarin. Jason Isaacs is also around as the rich guy hotel owner who evidently doesn’t make the wisest investments so there’s a bit of English now and again, but I think he’s mostly here to help entice a wider audience.

The main cast all do fine enough with their various disaster movie characters even if some are a little more stock than others. I really appreciated the lack of an extraneous human antagonist often featured in films where the primary obstacle isn’t a character but an event/creature/what have you. An erupting volcano while stuck on an island is enough, thank you. As for the visual effects, Skyfire manages to both look pretty damn convincing sometimes while being glaringly fake others. It didn’t bother me at all since the whole thing already feels so ‘90s that the VFX seem right for the time period.

I’m going to qualify it as an homage how the primary vehicle they use in Skyfire reminds me so much of the one prominently featured in Dante’s Peak–that Canyonero-esque one which drives through rivers and molten lava and keeps on tickin’. I’ll also say some of the driving skills on display, especially considering the volcanic circumstances, really seems almost like someone was trying out for an entry in the Fast & Furious series. You’ll just have to see for yourself, but once you do I think you’ll agree everyone owes the driver at least a nice bottle of champagne. Oh, and the first full minute of screen time is seven (7!) varyingly ornate company logos which all becomes increasingly amusing the longer it goes on. 

Anyway, if you’re partial to volcano movies or really just disaster movies of whatever kind I think there’s a good chance you’ll be entertained by Skyfire. Worst case scenario you’ll be a bit bored by the family drama aspect, but at an hour and a half this isn’t exactly an endurance test. Give it a go!

7 out of 10 Unwise Investments