Skyfire (2019)

Rushed Chinese Jurassic Park with a Volcano Instead

I'm a natural disasters nerd and have been for nearly 30 years; I've read and watched everything I could get my hands on when it came to tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, rogue waves, meteors, comets, asteroids, and occasionally hurricanes. Was just cruising Prime Video for any not so great natural disaster flicks and came across this one. Was very surprised that it was a Chinese film and found it here on MDL. It came out on prime two years after its initial release in China, so all of the actors voices were completely dubbed over but done well. I was familiar with only a handful of the actors; though the science wasn't there, this was like a rushed Chinese Jurassic Park with a volcano instead.

Pros: What I liked the most was the CGI which was top notch and all of the actors really played their parts well. Very typical of a state of the art hotel built on an active volcano; so greed over safety. It was entertaining to watch and I gave it the score I did for these pluses. The story needed to be longer and it would have been better if done so.

Cons: The total lack of science. First of all, an explosive eruption doesn't happen in just 20 minutes. This was a typical cone shaped volcano but both of its eruptions resembled those of Krakatoa, Tambora, and Vesuvius though on a much smaller scale. The fact that no one took the time to explain that those ash clouds racing down the mountain were pyroclastic flows that could reach up to 500 mph in speed and 1,000 degrees F, was ridiculous. ML aka dad survived not once but twice even though he was in the open where the flow reached him even if he hid in the hole in the ground; just look at the citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum for that explanation. It's literally impossible to survive at all with just minor burns; each person would be incinerated alive. The ejections out of the volcano are called lava bombs and not only do they explode but they create their own lava flows.

I wasn't looking for a whole lot of accuracy it being only 1.5 hours long but just some basic volcanology would have sufficed; something they teach you in elementary and middle school science class.

Would I recommend it? Yes; as just a natural disaster flick with special effects and good acting. Grab some popcorn and relax.

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A disaster movie with typical twists and turns

This is definitely a Saturday night special movie. The story proceeds as any disaster movie would proceed - no originality in this area. I found it typical human greed versus safety perspective that plays out in almost all of the disaster movies to the same expected end. However, why I gave this movie an 8 rating -- it was visually beautiful. The cinematography and CGI were top of the line and they did not hold back the dollar bills in creating as realistic a vision of a volcano exploding as one could imagine. There was no attempt to educate the public about volcanoes in general and if it had I would have added at least half of a star. It did not scare me out of my seat nor was I startled by scene changes but movie but definitely had its moments of intensity. I found it enjoyable and worth the time spent watching.

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