SKYFIRE (2021)

SKYFIRE (2021)

(Action, Drama, Thriller) [PG]

First off a few notes. This movie was actually released in 2019 but didn’t come out in until January 2021 in the US, so that is the date we are going with here. This movie also wasn’t given a rating because apparently, the MPAA didn’t feel the need to slap one on there. For anyone reading this, just pretend it’s a PG rating because that is what it would likely have been given in the US if the MPAA wasn’t lazy or whatever the heck is going on with them and China.

In this one, a really rich dude decides to build a “volcano” theme part on the island of Tianhuo. Its located in the Pacific Rim volcano belt, but that doesn’t matter when you are rich. Years earlier Meng Li’s (played by Hannah Quinlivan famous for SKYSCRAPER) mother died in a volcano incident on the same island. She dedicated her life to volcano prediction research. Her father Wentao Li (played by Xueqi Wang famous for IRON MAN 3) wasn’t down with that, but he discovers some indicators the island's volcano might go off soon, so he decides to go to talk his daughter into leaving. Shortly after his arrival, the volcano is going off and the entire island is in danger. Can Meng save her colleagues, an entire village, and tourists before it’s too late?

This movie is really solid in the action department. It was directed by  Simon West who did both CON AIR and LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER. The stunts and cinematography throughout are simply amazing and the setting is both breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying once the action gets underway. Because this is a film largely done for a Chinese audience we actually get some dubbed voiceovers in the American version I watched. Some scenes however are shot in English with no dubbing. This makes it hard to tell if the acting was great, but I watch a TON of Godzilla movies, so dubs don’t bother me at all. If that is an issue for you, it’s just something to be aware of. I would keep an eye out for An Bai who plays Jiahui Dong. I would be shocked if we don’t get more sightings of both her and Hannah Quinlivan in the future. 

The whole idea behind this movie isn’t that the volcano is the villain or that we have a central villain in the movie overall. Even Jack Harris the rich guy (played by Jason Isaacs who actually did the voice of Dick Dastardly in SCOOB!) does something that makes you not hate him. The main villain is arrogance. That alone makes this movie kind of stand out among other disaster films. We also get a really quick run time as this one clocking in at 97 minutes. Because of that, there are not a lot of wasted moments and everything seems to fit, including a delicately placed underwater romantic scene. No, that isn’t a joke, it's actually really well done. 

Overall I loved the balance, pace, and quality of this movie. I am not going to say that the plot was super original, some elements were sort of JURASSIC WORLD and other parts seem to have been borrowed from TWISTER. None of that affects how fun this thing is to watch, bringing us through one impossible cliffhanger after another. You will need to check your “let's watch a movie with credible physics” requirements at the door. 

I give this thing a 5 out of 7. I really enjoyed it, probably more than the more serious and less visually interesting DANTE’S PEAK.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MERIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT  AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.