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iariaIt was completely ridiculous and silly but I enjoyed it. Having said that there is a lot of me grumbling about all the dumb stuff everyone did, lol. But I did have fun watching it! It's clear the writers had a lot of fun throwing all the harrowing situations and potential dangers at the characters.
+ I enjoyed all the volcano/lava/fireball disaster nonsense which in a disaster movie is really the most important part.
+ I liked Xiao Meng. I loved her determination to complete her mother's work and her creation of an extensive system to monitor volcanic activity. I liked her desire to help people. I loved her bravery and intelligent risk taking.
+ I rather love that they gave Xiao Meng two classic backstories - the tragic loss of a parent at a young age leading to a determination to prevent that from happening to anyone else (she and Jo from Twister should meet) and being semi-abandoned by a grieving parent and having to face and overcome that trauma during the disaster.
+ Xiao Meng and her relationship with her father Wentao was well done. I really liked how it played out. I liked him opening up to her and apologising and her forgiving him.
+ I liked that Xiao Meng's bike and her Zhuque System together saved her father. His survival was a bit of a surprise, I figured he set off the flare so they'd know where to look for his body, but it made complete sense and was a great end.
+ I liked the opening sequence. I liked the casual switching of languages between Sue and Xiao Meng. I liked that Sue took Xiao Meng's burning snow comment and the birds taking flight and immediately took off running having rightly concluded an eruption was coming. She handled that situation pretty much as well as she could. She saved her daughter and her not managing to get on the truck herself wasn't her fault. And even after being flung by the impact of the fireball she got up and kept running. I liked Wentao's attempt to save his family. That he kept going. The final moment between Sue and Wentao was sad and lovely.
+ Xiao Meng and Zheng Nan's wrist bump after they got the gas cans off the jeep was a cute little moment.
+ I liked Xiao Meng pulling Jaihui into a hug and comforting her after her grandfather's death and that in turn Jaihui held onto Xiao Meng when they took off in the helicopter
+ Jiahui and Zheng Nan's swimming proposal scene was lovely.
+ I have to give Harris some points. It was definitely his arrogance that led to so many deaths but when everything went to shit he didn't immediately try and escape. He stayed and tried to direct people to safety and he saved the little girl and was genuinely really lovely with her.
+ The whole suspended tram ride over the jungle and observation deck was very neat.
+ Young Xiao Meng's comment that 'the snow is burning' was pretty dumb. She wasn't a toddler, they're on a tropical island that doesn't have snow which she had to know and her parents are volcanologists studying a volcano so she should know what ash is. The character maybe should have been younger.
+ Sue stopping after Wentao's truck was flipped and not running for him didn't really make sense to me. There was too much time between the car flip and her death. Yes, she figured rightly that there would be no escape and the pyroclastic cloud (?) was coming up quickly behind her. Prossibly she wouldn't have made it to the car. But why wouldn't she try? You'd think she would want to be beside Tao as they died.
+ Volcanic tourism isn't in itself a stupid idea. It is after all already a thing (hello, Hawaii and Italy and various other places.) It can be dangerous but is done fairly safely all the time. The terrible part of this idea was building this resort on Tianhuo Island. Why the hell would you choose an island that has had a very recent eruption that came on very quickly and with almost no warning? (Actually considering how extensive the resort is and the work put into it Harris had to have started building not too long after the eruption, right? I mean the island does have a surprisingly large population (50 000) and a big 'village' already but I don't think it makes his choice in location an less dumb.)
+ Professor Jiang would have done a lot better at warning the helicopter by frantically running away then trying to wave them off (which looks suspiciously close to waving them closer) and then possibly both would have survived.
+ I think it may have simply been shot badly but everyone's slow reactions on the lookout deck made me go '????'. Why were people not more worried at the first few rumbles? A guy is yelling that the volcano is about to erupt, rocks are starting to fall, everything is starting to shake and people are just standing there looking around instead of running for the observation elevator. That is not a reasonable reaction! It took them all way too long to act. Stop standing around in confusion and run in panic!
+ Our main characters + a couple backgrounders going into the second tram car instead of with everyone else was dumb in a very obvious move to further the plot way. There was no reason for them to do that!
+ Them stopping the car after Teng Bo tells them that something red (ie hot) is coming up fast behind them was probably the stupidest moment in the movie. There's a volcano erupting, I wonder what that hot thing hidden in the ash but coming up quickly behind them could be?
+ Why oh why did they stop at the base to take a breather for a couple minutes. When they entered Teng Bo had just gotten confirmation that the rescue helicopter would arrive in 15 minutes and he/they knew the eruption was about the overtake the base. There was no time for minor medical care and a touching reunion! Move your asses!
+ That one poor guy at the observation deck had the worst luck. First he gets set on fire (on his back) by a fireball but is saved. Only to then get hit by a fireball (to the chest after he falls) through the observation elevator floor.
+ I kept waiting for Qianwei to die. I was surprised when she didn't fall out of the back of the jeep or get killed on the bridge. But then when ShanShan survived with Harris's watch I should have know immediately that she would survive.
+ Shouldn't the water that Jiahui and Zheng Nan were swimming in have heated too hot to survive once lava started pouring into it?
+ I laughed when Harris pointed the panicking tourists to the boats and was assuring them there was enough for everyone and then we cut to a couple little speedboats tied up to the docks.
+ I couldn't help but think as Harris was running away with the girl that her mother could be alive and possibly he should check. But I also get why he didn't take the time.
+ Harris's death made me shake my head. When the boat was pulling away and we got that shot of him just standing there on the pier I was like 'they're going to drop a fireball on him' and then sure enough they did. It was ridiculous and predictable.
+ Harris choice to stay behind seems so dumb especially since as far as he was aware there was no chance his wife could be alive but honestly I thinking dying was the point. Him sitting in his chair and drinking as everything burned around him, the fact the everything he'd worked for was destroyed, that people had died because of him, that his beloved wife was dead because of him - he felt he had no reason to live and he didn't want to.
+ I thought there would be some drama with the rescuers sending a helicopter instead of a boat because ash is very bad for motors but I guess it was too close to the end for more drama.
+ I enjoyed all the volcano/lava/fireball disaster nonsense which in a disaster movie is really the most important part.
+ I liked Xiao Meng. I loved her determination to complete her mother's work and her creation of an extensive system to monitor volcanic activity. I liked her desire to help people. I loved her bravery and intelligent risk taking.
+ I rather love that they gave Xiao Meng two classic backstories - the tragic loss of a parent at a young age leading to a determination to prevent that from happening to anyone else (she and Jo from Twister should meet) and being semi-abandoned by a grieving parent and having to face and overcome that trauma during the disaster.
+ Xiao Meng and her relationship with her father Wentao was well done. I really liked how it played out. I liked him opening up to her and apologising and her forgiving him.
+ I liked that Xiao Meng's bike and her Zhuque System together saved her father. His survival was a bit of a surprise, I figured he set off the flare so they'd know where to look for his body, but it made complete sense and was a great end.
+ I liked the opening sequence. I liked the casual switching of languages between Sue and Xiao Meng. I liked that Sue took Xiao Meng's burning snow comment and the birds taking flight and immediately took off running having rightly concluded an eruption was coming. She handled that situation pretty much as well as she could. She saved her daughter and her not managing to get on the truck herself wasn't her fault. And even after being flung by the impact of the fireball she got up and kept running. I liked Wentao's attempt to save his family. That he kept going. The final moment between Sue and Wentao was sad and lovely.
+ Xiao Meng and Zheng Nan's wrist bump after they got the gas cans off the jeep was a cute little moment.
+ I liked Xiao Meng pulling Jaihui into a hug and comforting her after her grandfather's death and that in turn Jaihui held onto Xiao Meng when they took off in the helicopter
+ Jiahui and Zheng Nan's swimming proposal scene was lovely.
+ I have to give Harris some points. It was definitely his arrogance that led to so many deaths but when everything went to shit he didn't immediately try and escape. He stayed and tried to direct people to safety and he saved the little girl and was genuinely really lovely with her.
+ The whole suspended tram ride over the jungle and observation deck was very neat.
+ Young Xiao Meng's comment that 'the snow is burning' was pretty dumb. She wasn't a toddler, they're on a tropical island that doesn't have snow which she had to know and her parents are volcanologists studying a volcano so she should know what ash is. The character maybe should have been younger.
+ Sue stopping after Wentao's truck was flipped and not running for him didn't really make sense to me. There was too much time between the car flip and her death. Yes, she figured rightly that there would be no escape and the pyroclastic cloud (?) was coming up quickly behind her. Prossibly she wouldn't have made it to the car. But why wouldn't she try? You'd think she would want to be beside Tao as they died.
+ Volcanic tourism isn't in itself a stupid idea. It is after all already a thing (hello, Hawaii and Italy and various other places.) It can be dangerous but is done fairly safely all the time. The terrible part of this idea was building this resort on Tianhuo Island. Why the hell would you choose an island that has had a very recent eruption that came on very quickly and with almost no warning? (Actually considering how extensive the resort is and the work put into it Harris had to have started building not too long after the eruption, right? I mean the island does have a surprisingly large population (50 000) and a big 'village' already but I don't think it makes his choice in location an less dumb.)
+ Professor Jiang would have done a lot better at warning the helicopter by frantically running away then trying to wave them off (which looks suspiciously close to waving them closer) and then possibly both would have survived.
+ I think it may have simply been shot badly but everyone's slow reactions on the lookout deck made me go '????'. Why were people not more worried at the first few rumbles? A guy is yelling that the volcano is about to erupt, rocks are starting to fall, everything is starting to shake and people are just standing there looking around instead of running for the observation elevator. That is not a reasonable reaction! It took them all way too long to act. Stop standing around in confusion and run in panic!
+ Our main characters + a couple backgrounders going into the second tram car instead of with everyone else was dumb in a very obvious move to further the plot way. There was no reason for them to do that!
+ Them stopping the car after Teng Bo tells them that something red (ie hot) is coming up fast behind them was probably the stupidest moment in the movie. There's a volcano erupting, I wonder what that hot thing hidden in the ash but coming up quickly behind them could be?
+ Why oh why did they stop at the base to take a breather for a couple minutes. When they entered Teng Bo had just gotten confirmation that the rescue helicopter would arrive in 15 minutes and he/they knew the eruption was about the overtake the base. There was no time for minor medical care and a touching reunion! Move your asses!
+ That one poor guy at the observation deck had the worst luck. First he gets set on fire (on his back) by a fireball but is saved. Only to then get hit by a fireball (to the chest after he falls) through the observation elevator floor.
+ I kept waiting for Qianwei to die. I was surprised when she didn't fall out of the back of the jeep or get killed on the bridge. But then when ShanShan survived with Harris's watch I should have know immediately that she would survive.
+ Shouldn't the water that Jiahui and Zheng Nan were swimming in have heated too hot to survive once lava started pouring into it?
+ I laughed when Harris pointed the panicking tourists to the boats and was assuring them there was enough for everyone and then we cut to a couple little speedboats tied up to the docks.
+ I couldn't help but think as Harris was running away with the girl that her mother could be alive and possibly he should check. But I also get why he didn't take the time.
+ Harris's death made me shake my head. When the boat was pulling away and we got that shot of him just standing there on the pier I was like 'they're going to drop a fireball on him' and then sure enough they did. It was ridiculous and predictable.
+ Harris choice to stay behind seems so dumb especially since as far as he was aware there was no chance his wife could be alive but honestly I thinking dying was the point. Him sitting in his chair and drinking as everything burned around him, the fact the everything he'd worked for was destroyed, that people had died because of him, that his beloved wife was dead because of him - he felt he had no reason to live and he didn't want to.
+ I thought there would be some drama with the rescuers sending a helicopter instead of a boat because ash is very bad for motors but I guess it was too close to the end for more drama.
