Volcano

by Jason Ankeny
Volcano is a typical Alan Silvestri action score -- all brawn and no brains. While the film's basic conceit -- a volcano explodes, so look out below! -- would seem to lend itself to myriad motifs of eruptions and carnage, Silvestri delivers a simple, straightforward effort interchangeable with dozens of other action scores. The threat here could be bloodthirsty aliens, rabid chipmunks, or
Ernest Borgnine
on ecstasy. The melodies offer no sense of what the film's protagonists are battling, and their core elements (martial snare drums, shrieking brass, and ominous strings) are so thoroughly familiar that contempt is but an inevitability.