Some of the various cockpit constructions in this fine film would make dear old Edward D, Wood Jr. proud. And like Sir Wood's oeuvre, Airplane vs. Volcano is hilariously terrible. Indeed, it is a rather one-sided fight from the get-go, and a very strange one. Plot-wise, an airplane flies into a ring of volcanoes that rise instantly, seemingly controlled by a Master 'Cano, and then charts how they will escape with only a light aircraft pilot at the stick! The film throws in a bunch of stock characters, such as the handy vulcanologist, an Airplane-style pilot, a plucky stewardess, a cute kid, a brave mechanic, a commanding officer who won't risk his men to save the stricken passengers, a communications trooper who will risk the brig to do the right thing, and a villain. Of the villain, his motives are totally bizarre and soon go from fear to pure selfish evil (motivated by his erroneous belief that an auto-pilot can do everything, even, presumably, safely landing the plane). Anyhoo, the airplane faces all kinds of flaming balls and fuel malarkey, and the film even manages to have a Star Wars-type finale with poorly rendered CGI (or even models on strings – Ed Wood lives, again!) taking on Mount Doom, and the visuals at the climax really are laughable (which of course just adds to the pleasure of the picture). However, Dean Cain takes it all very seriously, and so I shall end my mirth-filled observations here, in honour of his thespian commitment in bringing us Clark Kent vs. the Volcano.
Review of Airplane vs. Volcano
