Pierce Brosnan’s ’90s Disaster Action Gem ‘Dante’s Peak’ Lands New Streaming Home

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The 1990s delivered big-budget disaster movies like Twister, Daylight, and Independence Day. But alongside these large-scale events, there was a trend of pairing similar catastrophes with slightly different angles. We saw this with meteor threats – Deep Impact and Armageddon both explored humanity facing extinction from space. Earthly threats also got the Hollywood treatment, specifically volcanoes. Two films focusing on volcanic eruptions were released within two months of each other, each putting a different city in danger. Volcano threatened Los Angeles with lava, while Dante’s Peak covered a small town in ash. Though both were expensive to make and had varying levels of success at the box office, one clearly stands out today – the one starring Pierce Brosnan, best known as James Bond.

The movie Dante’s Peak centers around a series of earthquakes in Washington state that alert volcanologists. Harry Dalton, haunted by a past volcanic tragedy where he lost his fiancée and partner, is called to investigate. Despite his personal grief, he travels to Dante’s Peak, where residents think the volcano is inactive, but experts fear a major eruption is imminent. Something dangerous is brewing beneath the surface.

Like many disaster movies, the story begins with Dalton trying to warn the town about an impending volcanic eruption. However, the mayor, Rachel Wando, doesn’t believe him. Despite increasing signs of activity, she’s convinced an evacuation isn’t needed. Everything changes when the volcano actually erupts, and everyone, including Dalton, is forced to flee. Dalton then takes the initiative to help Mayor Wando and her children escape as the town is quickly overtaken by lava.

‘Dante’s Peak Had Everything Needed to Find Success… But Failed

Released in February 1997, Dante’s Peak seemed destined for success. Pierce Brosnan was a rising star, fresh off his success as James Bond, and Linda Hamilton, known for her role as Sarah Connor in the Terminator films, showed her versatility. The visual effects, created by James Cameron’s company Digital Domain, were incredibly realistic. Plus, the film was produced by Gale Ann Hurd, a highly respected figure in the industry. Everything was in place for a hit. But, as is often the case with disaster movies, things didn’t quite go as planned.

The film got off to a great start, debuting at number two in its opening weekend, behind the re-release of Star Wars. It ultimately earned over $178 million, which would have been considered a strong result if not for its hefty production cost of around $116 million. This was a significant amount, especially since James Cameron’s Titanic had already shocked the industry with its even larger $200 million budget earlier that same year.

Was ‘Dante’s Peak’ Really Such a Disaster?

Despite impressive visual effects, Dante’s Peak received mixed reviews when it came out. Critics often found the story and characters weak, and it currently has low scores on Rotten Tomatoes (34% from critics, 39% from audiences). While it hasn’t become a classic, the movie still holds up surprisingly well almost 30 years later. The effects, while not perfect, were groundbreaking for their time and haven’t aged badly. It’s interesting to note that a few years later, Pierce Brosnan starred in Die Another Day, a much more expensive film known for its notoriously poor CGI – a stark contrast to the work in Dante’s Peak.

Starting April 1st, Peacock will add the ‘90s disaster film Dante’s Peak to its streaming library, along with popular movies like Face/Off, Dazed and Confused, and Pulp Fiction.

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2026-04-05 17:05