Before the MCU, 2 Phase One Legends Teamed up for a Forgotten ‘90s Disaster Epic That’s Streaming for Free

As a movie buff, I always love finding out connections between films, and the MCU is full of them! It’s wild to think that some of our favorite heroes and villains actually worked together before becoming those iconic characters. I just found out about a fun ’90s disaster flick starring a couple of MCU actors that kind of got lost in the shuffle back then, but you can check it out for free streaming this April – definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of seeing where these stars started!

Before becoming famous as Colonel Chester Phillips in Captain America: The First Avenger and War Machine in Iron Man 2, Tommy Lee Jones and Don Cheadle starred in the 1997 disaster film Volcano. Now streaming for free on Tubi as of April 1st, the movie depicts a volcano erupting beneath Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits after a major earthquake. It follows emergency workers and scientists as they desperately try to divert the lava flow and save the city. Volcano is a fun, over-the-top disaster movie that’s worth revisiting!

Tommy Lee Jones and Don Cheadle’s Volcano Is a Quintessential ‘90s Disaster Movie

The 1990s were a golden age for disaster movies, and while Volcano didn’t reach the same heights as blockbusters like Twister, Armageddon, and Independence Day, it’s still a defining film of that era. It was packed with constant action and delightfully over-the-top moments, built around a wonderfully absurd idea. The movie expertly combined practical effects with early CGI to realistically show lava and the destruction of the city. Along with Dante’s Peak, another volcano disaster movie from 1997, Volcano remains a fun, thrilling, and satisfying movie to watch – perfect for a night of easy entertainment.

Despite its exciting action and decent special effects, the 1997 film Volcano wasn’t a success. With a production cost of $90 million, it only earned $122 million worldwide, making it a box office failure. Critics and audiences had mixed reactions, resulting in a 48% critic score and a 32% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, over the past 25 years, Volcano has gained a reputation as a delightfully cheesy ’90s disaster movie. Tommy Lee Jones delivers a strong performance as Mike Roark, the head of Los Angeles’ emergency response team, which helps balance the film’s over-the-top and often ridiculous storyline.

Other Action Movies Now on Tubi

This April, Tubi is adding a lot of free movies and shows, especially action titles! After you watch Volcano, you can enjoy films like 3 Days to Kill, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Last Stand, Predator, and Predator 2. But that’s not all – Tubi also has a wide variety of other genres, including dramas like Goodfellas and The Color Purple, scary movies like Cabin Fever and Scream, and sci-fi options like Event Horizon and Gemini Man.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-04-22 17:14