Maybe it's simple enough to blame the new decade on this failed attempt to create what should have been a decent disaster film, but we all know that is not the case.
Given the creative production team and combined casts of such disaster greats as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno," one would expect "When Time Ran Out" to be an entertaining, successful follow-up, but it is neither. It lacks the adventure of the prior, the suspense of the latter, and the emotional involvement of both. It does, however, follow almost every disaster genre convention, including the inclusion of an animal in peril--a rooster, in this case. One convention it lacks is the inclusion of a "hit" song sung somewhere in the film.
The film impotently attempts to invoke a sense of history and emotional attachment to its haphazard melange of characters that "naturally" come together as the film progresses. Of course most serve as mere disaster fodder while others borrow too heavily from pre-existing roles in both prior Irwin Allen films. Their acting pendulum swings in extremes from melodramatic to stale and one-dimensional. Strangely enough, the age range for the cast seems to make the same swings.
The only interesting and unique yet relatively unexplored and unresolved aspect to the plot and its characters' development is the inclusion of two different romantic triangles. Beyond these, I found it refreshing that the "greedy developer" role was split into two characters, and William Holden's part (Shelby Gilmore, the investor) actually deviated from tradition.
Ironically, the disaster--a volcano--is less menacing and ultimately less fatal than most the of the film's cast. This is actually humorous because they treat their situation as dire when, in actuality, it is absurd. Most of the actions (and reactions) related to the impending disaster are totally unfounded, contrived, and almost self-serving.
Unfortunately, this film does nothing in moderation, which is probably its strongest fault. As mentioned earlier, it spends an inordinate amount of time (poorly) developing useless characters. It also feels the need to linger on pointless scene segments (e.g., the rooster chase, a helicopter crash, etc.), intending to heighten their intrigue when all it really does is bore the audience. I will not say chopping it down considerably could have saved this film, but at least the audience would not have to suffer as long.
I think the thing that angered me the most was the climactic letdown of the volcano's final strike. After being built-up, explained, and conveniently ignored, it took all of about 2 minutes to actually have its "revenge" against those who defied it, and even that did not play like it had been explained. In a word it was quick.
This film probably signaled the end of the traditional disaster as the industry moved into the 80's. My advice: let time run out on this one; do not ruin whatever image you have of these otherwise great stars and production personnel.
Given the creative production team and combined casts of such disaster greats as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno," one would expect "When Time Ran Out" to be an entertaining, successful follow-up, but it is neither. It lacks the adventure of the prior, the suspense of the latter, and the emotional involvement of both. It does, however, follow almost every disaster genre convention, including the inclusion of an animal in peril--a rooster, in this case. One convention it lacks is the inclusion of a "hit" song sung somewhere in the film.
The film impotently attempts to invoke a sense of history and emotional attachment to its haphazard melange of characters that "naturally" come together as the film progresses. Of course most serve as mere disaster fodder while others borrow too heavily from pre-existing roles in both prior Irwin Allen films. Their acting pendulum swings in extremes from melodramatic to stale and one-dimensional. Strangely enough, the age range for the cast seems to make the same swings.
The only interesting and unique yet relatively unexplored and unresolved aspect to the plot and its characters' development is the inclusion of two different romantic triangles. Beyond these, I found it refreshing that the "greedy developer" role was split into two characters, and William Holden's part (Shelby Gilmore, the investor) actually deviated from tradition.
Ironically, the disaster--a volcano--is less menacing and ultimately less fatal than most the of the film's cast. This is actually humorous because they treat their situation as dire when, in actuality, it is absurd. Most of the actions (and reactions) related to the impending disaster are totally unfounded, contrived, and almost self-serving.
Unfortunately, this film does nothing in moderation, which is probably its strongest fault. As mentioned earlier, it spends an inordinate amount of time (poorly) developing useless characters. It also feels the need to linger on pointless scene segments (e.g., the rooster chase, a helicopter crash, etc.), intending to heighten their intrigue when all it really does is bore the audience. I will not say chopping it down considerably could have saved this film, but at least the audience would not have to suffer as long.
I think the thing that angered me the most was the climactic letdown of the volcano's final strike. After being built-up, explained, and conveniently ignored, it took all of about 2 minutes to actually have its "revenge" against those who defied it, and even that did not play like it had been explained. In a word it was quick.
This film probably signaled the end of the traditional disaster as the industry moved into the 80's. My advice: let time run out on this one; do not ruin whatever image you have of these otherwise great stars and production personnel.
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