A volcano is in the process of destroying all of Korea, and a scientist has a crazy idea where a group will try to blow up a mine near the volcano with some nuclear warheads. The problem is that they must do this in North Korea and close to the Chinese border! And they must also steal nuclear warheads from the North Koreans! What a mess!
Ashfall is a brain-dead entertainment movie that offers only generic action and characters from the movie, Armageddon. The pace is high, but the plot goes on rails. I’ve seen this so many times and better. Just watch Armageddon. It’s a better movie!
The ending is the same ending we saw in Armageddon, and we all know how that ending was. Or have you been living under a rock? If you think this is a pure disaster movie where we see and feel that the volcano is the big enemy, then you are wrong. It’s first and foremost about family and unity, and that the South Koreans are tired of the Americans. That’s something you can relate to, and there are plenty of South Korean movies that are anti-American. But they are trapped when the Chinese support North Korea. Beggars can’t be choosers.
But I found nothing in the movie that engaged me. The pulse didn’t increase during the action scenes. This is a movie aimed more at teenagers than adults. Everything is so generic, and the weak melodrama is pure trash. I’m certain it’s not just me who’s tired of a pregnant wife who’s waiting at home for a man who might die during a dangerous and almost impossible mission. So exciting, so boring, so annoying!
Ashfall attempts to move away from the usual natural disaster concept where Mother Earth is the antagonist. It could have worked if the characters weren’t so poorly written, and especially that a pregnant woman is anxious about her husband when he’s out to save his country. Give me a barf bag, now!