Fire from Below (2009)

Such a frustrating disappointment

People are voting emotionally.

hyped garbage

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The Drake Mining Company is set to make a fortune with discovery of isotope L6 while deep cavern mining. The problem with L6 is that it is explosive with water and seeks out wet items such as people, even people on top of a lake of water...just saying. Only Keven Sorbo, now a seismologist, can save Nevada...or wherever.This is a formula disaster film, one of the lesser quality and lesser known films of prolific writer Jim Wynorski. It barely keeps you engaged.

First off, this is not a good movie. Period. It is not a good movie at all. A lot of the acting is sub-par, and some, if not most of the logic is pretty flawed (I'm no scientist, so don't quote me on that...) though the idea of almost-intelligent flames is somewhat neat, and seeing Jamal's fate was actually fairly funny to tell the truth. The very best part of the movie is Mr. Sorbo, (Literally my reaction upon recognizing who it was was to shout "IT'S HERCULES!") and honestly his acting was quite good, but even that isn't enough to bring this movie up beyond a 4. But, still, I have to say that it's not a ~terrible~ movie, but it most definitely is quite bad.

Wow, haven't seen that kind of trash awhile. For the usual TV-consumers it might be better than TV-spots, but it is so simply build that I can't resist to see it to its own end. Intelligent Lithium - why not? In the world of movies it happens so often that ridiculous incidents happen all the time but that is = huuuh. Just stupid. A Bathroom in the middle of nowhere. In a City some wears soldiers gas masks and the actors who are next to the dangers wear none? A plot that it might come from a drunken geologist dream. But my best laugh was two minutes before end: The dam officer reports now flame bursts and is answered by....haha "a good job". He done NOTHING!!! It is thats the way Americans are motivated...? Just silly at all. Mr. Sorbo - Next time please read see script first. Then put your money in it. Even me could do this better. Really.

The overall concept of the movie is simple - a mining company wanting to profit from military contracts after discovering a vein of a special isotope of Lithium (known for its violent reaction with water) causes the vein to be exposed to the atmosphere. This leads to a nonsensical plot of "smart" lithium that chases water (as that is what lithium reacts to) that can come out of the ground, through pipes, etc.The insanity continues as these "smart lithium" things begin chasing and burning people to death nearly instantly. First, the concept that a mineral can actively seek out something else - while calling for a leap of faith - is novel. You get a point for creativity. The problem with the concept is that in chasing "water" to react with, the "smart lithium flames" (which resemble a fireball attached to an octopus leg, with an inferno for a body) chase people through foliage (wet plant matter) and even across an open lake. If you have something that "seeks water" actively - why doesn't it ground itself into the lake? Why does it chase the boat (and skier) and blow them up - only to dissipate and vanish immediately after? Why not go after the wake, spray from the boat, or the lake itself? While a reasonable expectation to suspend belief is reasonable, anyone past 3rd grade science can see how ridiculous it is to have "water seeking" flames ignore bodies of water in order to chase the emotionally charged humans.The scenes underground get incredibly repetitive - and while there isn't much you can do with a rock, it seems like the same 50ft of cave is used over and over throughout the movie. The emotional sub-plots are muted by the ridiculous effects and low-quality acting (mostly from non-lead parts - the worst line in the movie being near the end, "Sir, the fire's going out. The dam's holding" It was so bad, I felt compelled to register on this site simply to comment on it. Everything about that line is terrible - from the obvious green-screen background, camera angle, and the head-bob at the end of the line.)While it can pass the time, there are a million better things to be doing with your life - and millions of better movies that you could be watching. The lead actors do a decent job, the action keeps things going, but the movie is ruined by some lousy acting and special effects that literally look like unfinished computer animations (particularly the smoke from the explosions under water). The worst part of the movie is the inconsistency with the action of the lithium - not heading towards bodies of water, but chasing people instead.