Rating: 
Summary: Misunderstood and overlooked gem ...
Review: I have always been mystified at the lack of appreciation for this film. I think it is profound, funny, charming, and life-affirming ... I watch it at least once a year and enjoy it more each time. It is a fable, which may be the reson more literally-minded folks don't enjoy it, and I don't think it was intended to be a comedy in the strictest sense of the word, it is much to subtle for that. It makes me feel good all the way down to my toes!
Rating: 
Summary: terrible movie for today's youth
Review: In school my english teacher forced my class to watch this movie. No one liked the movie, even after we analyzed it. If you sit back and take in everything in the movie you will find the movie has many symbolic features in it. Pay attention to the crooked road in the beginning. That figure, the crooked road, pops up in many places like: when the lightening strikes the sailboat, on the wall of Joe's home, and the path on the island.But like in my title, Joe Versus the Volcano would mainly go over all of our youths' heads. But it would also seem unusual or even like a low-budget film to those who are passive viewers.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Life Lessons
Review: O.K. - - so the critics may not consider this Great Cinema ! But, this movie is one of my favorites because it is filled with great life lessons and it makes me feel good every time I watch it. All you have to do is pay attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Change of Heart.
Review: I was in the eighth grade when JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO was first released. Friends who saw the film hated it. Until a few months ago anytime I asked someone about this film, they said the hated it. A few months ago I caught the opening scene on cable. I was intrigued. In less than fifteen minutes, I had watched a comedy that displayed allusions to the silent movie METROPOLIS, the writings of George Orwell, and Plato's allegory of the cave. A few weeks later, I rented the film and fell in love with it. The movie is a modern-day allegory with deep spiritual symbolism and anti-materialism. After watching the movie I was reminded of Dante's DIVINE COMEDY and Bunyan's PILGRIMS PROGRESS. Joe is an everyman of all the classic fairy tales. And make no mistake, this is a fairy tale; it even begins with "Once upon a time". His existance is boring and he's afraid he's going to die and he's scared. Things weren't always that way for Joe. He used to have an exciting life as a firefighter. Now, he just exists along with most of other humanity. Then he's told he has a brain cloud and is going to die. That knowledge brings revelation and Joe decides to live and accept his death. In doing so, Joe becomes the person he was always destined to be and he is born again. I admit there's a lot in JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO that I just don't understand, yet. But I'll watch it again and again until I do. They film seems so corny, yet is really quite complex and deep, full of romanticism and myth. The closest Tom Hanks' film that Joe resembles is THE BURBS. That's another film that people either love or hate with no inbetween. However, THE BURBS is more of a scary story (what happens when our greatest fears are actually true) than the everyman, romantic tale that JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO is. Still the styles are somewhat similar and they are both movies that are much more complex than they originally appear to be. JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO is a modern-day fairy tale and like most fairy tales, kids may enjoy it, but they won't understand it. It's a movie that only an adult with a child-like faith will understand. You'll either love it or hate it. However, whatever the case if nothing else, it's worth watching to see Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan on the screen for the first time together.
Rating:
Summary: Allegory
Review: This is my favorite movie, and I REALLY like movies. I have made everyone I know watch it. I think that it's a brilliant allegory of life. Buy it now. Then again, you might hate it; many do.
Rating:
Summary: really deep symbolic movie
Review: I have seen this movie well over 50 times and like many of the reviewers here I see something deeper and more profound every time I watch it. The most important thing about it is that it gave me the courage to quit my job and really to pursue my dreams and put my all into being an artist. It also made me realize on so many different levels subtle things about life about living about people as well as myself. My son has seen this movie many times and it has made a great impact on his life as well. just to see the dank office Joe works in. was enough to motivate him into putting his all into doing what he wants to do in life. Such a simple movie but its amazing how life changing it is. Even the fact that Meg Ryan plays all the women gave me insight into the many sides of myself at a time when I did not have that objectivity. Love this movie; to me it shows how art can change a person's life, how powerful a message heard at the right time can be. I love all the characters they all reflect different sides of myself and all contain wisdom. This is really a great allegorical story
Rating:
Summary: The All-Time Best Movie in all of History
Review: I love this movie so much, that on a scale of 1-10, I would give this movie an 11! Tom Hanks is the best. I love how versatile Meg Ryan's characters are in this movie. The plot is so creative, and it just gets better as the movie progresses.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant break from reality
Review: Imagine "Office Space" meets "Sleepless in Seatle". The first pairing of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks may seem a little weak compared to thier other movies together, but a strong story shores up this beurgoning partnership. A ton of back ground images lead to endless debates on thier various meanings. I highly recommend this movie if you have a Jimmy Buffet escapist personality in you.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best or worst movies you can ever see.
Review: Quick recap of the movie... This is an introspective into the life (or what's left of it) of Joe Banks. Joe, played by Tom Hanks, is a hypochondriac who's diagnosed with a life threatening 'Brain Cloud' and is only left with a short time to live. Immediately after this discovery he is approached with the request to sacrifice himself by jumping into a Volcano in order to help a businessman retain the rights to a rare mining operation on a tropical island. In return for this, Joe is given the opportunity to live out his final days in a very grand fashion. However, during preparation for the journey, and the travel itself Joe goes through some highly enlightening of self-discovery as he is helped along by his newly appointed chauffer and a few incarnations of Meg Ryan. My take on the movie... This is not necessarily for those who fell in love with 'Sleepless in Seattle'. The original screenplay was written in a very dark and cynical (but somehow still very uplifting) way; however the movie was shot in a little brighter light. For anyone who is seeking a meaning to their existence or for those who have found it; this is an extremely wonderful movie. It may take several replays to catch all of the humor and insight that this movie has to offer. Some of the humor in the movie is IMO the best Tom Hanks has ever done. It seems to be growing in cult status; which only insures that it may never be the mainstream hit that I feel it deserves to be. To sum things up, this is the typical movie that most everyone will consider to be one of the best or worst movies they have ever seen. Favorite scene...
Would most likely be when Joe is finally given the opportunity to quit his job after the discovery of his fatal illness. Off course this could be due to my personal history of horrible jobs and how I would have liked to done the same things. I don't think that any other movie would ever feature a Hollywood superstar wailing a prosthetic arm around, knocking a pair of prosthetic testicles off of their boss's desk. Also, I have never felt more connected to a character until I saw Hanks explain to everyone in the office how the fluorescent lights suck the life right out of him.
Rating:
Summary: Notice the number of reviews!
Review: I, too, want to say I think this one of the best movies ever made. So many are right to suggest that whether or not you enjoy this movie says a lot about you. I haven't been able to read all the praise from other "JVTV" fans so don't know if someone else has noticed that the story is a retelling of the "Divine Comedy." Joe begins in Hell, travels through Purgatory, and ends up ascending the Mountain of Paradise. Meg Ryan provides his three guides. Each realm has its own epiphany: Straightening the flower in Hell, "Dear God, whose name I do not know. Thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG!" in Purgatory, and then their exchange on the lip of the Volcano: "We'll just jump and then we'll see." He moves from awareness to gratitude to faith. He, as many have noted, is an "everyman," and like every man (and woman) he's terminally ill with a "braincloud" that has no symptoms. He'll have a certain amount of health and life and then he'll die. Most don't want that information. They want to sleep their life away--he's been forced awake (shades of the allegory of the cave). That such a profound movie is SO funny is a real testament to the screenwriting and directing and the marvelous soundtrack. This is a movie that will be watched with pleasure 50 years from now.
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