Descent 2: Magma Under New York

"Descent 2: Magma Under New York" is a 2008 release and is about where three scientists have to save New York when the mantel starts flooding the subways underneath the cities and New York is faced with the danger of being turned into one huge supervolcano. It was directed by Gareth Edwards, and stars Luke Perry, Chris Rock, Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, and Natalie Portman.

Synopsis
Three scientists, Mark Edwards (Luke Perry), Brian Jackson (Chris Rock), and Michael Armstrong (Hugh Jackman), are forced to dive into a case where, after a mining accident underneath a subway opens up a passage to the mantel, magma starts to flow in it, and starts setting subways on fire throughout the city. Dale Westman (Gerard Butler), and his wife Katherine (Natalie Portman), survive a subway accident, and, are trapped underneath in the burning subway when the magma starts to seep in. Mark and Brian are forced to save them while sacrificing the life of another scientist, Edward Hanson (Lou Ferrigno), and nearly dying themselves.

Cast
Luke Perry as Mark Edwards

Chris Rock as Brian Jackson

Hugh Jackman as Michael Armstrong

Gerard Butler as Dale Westman

Natalie Portman as Katherine Westman

Lou Ferrigno as Edward Hanson

Colin Farrell as Darryl Lucas

Production
The film was officially announced by Terry Cunnigham, the director to the first film in the Descent series, but, later announced on March 6, 2006 that he would not be returning to direct. Michael Konyves officially announced on April 19 that he was writing the script. For casting, several people rejected. Edward Norton and Ben Affleck both turned down the roles of Darryl, and at least eight actors turned down the role of Mark Edwards. After the cast was officially announced, filming began. Filming was located in several places. Many subway scenes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios. Several scenes were filmed in New York, but, Seattle, Chicago, and Miami were used as New York also. In post-production, Gareth Edwards wondered whether or not to put the movie direct-to-DVD, or to release it on to the Sci-Fi Channel like the first one. Producer Steve Oedekerk suggested to put it on the Sci-Fi channel, as it would be appropriate because of the first one. The film was officially released on the Sci-Fi channel on June 14, 2008. It was released in a special two-pack DVD package along with the first one on March 10, 2009. The film was given mostly positive reviews by critics. Many critics said that since there was a new director, the film had a whole new taste to it. Some negative reviews said that Gareth Edwards wasn't used to disaster films, and couldn't actually get one going. One critic even said, "The Worst Movie by Gareth Edwards".