Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

Director:

Eric Brevig

Writers (WGA):

Michael D. Weiss (screenplay) and
Jennifer Flackett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Same Planet. Different World.

Plot:

On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.

Plot Keywords:

Cutting Rope | Cellular Phone | Wristwatch | Coin | Emerald

Awards:

1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	Prof. Trevor Anderson
Josh Hutcherson	...	Sean Anderson
Anita Briem	...	Hannah Ásgeirsson
Seth Meyers	...	Professor Alan Kitzens
Jean Michel Paré	...	Max Anderson
Jane Wheeler	...	Elizabeth Anderson
Frank Fontaine	...	Old Man
Giancarlo Caltabiano	...	Leonard
Kaniehtiio Horn	...	Gum-Chewing Girl
Garth Gilker	...	Sigurbjörn Ásgeirsson

Also Known As:

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (USA) (3-D version)

MPAA:

Rated PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:12A | Malaysia:U | Australia:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | Brazil:Livre | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #43069) | Philippines:G (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

Walden Media

Trivia:

Indie film maker Paul Chart ('American Perfekt') was originally signed to write and direct the picture and penned the original script. Chart left the project, however, after a decision was made to shoot the film in 3-D, uncomfortable with the possibility it would become more 'theme park ride' than the epic action-adventure film he envisioned. The Jules Verne novel was apparently one of his favorite pieces of literature. Chart was ultimately replaced with effects specialist Eric Brevig and the script was heavily retooled to emphasize the new 3-D format.

Goofs:

Twice, the explorers run across veins of free metallic magnesium in the ground. Magnesium is extremely active chemically, and is only found in compounds.

Quotes:

Hannah Ásgeirsson: [all climbing down] Just make conversation with me Sean.
Sean: So, uh, Hannah. Do you come here often?
Trevor: [laughs] That can't be the best you can do!
Sean: [yells] Hey! I'm trying to make converstation!
Hannah Ásgeirsson: It's OK. No Sean, I don't come here often.
[laughs]

Movie Connections:

References "Family Guy" (1999)

Silly, but surprisingly enjoyable anyway

The reviewers of "Journey" are probably all correct: the logic is spotty, the premise is silly, and the requirement of the audience to suspend disbelief is beyond a typically successful film. However, despite all of that, I liked it! I went to see it because in my small town the offerings are rather slim, and I had seen everything else (is it me, or did this summer's films seem a bit clichéd and lame?).

Brendan Fraser has always been a great actor, with an agreeable presence. That he was the star here helped a lot. As did the newcomer actor, the Icelandic lady- Anita Briem. Somehow, one never seems to think of film stars as coming from Iceland. But she is comely and interesting to watch, and she looked good with Fraser. The supporting cast (and there wasn't much of them, as it was mostly CGI stuff, and not really populated with many humans, except for brief appearances) was also adequate, albeit they had little to do.

Overall, then, this was science fiction with an emphasis on the "fiction." Little here was even remotely believable. Yet taken together, it made an interesting visual contemplation of "what if?" and an enjoyable couple of hours at the cinema (for example, the characters free-fall to the "center of the earth," which would be 4,000 MILES down. Allowing for the rather slap-dash explanation of "magma envelopes" and all, we are nonetheless asked to believe they fell thousands of miles in a few seconds. The lava tube they fell down, fake as it was, was kind of evocative--- it did bring to mind a sense of mystery, and the powers of nature that are WAY beyond our everyday experiences, even if it was rather silly).

Oh, BTW, an obvious logic flaw--- if there really was a magma envelope surrounding the interior ocean and lush tropical paradise--- why didn't the free-fall take them through that, it being a sphere and all? Don't even think about it! Just enjoy the fairy tale.