MOVIE
REVIEW: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE
EARTH

07/09/08

SYNOPSIS:
An exciting adventure based on the classic
Jules Verne novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,”
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D stars Brendan Fraser
(Crash, The Mummy) as a science professor whose
untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of
the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he
and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches
them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth’s
surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds
and encounter a variety of unusual creatures. Journey to the
Center of the Earth 3D is directed by Academy Award-winning
visual effects veteran Eric Brevig (Total Recall, Pearl
Harbor) from a screenplay by Michael Weiss and Jennifer
Flackett & Mark Levin. The film is a co-venture between New
Line Cinema and Walden Media.
REVIEW:
Trevor: [in complete awe] Ladies and gentlemen, I give you
the center of the Earth.
Remember that song that goes “come on ride the train, come
ride it, come on ride the train it’s a choo-choo train”?
Well, have I got a fun train ride for you, literally.
Actually, it’s more like a roller coaster style train ride,
literally. This journey is a feast for the eyes, a buffet of
visual stimulation and hearty adventure. Of course it’s the
3D that takes it over the top and makes it worthwhile. Sure
there are moments where you might think you’re in a Disney
World attraction, but we all pay a lot of money to see that
too. The cinematography is breathtaking and the 3D is nice
and crisp and very well done. At times I forgot I was
watching it in 3D which means that they didn’t abuse the
fact. Priscilla was on the edge of her seat the majority of
the time. She was so into the movie that she could not
contain herself. I really didn’t expect much from this
movie, but I was pleasantly surprised by its stunning
visuals and its exciting adventure.
Not only is the movie based on the book of the same title by
Jules Verne, the book itself is present throughout and used
as a reference point. It’s not everyday that you see a movie
based on a book and that very book is used in the movie . .
. interesting. It’s the Verneans that put the adventure in
motion, though. Verneans are those people like Trevor
Anderson’s (Brendan Fraser) brother, Max Anderson (Jean
Michel Pare), and Hannah Asgeirsson’s (Anita Briem) father,
Sigurbjorn Asgeirsson (Garth Gilker) that believe there is
truth to Jules’ novel. Loyal brother Trevor follows Max’s
clues in search of the truth himself. The storyline is
really quite simple which allows you to focus on the 3D, the
special effects, and the journey. The acting is not as
shabby as you might think. The performances were pretty good
considering this caliber of film. Taking the lead were
Brendan and Josh Hutcherson who played Trevor’s nephew Sean,
Max’s son. Brendan was very well cast for this role as he
embodies a child-like spirit along with the ability to carry
the action aspects of the movie. Josh is really establishing
himself as one of the finer young actors of our time. Even
Anita, who is relatively new to the big screen, delivers a
decent performance. The dialogue is well balanced. It’s not
overly elevated for kids and not too childish for adults.
Visual effects guru Eric Brevig has been involved with such
pictures as The Island, The Village, The Day After Tomorrow,
Signs, Pearl Harbor, Wild Wild West, Men in Black, Hook, and
Total Recall. I rest my case. Moving over to directing his
first major motion picture, it is pretty obvious that the
visual effects would be top notch, and they are even without
the 3D. The 3D is icing on the cake and oh so sweet. And
heck, he’s got a nice story and a decent cast to go along
with it. Not bad for his debut. If you are looking for a
good, fun for the whole family movie to see, go see WALL-E,
but put this one next on that list.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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