"Journey to the Center of the Earth", released Friday, July 11th, is the third remake of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" since the first one was released in 1959. The latest incarnation stars Brendan Fraser as a science professor trying to find his lost brother where he believes him to be in the center of the earth.
Trevor Anderson (Fraser), is a science professor in New York City studying theories about the earth's volcanoes and earthquakes. Trevor's brother Max died 10 years earlier while on an excursion, however he never returned and his body was never found. Max's son Sean (Josh Hutcherson) visits his uncle in New York City against his will. While there, Sean's mother brings a box of his fathers old things to show Trevor. Trevor finds old childhood toys and Max's favorite book, "Journey to the Center of the Earth"
. While studying the book, Trevor finds notes his brother made 10 years earlier that's similar to the research he was doing recently. After finding those notes, both Trevor and Sean took a plane to Reykjavik, Iceland.
When they arrive, they search for fellow Jules Verne studier Sigurbjorn Asgeirsson,and they find that he's been dead for three years. However, they stumble onto his daughter Hannah (Anita Briem). With Hannah being a tour guide, she agrees to lead Trevor and Sean into the mountains when they all come to the conclusion that both Hannah's father and Trevor's brother might have died trying to find the same thing. The three start the hike up the mountain until Trevor sees his brothers information vile and tries to pull it out. Pulling the information vile out during a lightning storm causes the lightning to follow the three into a cave and blocks them in. They explore the cave until they reach the center of the earth.
In my opinion, the 3-D aspect of the film was by far the best part of the movie and many I spoke to agreed. Numerous elements and the scenery did pop out nicely thanks to the 3-D, but if the movie was going to be shown in a regular format, I can't see the reason to watch this movie. It was very predictable and wildly unrealistic. If you are in the center of the earth, how can it be raining, the sun be shining and there be many oceans and a live dinosaur in the center of the earth? In addition, the three only come across magma for a short scene close to the end of the movie. The acting was also below average. Brendan Fraser was very dry, like he usually is in his movies. The movies "Journey to the Center of Earth", "The Mummy", "Blast from the Past", and "Bedazzled" all seem like the same movies because of his acting. The chemistry between Fraser and Anita Briem isn't there. With their lack of chemistry, you felt like they didn't want to kiss each other when the predictable "make-out" scene came at the end of the movie. The best actor of the movie was young Josh Hutcherson. With his smart remarks and quick jokes, he was often the only source of laughter in the movie.
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" was a 90 minute journey to find a good movie. While being release in 3-D at participating theaters, I recommend going to see it in 3-D at one of Western New York's IMAX centers like the Regal Transit Center on Transit Road in Williamsville. Because without the 3-D, it's just an hour and a half nap.