JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
September 24th 2008 04:10
Directed by Eric Brevig
Written by Michael D Weiss, Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem
The 3D gimmick has been kicking around for the better part of 50 years and what was calculated marketing seems to be developing into something of a viable creative tool for many filmmakers. Anticipating the 2010 release of James Cameron’s Titanic follow-up, the 3D science fiction epic Avatar, studios are priming cinemagoers in what will no doubt evolve into a box office free-for-all as they push the technology further to take advantage of it’s one major selling point: 3D can’t be pirated (yet). So while we wait for this apparent shift in ‘event movie’ film going, we are presented with middle-of-the-road fare like Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which Professor Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) goes in search of his missing brother and discovers an underground realm that proves that Jules Verne’s classic novel was actually based on fact. Fraser takes his young nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and beautiful scientist Hannah Åsgierson (Anita Briem) along for the ride and in the process we get various 3D CGI set pieces (including a rather dubious rip off of Temple of Doom’s underground mine rail chase) and assorted scenes where things are flung, poked and prodded into the camera lens. So the film does exactly what it says on the tin, whilst being firmly family-friendly in its non-offensiveness. Still it’s all curiously uninvolving and it’s only Fraser’s goofy grin and slapstick physicality that holds any character interest whatsoever and eventually it all starts to feel like a 3D theme park ride in the way it lacks anything resembling a gripping narrative. However all that aside, the effects are great, the 3D is pretty damn cool and anything with a 3D T-Rex knocking about the place means the kids are bound to love it.
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