Instead of collapsing under thunderous CGI and fart jokes, Brevig crafts a delightfully retro entertainment, light and funny and summery.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:149
Fresh:91
Rotten:58
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Modern visuals and an old fasioned storyline make this family adventure/comedy a fast-paced, kitschy ride.
Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Action adventure and some scary scenes
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Australian Theatrical Release:
Sep 25, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $101,653,320
Synopsis: This 2008 movie update of Jules Verne's classic sci-fi/fantasy novel uses the 1864 tale as a template, with its hero, scientist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), referring to his missing brother's... This 2008 movie update of Jules Verne's classic sci-fi/fantasy novel uses the 1864 tale as a template, with its hero, scientist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), referring to his missing brother's notes on the novel. His nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) in tow, Anderson travels to Iceland to investigate his sibling's theories, enlisting a fellow scientist's daughter, Hannah (Anita Briem), as a guide. Soon the trio's Icelandic mountain trek descends into a cave and, then deeper still to, naturally, the center of the earth, where dinosaurs and other strange prehistoric creatures still dwell. After many dangerous encounters with the native flora and fauna, Trevor, Sean, and Hannah must find a way back to the surface or face being stranded miles below the earth's crust. Directed by Eric Brevig, a veteran Hollywood visual effects supervisor (MEN IN BLACK, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW), JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH clearly delights in unveiling eye-catching CGI creatures and landscapes. Presented in some theaters in 3D format, the film features lunging beasts and vertigo-inducing visions, which are effective even in 2D, while Fraser, working in the same amiable vein as the MUMMY movies, provides a human focus amidst the special effects. For fans of the ever-likable Fraser and/or the JOURNEY story, there is plenty to enjoy in this effects-heavy adventure film. [More]
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Jane Wheeler
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Jane Wheeler
Director: Eric Brevig
Director: Eric Brevig
Screenwriter: Michael Weiss, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Producer: Charlotte Huggins, Beau Flynn
Composer: Andrew Lockington
Studio: New Line Cinema
Reviews for Journey to the Center of the Earth
This is an old-fashioned movie with wonderful 3-D effects so full of fun that I came out with a broad smile on my face.
actually equals this summer's Indiana Jones sequel on the assembly line of escalating dangers.
Journey relentlessly dishes out the action and offers the bespectacled audience plenty of goopy, grabby 3-D jolts, but it all resembles a run of the mill video game. Brevig can't shake the material loose from its unbridled artificiality.
...if you are really looking for an entertaining film version of the Verne classic, get hold of a copy of the 1959 JttCotE.
[H]as no pretensions to being anything other than a theme park ride...
For a movie that must create a whole new world, there's no sense of or wonderment.
If someone's got to Roman shower the audience with spit, dribble, and Colgate, let it be [Fraser].
Part thrill ride, part video game, part virtual reality, it is a lively and satisfying update of a good old-fashioned Saturday afternoon serial adventure saga.
If you can't afford a vacation to your favorite theme park, this 3-D-extravaganza is the next best thing.
Like its early predecessors, it's a nominally fun trip, but it's tissue-thin and instantly forgettable.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is terrific family entertainment, an action comedy on a par with Night at the Museum and National Treasure.
If you can imagine the thrill of a Disney World ride with all its leaps, bounds, twists, turns and runaway dinosaurs, you've got a good sense of the wonder and excitement that awaits you with the surprisingly entertaining flick.
Briskly paced but soulless where it counts, the film acts as empty spectacle that, when it all comes down to it, isn't particularly spectacular.
Even without the 3-D, it's a fast-moving, old-fashioned boys' adventure romp, built for short attention spans and maximum popcorn consumption.
I can't tell you how this film looks in 2-D, which is how the majority of the nation's customers will partake of it. I saw it in 3-D. I liked it. It's dopey, but I liked it.
Make sure to catch this latest iteration of the Jules Verne novel on a screen projecting it in 3-D format because without all the fun visual effects of stuff 'comin' right at ya,' this journey's center will not hold.
It's old-fashioned family-friendly B-movie cheese, served up in this Brendan Fraser/Jules Verne action epic for kids.
Latest News for Journey to the Center of the Earth
March 13, 2009:
Brevig Plots Another 3-D Journey ![]()
Thanks to a $240 million worldwide gross and some healthy DVD numbers, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" will be getting a sequel, with Eric Brevig back in the director's chair. More...
February 25, 2009:
Eric Brevig Directing Yogi Bear ![]()
One 3-D project deserves another, so Eric Brevig will go from directing "Journey to the Center of the Earth" to Warner Bros.' 3-D live-action/CGI "Yogi Bear" feature. More...
January 06, 2009:
Academy Names Shortlist for Visual Effects Oscar ![]()
The Academy has narrowed its choices for this year's visual effects Oscar, naming "Australia," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D,"... More...
October 27, 2008:
RT on DVD: Zombie Strippers, Meet Kit Kittredge!
For the week leading up to All Hallow's Eve, there's a surprising dearth of new horror releases hitting DVD. Rest assured, though, titillation and scares can be found in a trio... More...
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