Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, and other rather forgettable folk.
Directing: Eric Brevig
At A Glance: Science professor Trevor (Brendan Fraser) has become the laughingstock of the academic community thanks to his outrageous theories. While on a trip to Iceland, Trevor, his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and their guide Hannah (Anita Briem) find themselves at the center of the planet, having discovered a whole world within our world. Adapted from the Jules Verne fantasy novel, this film (presented in 2D) marks the directorial debut of Eric Brevig.
What the Goose? Go read the book. Seriously! You’ll get more enjoyment out of it. Heck, the book had a very prominent role in this flick.
My wife and I sat down to watch this one last night, and found ourselves quickly bored, which is a shame. I like Brendan Fraser acting for the most part, from George of the Jungle to Mummy, and even including Bedazzled. But this flick just left me wishing I’d watched something else. And Josh Hutcherson can be a good actor as well, as we saw in the Bridge to Terabithia. Apparently he needs good directing and a good screen play to pull that off, both of which were missing from this movie.
Now, I’m sure my kids will enjoy this flick. There’s enough in the CGI department to entertain them, as well as a few moments of humor often enjoyed by them, such as T-Rex drooling on a kid’s face, or a piranha-like prehistoric fish about to bite the hiney off the leading lady. There was no profanity, that I recall, or anything else that my wife and I find objectionable for our chillens.
But there wasn’t much of anything to set it apart either. Oh, and the whole fight scene between Brendan and the man-size, meat-eating venus fly traps was rather silly.
Mother Goose’s main comment from the night? “I was hoping for something more… sophisticated.”
And we were both very disappointed.
