This ‘Journey’ could use
more than 3-D gimmicks

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

For anyone over the age of 10, Journey to the Center of the Earth is going to feel cheesy, gimmicky and over-the-top, especially if you see it in digital Real D 3-D.
This film was my first feature-film 3-D experience, even though the recent Hannah Montana concert movie, Beowulf, Meet the Robinsons and the re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas all were shown in 3-D.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is the first live-action film to take advantage of this resurging format, but I didn’t see much advantage to it for moviegoers who aren’t going to be wowed by watching spit-out toothpaste in the sink or a yo-yo flying at them.
That being said, I’d say if you’re going to take the kids to see this movie, you might as well pay the extra dollars to see it in 3-D; otherwise just wait for the DVD. There’s no need to run to the multiplex when there are much better family films to see, such as Wall-E or Kung Fu Panda. The 3-D is the only thing that helps this mundane flick stand out from the crowd.
Thankfully, it was a brisk 92-minute movie that adapted the 19th-century sci-fi classic novel by Jules Verne into a live-action flick. Other adaptations have been made before, including a 1959 version with Pat Boone, but children and probably many parents of today have never seen it.
Today’s update stars Brendan Fraser as a geology professor who heads to the center of the Earth with his nephew to find his missing brother.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is an action adventure film that is visually impressive but lacking in memorable content. The stunning visuals come from director Eric Brevig, who has been nominated for two Oscars as part of the visual-effects team of the films Pearl Harbor and Hook. Unfortunately, he was unable to draw meaningful performances from stars Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem.
Fraser plays the geology professor, Trevor Anderson, who gets the responsibility of watching over his teenage nephew Sean (Hutcherson) for a few weeks. Inspired by Verne’s novel, Sean’s father Max went to Iceland years ago and never returned. When a copy of the book resurfaces, as well as seismologic activity in the area, Trevor and Sean head to Iceland in hopes of finding out what happened to Max. They meet Hannah (Briem), a native Icelander who offers to help them hike for a fee.
The trio embark on an adventure filled with computer-generated creatures like dinosaurs and fish with sharp teeth.
The movie feels like it takes a while to really get started, and there are far too many cheap gags at the beginning to pass the time and show 3-D for 3-D’s sake, including the aforementioned toothpaste spit and yo-yo shots.
Filmmakers apparently see value in this digital 3-D stuff — as a slew of 3-D films are planned for the future, including Toy Story 3. As a moviegoer, I think filmmakers are going to have to do a much better job of making the 3-D aspect more than just a gimmick, as it is in Journey to the Center of the Earth, but a truly worthwhile part of the movie.
Otherwise it’ll just be seen as an excuse to charge more for tickets. ••
Movie Grade: B-