DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: July 11, 2008
Rating: PG (for intense adventure action and some scary moments)
Genre: Science Fiction
Run Time: 92 min.
Director: Eric Brevig
Actors: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Seth Myers, Garth Gilker
At a crucial point in
Walden Media’s adaptation of
Jules Verne’s
Journey to the Center of the Earth, a young boy who finds himself in need of answers to deal with dangers in Verne’s world exclaims, “I really wish I’d read that book!” It’s a sentiment that will be shared by many who choose this filmed adaptation over Verne’s novel.
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Films that appeal to the whole family are so rare that whenever one comes along that doesn’t impress as much as it should, it’s tough to break the news.
Walden Media’s
Journey to the Center of the Earth is such a film. It has some fun moments and a few thrills, all without bad language or overheated romance, while its dangers from creatures and beasts result in minimal bloodshed.
However, a film can’t be recommended based on what it lacks. It has to have certain elements—chiefly, a compelling story, told in an engaging manner. Verne’s novel is a classic, but this screen version of
Journey is tedious at times, with one-dimensional characters and hit-and-miss special effects.
Brendan Fraser stars as vulcanologist Trevor Anderson, whose lab is about to be shut down. Trevor has been fruitlessly pursuing the theories of his brother Max, who was a “Vernian”—someone who believed Jules Verne’s writings were more than just science fiction. When Trevor’s nephew, Sean (
Josh Hutcherson), comes for a visit, he brings Max’s copy of Jules Verne’s
Journey to the Center of the Earth, with margin notations that dovetail with Trevor’s theories and the views.
Hoping to salvage his lab and restore the reputation of Max, who disappeared years earlier, Trevor takes Sean on a trip to Iceland, where, thanks to a ridiculous plot twist involving in-flight access to
Google, they meet Hannah (
Anita Briem), the daughter of another Vernian. She’s skeptical of her late father’s Vernian beliefs but agrees to lead the trio in its search for confirmation of Trevor’s theories.
The group encounters peril and riches inside a volcanic mountain before falling to the center of the earth, where they find confirmation of Max’s theories. Under threat by rising heat levels—the temperature crests 110 degrees Fahrenheit, although the actors barely break a sweat—the group tries to make its way back to earth’s surface.