“Journey to the Center of the Earth” has one gimmick – digital 3-D technology, generating what amounts to a 90-minute E-ticket ride. Of course, there’s plenty of special effects eye candy, but there’s not much plot or character development. This version is not really based on Jules Verne’s novel. Instead, the characters in this movie - Professor Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser); his nephew, Sean (Josh Hutcherson); and their mountain guide, Hannah (Anita Briem) – use Vern’s novel as a guide as they travel to the top of a mountain in Iceland that reveals tunnels leading deep beneath the Earth's surface. Below, they discover a prehistoric world where dinosaurs and man-eating plants exist. But the trio must find a way to escape before the lava at the earth’s core explodes.
Ultimately, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” is about visuals so plot and characters are secondary. This is all about making the world at the center of the earth come alive and jump out of the screen at the audience. The 3-D work is effective, but after 30 minutes it becomes redundant. Director Eric Brevig seems to have forgotten that at the heart of every good movie is an intriguing narrative and engaging characters. Special effects alone aren't enough. 7/14/08
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