Journey to the Center of the Earth is a bit of a cheesy movie to sit through, but it is also a fun ride that the whole family can enjoy.
Since it was shot for 3-D, the film features a plot that seems built around the idea of stuff jumping at you, or the actors having a reason to point/throw something at the camera.
Luckily, the cast (including a goofy Brendan Fraser who seems at home in this kind of picture) is likeable, and the film is fast-paced enough to keep you from getting bored with the camera tricks.
The film has been released on Blu-ray with both a 2-D and 3-D version, but I found the 2-D version a little easier to watch. The Blu-ray comes with four paper glasses for viewing it in 3-D, but the result isn’t quite what you would have gotten if you saw it in 3-D on the big screen. Instead, you get pretty much what you might expect – it works if all the conditions are just right, but not that great otherwise.
The Blu-ray has instructions for watching it in 3-D (such as making sure the room is as dark as possible), and if those conditions are met then the 3-D works pretty well. If not, it quasi works with things (such as the flying fish) jumping towards you but not really at you.
I watched the film with my wife and kids, and we started with the 3-D version but then switched to the 2-D to finish the movie. We then went back and watched all the “cool” parts in 3-D.
Even without the 3-D format, Journey to the Center of the Earth is still a fun movie. The film doesn’t follow the classic Jules Verne novel, but instead gives the audience a new adventure centered around the book.
Prof. Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), his nephew Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson), and their hired guide Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem) use the novel as a guide book to travel to the center in an attempt to find Trevor’s brother (who went missing several years ago).
The premise they develop is that an explorer found the way to the center, and then told Verne about the journey. Verne then used the story as the premise for his classic novel. I thought this was a good way of making sure the classic story fit into the movie, but also giving it a nice modern spin.
The film moves at a pretty good speed with the trio quickly getting underground, and finding there is a whole world down there filled with beautiful plants and birds, but also some very deadly creatures (including the flying fish and one very angry T-Rex).
Journey to the Center of the Earth is meant for families. The film never gets too scary, but will give the kids a good jump or two. It is filled with some goofy moments (mostly thanks to Fraser’s facial expressions and interactions with Hutcherson), and some scenes that will make you just crack up (such as the T-Rex slobber).
The cast work very well together with Hutcherson and Fraser seeming to have a brotherly/fatherly bound, and constantly trying to one-up each other to win “dibs” on the hot mountain guide. The romance between Fraser and Briem feels a little forced, but you expect that from the second the two characters see each other on screen.
Since this is a family film, the danger never really feels too dangerous, and instead just seems to be there to keep you entertained or to serve the 3-D format. This might hurt the film for some audience members, but kids won’t notice.
Unlike some films that seem to thrive on Blu-ray’s 1080p format, Journey to the Center of the Earth is hurt a tad by the crystal clear picture. The movie is enjoyable, but at times the creatures look a little too CGI rather than real and the setting just a tad bit too fake. It isn’t enough to ruin the movie, but some might find it a bit distracting.
The Blu-ray comes with some decent special features including commentary from Fraser and director Eric Brevig; a look at theories on the “world beneath our feet”; a look at Hutcherson; and a special on the T-Rex drool.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a fun movie the entire family can enjoy together. If the right settings are met, the 3-D effect works, but the 2-D version is just as much fun to watch. The movie has some flaws, but kids won’t notice and most parents won’t mind.
Journey to the Center of the Earth [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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