The Core [DVD] [2003]

The plot is simple enough - the Earth is about to get cooked because the outer core has stopped spinning, which.....does anyone really care why? All you need to know is that a bunch of scientists have to get the the Earths core to set off some bombs in order to save the planet. We all know that in reality it can't be done, but hey, this is SciFi, so just accept it!

The reason this film works for me is quite simply the wonderful casting. Sure, there are no Hollywood superstars here, but those cast have excellent reputations as solid actors in their own right. As with so many good films, the chemistry between the actors is what draws you in, and helps you suspend your scepticism whilst the film lasts.

The film is choc full of cliche's:

The young, talented pilot out to prove a point to the older more experienced pilot (who gets killed)
The brilliant loner scientist
The "geeky" IT expert
The "celbrity" scientist and his unknown but equally brilliant ex-partner and there loathing of eachother
The plan that goes wrong
The self sacrifice in the name of the mission
The last minute repreive
(I was disappointed there was no faithful dog that sat at home waiting for the dead pilot, but that probably would have been too much)

You get the point - but the thing here is that they all work so well in the context of the film.

The CGI was excellent for the destruction scenes, but a little bit pants for the underground stuff, which would be one criticism.

All in all, a good film which you will probably watch more than once, and certainly worth a place in the collection of anyone interested in SciFi or disaster movies.

The opening scenes of this film are just fantastic, as the unusual camera perspectives we first see, when about three dozen people suddenly fall over dead in one localized area, instantly dip your toes into surreality; this scene doesn't even compare to the next one, though, as The Core goes Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds one better. And then, in a scene that is robbed of a little of its power and spectacle by the very real loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, we witness the most spectacular emergency landing of all time. These opening scenes really grab you by the collar and shake you a little bit. Of course, it's all downhill from here, but in terms of entertainment value I still consider this to be a better than average end of the world story. One great thing about The Core is the fact that the brilliant science guy who has to save the world is someone other than Jeff Goldblum for once. Aaron Eckhart fills the role of Dr. Josh Keyes, humble science professor turned savior of the planet. He figures out that the electromagnetic field around the planet has more than blown a fuse, and his discovery leads him to seek the counsel of Dr. Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci); Zimsky is your stereotypical great man of science who looks down on everyone around him, but he quickly comes to realize that Keyes is right: the earth's core has stopped spinning. He also knows why, but that's classified information. All life on earth will be gone within a year. What can be done? Luckily, the eccentric yet very likable Dr. Ed Brazelton has invented a machine that can tunnel through rock like it was melted butter. In three months, the earth-digging ship (dubbed "Virgil") is built, a crew is put together (including space shuttle navigator Rebecca Childs, played by Hilary Swank), the world's biggest hacker nerd is called upon to keep the truth of the crisis away from the public (which is quite a job given some of the disastrous events that soon take place on earth), and we're off to the earth's core in order to kick-start the darned thing with the help of a few handy nuclear bombs.

Everything you expect to happen does in fact happen. Some crew members do not make it home, those wacky scientists crack a number of stupid jokes or else criticize each other's work during crisis situations, everyone learns something about himself/herself, etc. The dialogue serves to weaken the movie in a few places, but at least some of the clichéd moments are pulled off with at least a tinge of originality. The special effects aren't that great once we get to the underground scenes where the ship is tunneling through rock, encountering empty space or mountains of crystal or diamonds, and luxuriating in the ultimate steam bath of liquid magma. The underground effects pretty much had to rely on CGI, but I think some of the CGI effects could have been less obvious.

By and large, I really enjoyed watching The Core, but I am sure many people will not like it for all of the faults I was willing to accept in the interest of personal entertainment. This movie runs well over two hours, so it can be a long haul for those who will react negatively to it. It doesn't wait and pull the rug out from under you at the last minute, fortunately, as the implausibility of the whole thing comes through loud and clear early on; that's a good thing. If those in doubt can lay their eyes on the trailer, I think that would do much to show prospective viewers whether they will be inclined to enjoy or merely scoff at the film.