Customer Reviews

The Core [DVD] [2003]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I went to see this at the pictures and left listening to the chatter thinking I was the only person in the entire world who liked this film. It was slated by the critcs, slumped at the box office, and DVD sales have been poor. I am left asking myself why??

This is pure fantasy. It's a fictional story based on Pseudo-science for the purpose of entertainment. Yet the biggest gripe people seem to have is that it is "unbelievable". Can you imagine the reaction if you sat watching "Lord of the Rings" and then announceed to everyone that you thought it was rubbish because it was "unbelievable". You would be ridiculed.

The special-effects are slick and very well-made. This is one of those films where the Special-Effects crew were the biggest stars. But is that such a bad thing occasionaly?

This was a highly enjoyable, tongue-in-cheek, special-effects film. Just because the storyline includes some impressive sounding Physics, doesn't mean it is trying to become a deadly serious "This could really happen" prophetic disaster film such as "Deep Imapct". It isn't. It's pure science fiction. It's suppose to be entertaining. Those people who whinge about it being "unbelievable" would do well to remember that.

Often compared, wrongly, ARMAGEDDON, THE CORE remains an exceptional disaster movie, with an ultra-dramatic story (reactivate the core of the earth with atomic bombs, delirium total!) and special-effects sometimes unbelievable.

Of course it does not avoid certain clichés of the genre, some shortcuts scriptwriting easy and good feelings.

But at least this feature film has the distinction of taking the subject seriously. There never dark in parody, action overdose, crappy humor or stupid. In short, the opposite of the ultra-enjoyable ARMAGEDDON.

In addition, THE CORE has action scenes original anthology (the Space Shuttle in perdition, the geode, the "climax" final in the core...), a excellent cast (AARON ECKHART "DARK KNIGHT", Hilary SWANK "MILLION DOLLAR BABY" Stanley Tucci "HUNGER GAMES" and Tcheky KARYO "THE PATRIOT") doped with a realization mastered by Jon Amiel (COPYCAT, ENTRAPMENT)

He previously enjoyed a very good quality DVD from 2004 (very good definition, brilliant colors and perfect contrast).

But here I draw your attention to the fact that Blu-ray UK was released in September 2012.

Let me explain:

- The image is just beautiful and ultra contrast (the "climax" final at the heart of core melt is amazing!) With vivid colors. This film was a real HD remastering. The definition sometimes reaches levels of detail exceptional but has absolutely no pity for the SFX. But nothing really alarming, I assure you. This is often impressive!

- The sound he has restored explosive VO DTS HD 5.1 which provides an unprecedented scale to the beautiful music of the film and various "impressive" sound effects of the film (the chain explosion of atomic bombs in the heart of the core, to shake walls!). Exceptional!

- Bonus: absolutely nothing. Not even a trailer. Disappointing. Especially since the dvd was full, so keep it.

The HD is not even out yet in the United States or even announced yet, amazing!? European exclusive!

In short, this edition remains a safe and secure shopping for all fans who want to have the best picture and the best sound available for this movie.

See for yourself.

Technical Specifications:
Blu-ray "All Zones" - IMPORT UK / SPAIN / GERMANY - Time : 135mn.
Image: Widescreen 2.35 - 16/9 / HD 1080P
Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 / French Dolby Digital 5.1 / German Dolby Digital 5.1 / Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.

The Earth's core has stopped turning! Crikey! So that's why all those people's pacemakers stopped and why all the pigeons went crazy in Trafalgar Square? So what are we going to do about it? Well, in the normal world, there's nothing we could do - we'd all fry and that would be the end of planet Earth! But this being movieland, some boffin has already been working on a machine that can bore through rock and so a cunning plan is hatched to send a team to kickstart the Earth's core!

So, before you can say "Hang on, there isn't enough time to do all this!" a team is assembled, a huge boring machine is built (Virgil) and scientists have devised a way to get the core rotating again by setting off a huge explosion. So off they jolly well go!

There are some huge, glaring plotholes in this movie. First and foremost, no one actually knows what the Earth's core is like, even if we could find a way to get there. Also the subject of the pressure that would be present the deeper Virgil went is simply explained away by a throwaway one-liner - "Well, at least the suits can take the pressure!" And why on Earth has A Very Important Switch been put in the Impeller Shaft?! This just seems to be an excuse to set up a character's death later on in the movie.

If you put your brain on hold and ignore all the glaring plotholes - and there are quite a few! - 'The Core' is actually quite an entertaining movie and some of the scenes are visually stunning. For example, what about the destruction of Rome, and the scene inside the geode? The emergency landing of the space shuttle is pretty impressive too!

Shame about the ending though! We're meant to believe that it took several days to get to the core, yet they make it back to the surface in just hours? And without the Impeller?! See what I mean about plotholes?

All things having been said, 'The Core' isn't a terrific movie, but it is an enjoyable one, as long as you don't want your movies to be scientifically correct. But then, movies were originally intended to take us to a land of make believe - to allow us to suspend belief for a while, and 'The Core' manages this very well!

Whilst this is without doubt the most scientifically unbelievable film I have ever seen, it is one of those that, if you can suspend reality for a couple of hours, you will probably enjoy.

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 their 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.

Hi Everyone,

I thought i would just review the technical specs on this Blu Ray as there are plenty of reviews on the film itself.

Picture: Highly detailed with a fine level of grain and no DNR to be seen. Colours are bold, no edge enhancement and the black levels are solid. A fantastic transfer.

Audio: Great dynamics and full use of surround field. Deep bass, music is well mixed and dialogue is clear with no sync issues. Great for showing of your sound system

Extras: Unfortunately no extras at all. I would keep your dvd if you have one our buy it cheap if you want to hear the commentary and watch the behind the scenes features.

Overall: 8/10

Thank you for reading.

This is a film that is very much in the mold of, The day after tomorrow and Deep impact, again this is a situation that could conceivably happen.

The core of the Earth has stopped and has to be re-started and a team of people from various fields of science etc are put together in order to attempt to do this.

It's a good solid film with good acting and story line, just don't take it too seriously!!, just sit back imagine the situation is happening and enjoy.

Whilst this is without doubt the most scientifically unbelievable film I have ever seen, it is one of those that, if you can suspend reality for a couple of hours, you will probably enjoy.

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.

Great to hear this was coming to bluray. Love to update dvd material with HD material when available and this does not disappoint.

The subject is interesting. The topic is fascinating. The treatment is quite reassuring. But the ideology is hateful. Imagine some natural, geological or cosmic catastrophe meaning the end of the earth, hence of humanity. The loss of the magnetic field of the earth is one possibility since it has been going down for a few decades and no one can explain. If such a phenomenon were truly happening, the normal reaction would be to bring all scientists around the world together to find a solution. There cannot be any moral and acceptable salvation for humanity, or even a little part of humanity if it does not mobilize everyone, every country, every nation. The film is unluckily hijacked by the military that imposes the vision of some aggressive attack from an enemy. They seem to listen to the scientists and politicians for a while, but at the same time they have their own Plan B ready which is purely military. That is why the military should have no power whatsoever and their finances should be scrutinized constantly, for them not to be able to have their own plans. That's why the finances of the military are supposed to be voted by Congress, but is what Congress votes always clear? Certainly not and that is true in every country. There are some blind or invisible lines hidden in some other budgets. That is revealing about a lack of democracy in our countries: the armed forces are not 100% open to public scrutiny and they do things they have never been allowed to do. The film though takes a clear stand against this and manages to defeat Plan B, thanks to a hacker in the place. We could of course wonder why they brought that hacker into the sanctuary. But for the film he was needed and was able to fulfill his promise. I must say I did not like his nose. Too visible, too outstanding. A hacker is supposed to be absolutely invisible, hence just plain normal, average, banal, in no way conspicuous. Then the treatment of the volunteers in that last chance mission is quite flat after all. A little bit of rage but a lot of positive tension. A situation in which one must sacrifice after the other should create a real tension that could be and become negative, including the absolute loss of all reactivity in an individual who knows there is no way out. But It was a pleasant film after all.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

If special effects won awards, this film would be okay. Unfortunately the rest of the film was non-descript and lacked conviction.