The basic premise is that the core of the earth, which is molten lava, has stopped spinning and thus, the electro-magnetic shield way above our heads, breaks apart and starts wreaking havoc to all the little Earthlings. 

      The movie doesn't waste any time. The hook happens almost immediately aka people start dying. It's kinda freaky, pace makers stop and birds attack people, unintentionally ...so we meet Josh Keyes (played by Aaron Eckhart), a college professor and young geo-physicist. We also meet Sergei Leveque (played by the always brilliant Tcheky Karyo), a frenchman, who is also a geo-physicist. Saw that coming, right? Yup, the plot is pretty basic and simple enough for just about anybody to follow... the dialogue is even worse. 

      So, what happens next? Without giving away too much, they meet up with an older doctor, by the name of Conrad Zimsky (played by Stanley Tucci), who is just stellar here, and practically steals the movie. These characters talk about the impending doom of Earth, and this leads us to another wacky scientist, Dr. Edward Brazelton (played by Delroy Lindo), who is probably the smartest character in the film. 

      Oh yeah, back to the beginning, there's this small scene with a Space Shuttle... eerily similar to the Columbia tragedy, but it's way cool, it has to crash land. That's all I will say. It's just great filmmaking. 

      Back to the characters... the two other main ones are played by Bruce Greenwood (best known for JFK in Thirteen Days) and Hillary Swank, who I recognized right off the bat, except for her dang name. It was driving me crazy! I was like "I know that actress! What's her name!" So, those two are the pilots of the journey to the center of the Earth, ship. 

      Yes, this film is sorta based off that great Jules Verne novel, but I didn't see it in the credits, so I am guessing 'sorta' is an understatement. There's no Dinosaurs roaming around beneath the surface, thank God. I don't know if I would be willing to suspend disbelief if they wrote it like that. 

      That's the story of this film. It's a great popkorn flick, that has no nudity/sex, very little bad language, and a pretty simple plot that a first grader could follow and not get bored, so take the kids to this one... except there is some smoking in this, which was unnecessary, as it's only a couple scenes, and has nothing to do with plot, but hey, it makes the character look cool! 

      If you're bored and have kids that won't shut-up, take 'em to see this, they'll get a kick out of the action and you'll enjoy it too, just don't go expecting great dialogue or plot, because you won't find any. That said, I will say that the entire cast, did an excellent job with what little of a script they had to work with, Stanley Tucci has a very memorable role here, and damn, Delroy Lindo just gets better and better with each new role! I love this guy! Remember to suspend disbelief. This is sci-fi. Try not to think. Just enjoy.

     -- James ( 3 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      Matt ( 2 out of 4 pops )

      If special f/x films with loads of explosions and neat CGI effects impresses you to death, then you'll probably have a ball.  I, on the other hand, am rarely blown away by any sort of special f/x.  I'd rather watch a movie with a good script and a budget of 0 dollars than watch one with a bad script and a budget of about 70 million dollars.  Now, "The Core" isn't an entirely bad film.  As a matter of fact, the movie has a promising start and I did somewhat enjoy the last hour, though it's derivative of "Armageddon," "Independence Day" and whatever other summer blockbuster comes to mind.  But there was nothing that really kept me bolted to my seat.  During the middle of the film, I actually staggered over to the concession stand, yawning, and purchased a large Cherry Coke, because I needed that jolt of caffeine after nearly falling asleep a couple of times.  The acting is good, with the exception of Stanley Tucci who gives a cartoonish performance, but I just kept wishing the whole cast would've been in a different movie.  I loved Aaron Eckhart in "In the Company of Men," a brilliant independent film which was made on a shoestring budget--the total opposite of "The Core."  Eckhart's a witty, genuinely talented actor and I hope to see him choose his next script more wisely.  As everyone knows, Hilary Swank was wonderful in "Boys Don't Cry" (another shoestring indie feature), and I also hope she chooses her next script more wisely.  Delroy Lindo has starred in a couple of lemons in the past, but I feel he's one of the best underrated actors and also deserves better material.  The characters, or caricatures I should say, are extremely thin and derivative of the characters you've seen in other disaster flicks.  And of course, only in the movies can a college professor be lecturing a crowd of half-asleep students one minute, and end up saving the world the next.  For those who are suckers for eye-popping special f/x--and you know who you are, don't try to deny it--this is the movie for you.  For those who can do without it, you may as well skip "The Core."    

      Billy Ray ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      This movie reminded me of the mid-1990's, when every other film was about saving the world from some kind of catastrophe, whether it was aliens in "Independence Day", volcanoes in "Volcano", or meteors and asteroids in both "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon".  Those were the days of the pointless popkorn flicks--they were pointless--yes, but also entertaining.  "The Core" falls directly into that category.  The plot is absurd, the statistics and truths do not add up, and the dialogue is pretty crappy--but, what the hell, it still manages to entertain.  I liked Stanley Tucci playing the stereotypical jerk, and Delroy Lindo always manages to bring so much character and heart into any role he tackles.  The only two acting mishaps were the annoying D.J. Qualls and the usually good Richard Jenkins.  The special effects were not that spectacular, but they were good enough for me to let them slide--not nearly as poor as the effects in "Gladiator" and "Mission to Mars".  Kudos to director Jon Amiel and cast and crew for making me relive the good old days of pointless disaster cinema.