Trevor (Brendan Fraser) is a passionate scientist whose funding has been cut, following his unsuccessful research on volcanic and seismic activity. While in Iceland, doggedly following a new lead in his now jeopardised research, with his gadget-loving nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) in tow, Trevor, with the help of a gutsy Icelandic mountain guide, Hanna (Anita Briem), makes his way into the mountains to locate an electronic device that records seismic activity. After locating the device, Trevor, Sean and Hanna find shelter from a storm (no pun intended), in a mountain cave. While there, the ground beneath them caves in and they fall down a seemingly bottomless hole that leads to the center of the earth.
This film, which is supposed to be full of adventure, wonder and excitement, unfortunately, is not. Being a 3-D film meant to be viewed with 3-D goggles, perhaps I found it unexciting because I watched the 2-D version. Or maybe my mind is saturated with computer-generated imagery, because I found nothing revolutionary or appealing about the visual effects and animation. I felt like I'd seen it all too many times before. The side stories of a brother losing a brother, an uncle bonding with his nephew and a son losing a father, did not offer anything to sink one's teeth into, because they were poorly told. Fraser's poor acting was especially disappointing, considering that he was the lead. Despite this, I give him credit for making bearable a film without a story, because if it hadn't been for his efforts, almost ineffective though they were, this would have turned out much, much worse.
I found it unfortunate for Andrew Lockington's fine score to be wasted on such banal material. There were moments when this film seemed to be picking up, moments that were almost exciting -- almost -- but they were few and far between, such that they didn't count for anything. I wouldn't recommend this film, not even moderately.
*Written about 2 years ago and left to languish in a dusty drawer, until now.
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