Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is probably one of the last sci-fi classics that really was screaming for a new 21st Century film version. While Hollow Earth sci-fi was extremely popular in the late 19th Century, its implausibility is generally apparent at this point even to the unwashed masses. Who knows why the producers decided to pick this particular story? Maybe it was in the public domain. It's certainly not sacrosanct, but seems a bit silly.
Granted that the premise is silly, the treatment is thankfully goofball enough that it's all of a kind. If they had tried a more serious treatment, the film itself would be a total joke. But it's full of winking and nodding, not exactly "camp" but definitely cheezy. I enjoy these types of stories, so I didn't mind watching the film at all. I had a few good laughs, saw some decent action scenes, etc. The love story seemed pointlessly grafted onto the story, even objectionable in the fact that Anita Briem really does look closer in age to Brendan Fraser's movie nephew (Josh Hutcherson) than to Fraser. Hutcherson himself has very little to add to the film, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of Briem.
Basically I didn't think the movie was much better or worse than similar recent films like "National Treasure." I'm sure the 3D effects enhanced it in the theater, but I didn't see it in that presentation. For my money, Brendan Fraser is perfectly fun in these types of movies. He reminds me of people who used to do this type of film like John Agar and Doug McClure. People who enjoyed him in his "Mummy" movies will enjoy him in this. Those who find him annoying will find nothing new here to redeem him.
The movie scores some points for being slightly unpredictable (I was sure that the boy's father would end up being alive, and turned into a mad villain of some type). It's not an ambitious film, so I would say that it hit the marks it was trying to hit.
Granted that the premise is silly, the treatment is thankfully goofball enough that it's all of a kind. If they had tried a more serious treatment, the film itself would be a total joke. But it's full of winking and nodding, not exactly "camp" but definitely cheezy. I enjoy these types of stories, so I didn't mind watching the film at all. I had a few good laughs, saw some decent action scenes, etc. The love story seemed pointlessly grafted onto the story, even objectionable in the fact that Anita Briem really does look closer in age to Brendan Fraser's movie nephew (Josh Hutcherson) than to Fraser. Hutcherson himself has very little to add to the film, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of Briem.
Basically I didn't think the movie was much better or worse than similar recent films like "National Treasure." I'm sure the 3D effects enhanced it in the theater, but I didn't see it in that presentation. For my money, Brendan Fraser is perfectly fun in these types of movies. He reminds me of people who used to do this type of film like John Agar and Doug McClure. People who enjoyed him in his "Mummy" movies will enjoy him in this. Those who find him annoying will find nothing new here to redeem him.
The movie scores some points for being slightly unpredictable (I was sure that the boy's father would end up being alive, and turned into a mad villain of some type). It's not an ambitious film, so I would say that it hit the marks it was trying to hit.