With the summer movie season about a month away, the first big-budget action film is upon viewers with the release of "The Core." It is a journey to the center of the earth, but the "science" which makes this endeavor possible is more unbelievable and incomprehensible than what made the dinosaurs come to life in "Jurassic Park."
This time, the scientists are a team of - isn't this cute? - "terranauts" sent to the Earth's core in an experimental craft. Apparently, the Earth has stopped spinning, which will cause the planet's protective electromagnetic layer to dissolve. The resulting solar radiation, heat and microwave storms will destroy everything on the planet within a year.
The opening sequence details a series of events that show the coming of the apocalypse, ranging from odd and aggressive animal behavior to people dropping dead for no apparent reason. These events force the U.S. government to call in specialists Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), and Sergei Leveque (Tcheky Karyo), to assess the cause of the strange occurrences.
After magnetic interference causes a space shuttle to crash in Los Angeles, the government expedites the process and they immediately assemble a team of experts to construct the experimental ship to travel to the core of the planet. The plan? Restart the core's movement with nuclear bombs.
Naturally, all manner of personality and conflicts of interest arise amongst members of the crew. Instead of creating tension, the poorly developed characters and thin storyline cause the audience to have little concern for them.
A better understanding of the film's scientific aspects would have made it more enjoyable. Not everyone is a geologist and viewers might not be aware of the fact that the Earth's core is actually spinning. The film could have presented that fact in a believable manner, but much of the film's technical content will leave viewers lost. Science and movies don't always mix.
The audience has to accept that somehow, someone has created a super vehicle that can withstand the pressure of the entire weight of the Earth pressing down on it. To further the implausible, the vehicle is expected to dig through the Earth's crust, withstand the mantle's thick layer of molten hot magma, and finally, enter the core where it will have to survive a nuclear blast. But hey, what are nukes next to all that other stuff anyway?
With that done, they have to race back the way they came and get everyone to bed by nine.
Assuming viewers can somehow accomplish this incredible leap of faith - through creative misinformation and terribly bad science - some might actually enjoy "The Core." But it does not offer much.
At best, one would have a submarine movie in dirt, with little to see besides the inside of some tin can with scientists and obligatory military personnel crammed into it. It is inevitable that things will start to break and they will fix them. When that gets boring, the film will throw in a traitor or someone with a military agenda to spice things up.
None of this is new and the movie was much better when it was called "Armageddon." That was simply an exciting, fun film. Here, the only treat viewers have is a bunch of actors crammed into a sinking Diet Coke can.
While "The Core" does have some decent special effects that make it worthy of viewing at an IMAX theater, the lack of any character development, suspense or understandable science will leave this film grounded.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
