Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Eric Brevig

Writers (WGA):

Michael D. Weiss (screenplay) and
Jennifer Flackett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Same Planet. Different World.

Plot:

On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.

Plot Keywords:

Center | Missing Brother | Earth | Cave | Mountain

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	11:30 AM	MAX
Sun. Nov. 15	5:00 PM	MAX
Fri. Nov. 20	6:50 PM	MAX

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	Prof. Trevor Anderson
Josh Hutcherson	...	Sean Anderson
Anita Briem	...	Hannah Ásgeirsson
Seth Meyers	...	Professor Alan Kitzens
Jean Michel Paré	...	Max Anderson
Jane Wheeler	...	Elizabeth Anderson
Frank Fontaine	...	Old Man
Giancarlo Caltabiano	...	Leonard
Kaniehtiio Horn	...	Gum-Chewing Girl
Garth Gilker	...	Sigurbjörn Ásgeirsson

Also Known As:

Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (USA) (3-D version)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments.; Rated PG-13 for some bloody sci-fi violence. (special edition)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:12A | Ireland:PG | Malaysia:U | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:PG (certificate #43069) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:6 | USA:PG-13 (special edition) | Finland:K-11 | Peru:PT | South Korea:All | South Africa:10V (theatrical rating) | South Africa:13V (DVD rating) | New Zealand:PG | Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

Walden Media

Trivia:

The character name "Maxwell Anderson" (the late brother of Brendan Fraser's character) is an in-joke reference to the famous American playwright of that name, many of whose works have been filmed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the trio is "batting" the fish, Sean gets a call on his cell phone from his mom. There is no way that Sean could have gotten any signal when he's thousands of miles below the earth's crust.

Quotes:

Hannah Ásgeirsson: No one gets dibs on the mountain guide.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-07-12)" (2008)

Entertaining Adventure

Professor Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) receives his teenager nephew Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) that will spend ten days with him while his mother Elizabeth Anderson (Jane Wheeler) prepares to move to Canada. She gives a box to Trevor that belonged to his missing brother Max Anderson and Trevor finds a book with references to the last journey of his brother. He decides to follow the steps of Max with Sean and they travel to Iceland, where they meet the guide Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem). While climbing a mountain, there is a thunderstorm and they protect themselves in a cave. However, a lightening collapses the entrance and the trio is trapped in the cave. They seek an exit and falls in a hole, discovering a lost world in the center of the Earth.

This nth version of the classic novel of Jules Verne is an entertaining adventure. The characters are nice and there is a strong chemistry between Brendan Fraser and the unknown Anita Briem. However, the strongest part of this enjoyable movie is certainly the special effects. I have just seen this movie on DVD, but for those viewers that saw it in 3D in the movie theaters, the impact was certainly bigger and bigger. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Viagem ao Centro da Terra" ("Journey to the Center of the Earth")