Movie-Holic

Over the weekend I got a chance to catch Journey To The Center Of The Earth, with Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem on DVD. I wasn’t really expecting much because of the bad reviews I had seen of the movie. But, I really enjoyed the Mummy series of movies and was hoping that Journey To The Center Of The Earth would be similar.

I was right.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a fun and entertaining movie. I sat down with my family for our weekly movie time and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Journey To The Center Of The Earth is one of those movies that became an instant favorite for our family about half way through. We enjoyed several episodes of out loud laughing and even a few times where we had to stop, rewind, and re-view the scene again. The kids have watched it at least four times since Sunday.

My expectations of the movie were completely wrong. I was expecting a flop and got an enjoyable experience. Even what I perceived was going to be the plot of the film was wrong. I was expecting another remake of the original 1959 classic. I believe this is what threw a lot of the people who said they didn’t like the movie. They thought the same thing. However, the movie turned out to be an entirely different plot. Yes, it was a journey to the center of the earth. But, it was not a remake, nor did it try to follow the book. In fact, the book is referenced to within the movie!

This version of Journey to the Center of the Earth is about a professor, Dr. Trevor Anderson (Fraser) who goes on a journey with his nephew, Sean, (Hutcherson) to Iceland in order to get some clues about the disappearance of Sean’s father, Max Anderson. So, right off the bat it’s not suppose to be like the original or be a remake. It’s suppose to be a movie that stands on it’s own merits.

Once at Iceland, they meet up with their mountain guide, Hannah (Briem). These three then set off to get some data from a data collector on a mountain only to find themselves trapped in some caves that lead them on a journey much longer than they expected.

If you are fan of the Indian Jones, The Mummy, or even National Treasure movies then you’re going to like Journey To The Center Of The Earth. It’s a fun-filled action movie that has some pretty funny jokes and lines spread throughout family friendly action.

The action, once trapped within the caves, was pretty cool. The effects were pretty good and mostly real looking. There were a few little things, but overall pretty nicely done.

The acting was better than good. While Fraser didn’t put in a performance on par with his Mummy character, he still does pretty good with this role. I feel this is the perfect role for him, although he isn’t really that intimidating to make a true action star. Josh Hutcherson also does a good job as Fraser’s on screen nephew.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth isn’t suppose to be a major movie production with stellar special effects. It is suppose to be a great family movie that delivers great entertainment, humorous scenes, and a little suspense. It does that just fine.

My family and I really enjoyed this one. If you’re looking or a good movie to watch with you family, then I do recommend Journey to the Center of the Earth.