Worst Release 2008

I ended up at a friend’s house last night and he had just ordered “Journey to the Center of the Earth” on pay per-view. We watched the entire film in astonishment of how literally awful it was! By far, it has to be one of the worst films of 2008. Granted, it was created for the 3D, family audience but it was too stupid for its own good. I can’t believe this movie even earned a 61% on RT – it was more like a 10% or a 2/10 on the DVDTOWN scale.

This is a film that takes every shot it can to insult your intelligence. In fact, when it was over I had this nagging urge to go to Walmart and buy a gun rack, even though I don’t own a truck to put it in. One of the scenes that killed us was the mine carts through the cave mines – can you say “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”? Of course there were the usual clichés of a broken track and the mine carts just happen to jump it, perfectly landing on the other side. Then the track is split into three and each character end up going their separate ways – gee, wonder who was there to magically switch the tracks at lightning speed? Even worse is when the kid’s cell phone rings and you have to wonder where those cell phone towers beneath the Earth’s surface are? Then there’s the usual let’s rob “Jurassic Park” by throwing in a T-Rex.

I’ll admit I laughed a lot during this movie . . . I laughed at how atrocious it really was. I am amazed that Brendan Fraser is never going to stretch his talents into other avenues. The guy has admitted he likes to just stick with family friendly films, but for the love of Pete, at least apply yourself to something decent! I can see where this movie may have been somewhat fun in 3D, but as a stand alone film it stinks!

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I had this nagging urge to go to Walmart and buy a gun rack, even though I don’t own a truck to put it in.

did you see the reader comments for either the dvd or the blu-ray (i forget which one)? jim wrote that he'd give the movie a 7/10.

I would have given it a 10/10.....if MSTK 3000 would have done it.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Well... I can see Tim's angle of course. But if you just sit back and watch it as a harmless 90-minutes of "family fun", it's not that bad at all. I watched it on Blu-ray the other night (in 3-D with the right glasses that Warner provided), and although the color gets washed out, the 3-D was fantastic! The jokes weren't that bad given the material (some were quite funny). And the attractive actress (from Iceland I think) was nice on the eyes. It's funny how the characters use some of the Jules Verne book to navigate around inside the earth (LOL).

Yeah, I get how it borrows from many other films with it's scenarios, but let's don't forget how ridiculous some of the James Bond actions scenes are too, yet we all enjoy them as well. I can agree with both Tim's and James Plath's ratings, it just depends on what you are trying to get out of the film and the experience. If I had taken the time to see it in a theater (in 3-D with the modern theatrical 3-D optics), well, I would not have come away disappointed. Again, the 3-D was great!

And makes you wonder how good other films in 3-D would look too. Of course, if you wear eye glasses, the 3-D doesn't work too good (as John Puccio said in his review).

-JOE-

I agree with you Joe...if you watch it on 3D, is a 3/5, but without the 3D, is a 2/5.

But this movie wasn't as nearly as bad as Meet the Spartans. This movie was entertaining, fast paced, and enjoyable. Again, is no Indiana Jones, but really, I don't think it was aiming to do it.

Funny thing, I just bought the book on Amazon, and it is way different than this. Too bad studios don't take the chance with trying to be faithful to the book.

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Well... I can see Tim's angle of course. But if you just sit back and watch it as a harmless 90-minutes of "family fun", it's not that bad at all.

But that's just it, Joe, the movie comes across in that assuming way that we are spoon feeding the Brady Bunch family. For me there are far too many moments where you're rolling the eyes or constantly saying, "Ah, come on!" or "You gotta' be kidding!" IMO, it was about the level of an afternoon, school special.

And that's the thing, really good family films are good because they keep the camp and schmaltz to a minimum. Why is it we should assume that the average family audience should be fed with a style that should be considered outdated? I mean really, in today's time, have we all not grown up enough to get rid of the cheese and stupidity?

This movie was just plain awful, and now that you came in here giving it the "family thumbs-up" I'm changing my rating for this movie to a 1/10.

Well, I had read the reviews and had prepared myself for a so-so film (cheesy script etc). Yeah, it delivered -that- element, but it also surprised me with how well the 3-D effects delivered. The only disappointment here is due to the limitations of current 3-D for the home, as the original colors of the 2-D edition (also on the disc) are pretty washed out. I did my best by boosting the color levels of my Pioneer plasma (and the contrast), but still it was only a modest improvement. In the theater they have a double-projection system for the 3-D, which preserves the film's original color. Of course, the BD's clarity and sharpness were perfect, just the color suffered.

Tim, did you get to see it in widescreen on that PPV? or was it just full-screen... this could also make a difference in some enjoyment, as the WS is definitely the best way to view it. Hey, I'm not going to re-watch this film as often as something else, but to put it on every now and then for a cool 3-D experience (perhaps with friends), is OK with me.

I kept thinking how cool it would be to watch "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (etc) in 3-D too!

-JOE- (Love Hendrix!)

Tim, you are being too harsh on the movie, really, don't get me wrong.

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Tim, you are being too harsh on the movie, really, don't get me wrong.

LOL

Yeah, I know, but the movie was too harsh on my brain. Therefore, it deserves the beating I'm giving it.