The Core review
Many
natural disaster movies come and go. Some are remembered fondly like The Towering Inferno and Twister. While others are remembered
with disdain such as 1979’s star filled Meteor.
Some are even given a bad reputation that it doesn’t deserve, such as the case
of this movie which will be discussed in today’s review. In March of 2003, The
Core was released into theaters by Paramount Pictures and met with polarizing
reviews ranging from “boring” to “enjoyable”. That along with news domination
of the United States invasion of Iraq led to dreary box office returns on the
60 million dollar movie. Years later, many scientists and professors would rate
the movie the most scientifically inaccurate movies ever made (1). When all
said in done, this overshadowed the fact that despite its factual issues (which
when you think about it every movie in all genres are guilty of) the film is
about an epic adventure to the center of the world with a great cast of
character actors that help give the preposterous script (penned by Jackie Chan Adventures creator John
Rogers) some sense of intelligence.
Three
mysterious incidents occur around the world ranging from 32 dropping dead in
Boston due to pacemakers, birds behaving erratically in London, and finally the
space shuttle going miles off its landing course. A team of scientists lead by
college professor Josh Keyes (played by a pre-Dark Knight Aaron Eckhart) are
brought in by government officials who discover that the Earth’s outer core has
stopped spinning. From there the “terranauts” formulate an improbable plan to
drill toward the core with a subterranean vessel named Virgil, fittingly named after the poet who led Dante through hell. Once at the center, the crew will detonate multiple
nuclear weapons to jumpstart it. Along the way the scientists have to make hard
choices in order to keep the journey moving and save the planet.
Dr. Keyes (Eckhart) his friend Serge (Tcheky
Karyo) meets the General
Reading
this it may seem that The Core is basically Michael Bay’s Armageddon. While that may be true, it offers the audience
something that doesn’t assault the senses. Director Jon Amiel (Copycat, Entrapment) wanted to make an anti-Armageddon as stated in the
commentary on the DVD. From that premise, I conclude that he succeeded.
Although the film may be lacking in character development, the cast that
includes heavyweights like Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, and Stanley Tucci bring
their two-dimensional parts to life in a way the makes them likable. Aaron
Eckhart’s Josh Keyes is not a typical tough leading guy, and has a breakdown
when his friend is killed along the journey. Ironic, as moments before Keyes
says he handled “pressure situations” with ease. Hillary Swank’s character
Rebecca Childs takes on a leadership role after the crew’s pilot (played by
veteran Bruce Greenwood) dies prematurely into the trip. Stanley Tucci plays
snobbish scientist Conrad Zimsky, who knows a little more classified
information than his other teammates. The
films visual effects range from good to mediocre, as were many films from the
early 00s when comparing them to Lord of
the Rings or Harry Potter which
have aged better than other big budget movies from that era. If you’re not a
visual effects artist or picky about the technical side, then you will be fine.
One thing I will say about the artists is I liked their perspective of the
inner Earth from the spectacular giant crystal canyon scene to the outer liquid
core.
Lastly,
another positive aspect about this movie that I can undeniably say was
excellent was the exciting and mysterious score by one of my favorite movie
composers, Christopher Young. Before the Core, Young was often involved a
moderately budgeted action and horror films like Hellraiser and Set it Off so
this was a first undertaking in a big-budgeted film. What Christopher Young created
was a very thrilling yet inspiring soundtrack that started from the fiery
opening title card (features one of the best Paramount logo intros) to the last
credit rolling. It’s sad that the soundtrack is rare and hard to find, because
the movie didn’t fare well at the box office and critics barely even
acknowledge Young then and now. He would though get attention from Spider Man
director Sam Raimi who would hire him for cues in Spider Man 2 and the entire
Spider Man 3 score. Since then however he hasn’t been hired for any big studio
films, unlike Michael Giacchino or Hans Zimmer who right now are so overused
it’s not even funny. Young could easily score one of these current action or MCU
films, but for some reason studios aren’t fond of him.
The Crew of the ship Virgil journeys into
unknown territory
In
conclusion, The Core is not the most cerebral or second coming of Christ type
of movie. However when looking at the film aspect instead of the science behind
it, you will not be disappointed. Heck I would even say that is better than Iron
Man 3, which I noticed a lot a people didn’t like. Even though Rotten Tomatoes
may say otherwise, give this disaster movie a chance. 8/10
