
audiences will pay to see just about anything in 3-D, as long as the effects are good and lots of stuff comes flying at their faces in CGI. Given the film's flimsy story and wafer-thin characters, that's quite an accomplishment. Breaking out of the confines of IMAX, 'Journey' played in thousands of mainstream multiplexes across America (thanks to a concerted effort on behalf of New Line and major theater chains) and managed to secure a more-than-respectable final domestic gross of $100 million.
#JOURNEY CENTER EARTH 3D GLASSES TV#
Editor's Note: Not to mention at least ten other TV and direct to video incarnations according to IMDB), 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' is the first large-scale 3-D release in over two decades. Yes, a gimmick is still a gimmick, but thanks to digital technology and major studio budgets, this may truly be 3-D's renaissance period.Īn adaptation of Jules Verne's classic novel of the same name (and itself a remake of the 1959 picture starring James Mason. Gigantic IMAX screens nationwide are flush with 3-D films, with everything from U2 to Batman and Harry Potter now comin' at ya in three dimensions. Now, here we are in the '00s, and 3-D appears poised to be modern cinema's great box office gold mine. Miraculously, the silly glasses and silver screens then made a comeback in the '80s with lots of cheapie exploitation flicks and cash-in studio franchise pictures, only for the fad to once again fade out in a matter of months. This dimensional gimmick enjoyed immense popularity in the '50s before burning out faster than a Kmart light bulb. It’s also a ride that you can’t imagine ever working when it gets to DVD or Blu-ray, meaning that the 3D adventure is very much the one to take.There's an old joke that says the only things that will be left standing after an atomic bomb are cockroaches, and Cher.

#JOURNEY CENTER EARTH 3D GLASSES MOVIE#
And even though the movie is packed full if implausible things (Google on a PSP on a plane, a mobile working miles underground), it’s still fun, silly and entertaining and as such does its job. And it’s all, of course, a useful excuse to have things fly, poke or generally come out of the screen towards the audience without those inconvenient things like emotions or plot development getting in the way (check out how quickly they skim over the ‘death’ scene and the heating up issues).īut even with a ending that is verging on the plainly stupid, the film still manages to entertain. With dinosaurs to dodge, magnetic rocks to navigate and a sea full of evil flying fish to bat out of the way, it’s fair to say that the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, with danger just perilous enough to be able to get through without any real danger. The team follow a surprisingly intelligent neon coloured hummingbird through the dangers, to find the only and implausible means of escape. This action set piece over plot and characters sets the tone for the final reel of the film, where the subterranean realm is not really explored or discussed, but merely wandered through with no sense of awe. So while Indy’s dilemma seemed real and urgent, this CG-fest really is just an excuse to do a set of POV shots in 3D.

But instead, after a cave-in, we are given a ‘bonus level’ set piece involving a runaway mine train taken straight out of Temple of Doom, only done on the cheap (and with CG). It’s actually nearly halfway through the film before we get to the centre of the earth, which is surprising as you would think that a flick like this would get down to the man eating plants, giant mushrooms and undergrounds monsters straight away. But really this film is about the effects, and as such the characters are secondary as the film moves from one set piece to another. The same can be said about Josh Hutcherson (who plays the nephew) and Anita Briem who plays Hannah the titular tour guide.

And while you do get a bit of the goofy action hero, here it’s a bit underplayed and pretty vacant.

Airheads was insane and fun, the original Mummy enjoyable and George of the Jungle is at times comedy genius. I have a lot of time for Brendan Frasier and have over the past decade enjoyed his movies. That’s about the plot summed up, and then the actors phone in their parts. The action then moves to Iceland, where they team up with a very attractive pot-holer/guide/love interest/Lara Croft clone to get to the probe’s readings, and then get caught up in a storm/trapped in a avalanche. And – coincidence alert – one of his missing brother’s probes activates on the same afternoon. Fraser then picks up his brother’s lifes’ work and then, one day his messy academic life is interrupted by having his nephew staying with him (which involves a dangling and unexplained plot move about a move to Canada). Brendan Frasier plays a geologist whose brother goes missing a decade earlier doing field-work, investigating and probing into hidden ‘tubes’ in the earth.
