User reviews

How do you jump start the Earth's core? Well, if you want to find out (and have a few laughs in between) all you need to do is watch 'The Core'...

Yes, it's stupid, yes, it makes no sense, yes, the science is flawed, and yes, it's impossible. Nevertheless, I have to say I enjoyed watching this movie. It's one of those 'get a beer and some popcorn, turn your brain off and enjoy the afternoon' type of pictures. If you are not pretentious and take this film for what it is, you are more likely than not to enjoy it as I did.

All in all, this is a classic disaster flick, and for a disaster flick, this is above average.

A really nice way to spend an afternoon, The Core does not pretend to be a huge Sci-Fi mega movie, but rather a pretty good romp with some pretty nice special effects (the birds, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.) and even like to poke at itself.

I love Sci-Fi movies where the professor or the hot-shot pilot don't have all the answers and yes, there are holes in this film that you could drive cities through, but really, who cares?

Sit back, munch on that popcorn, sip on that soda, and have just fun with this predictable, simple, yet enjoyable movie.

I didn't mind this film, but then, I was not expecting much. The "disaster" was built up nicely in the first 30 minutes, with some decent special effects. The acting was above par for this type of film, but the characters seemed to be a little underdeveloped. Very much a poor mans Armageddon, this is good Sunday afternoon entertainment. The film is a little long, it drags a bit in the middle, and the ending is contrived - but it's a lot better than some of the other "blockbusters" currently released.

I enjoyed The Core.

Okay, we all know the centre of the Earth doesn't look as Hollywood as that. And the pressure suits, and the coincidences, and the split-second-timing giant nuclear bombs, and the blah blah blah blah ...

For God's sake, what did you expect ... a documentary? The Core is escapism, just like a cartoon, just like your comic books. Movies can be highly implausible and still be fun. James Bond has made a career out if it.

For what it's worth, I'm glad the Ugly Attractive Kid with the weird nose finally justified his salary at the end. Aaron Eckhart's chin must surely win Best Jawline in a Leading Role some time soon. I was disappointed Hilary Swank didn't get to struggle for half an hour in a sweaty, clingy t-shirt. And, for once, my private predictions as to the Exact Order of Death among the leading characters turned out to be 100% correct. I'm bad at that, so imagine how easy it is in The Core to forecast who's going to die next - it's eeeeeasy.

And the earthworm-like ship varies in scale between awesomely big to comically small. And there was no real sense of claustrophobia. And the heroes didn't seem to mind, before launch, that they all had a "I knew this was a one way ticket", Ed Harris style, staring them in the face. I mean, two thousand miles, straight down ... better squeeze your nose and blow, because I know MY ears would pop.

It was a laugh, I'll buy the DVD because it looked and sounded great, and the special FX were perfectly fine thankyou. Not awesome, but entertaining.

Hollywood has always had an infatuation with films that deal with natural disasters. However, the portrayal of such disasters is usually far over-blown for the sake of dramatic effect. But these films can't be taken seriously, as their purpose is nothing more than to give their audience an exciting, wild ride. This was the case in `The Core,' the new film from director Jon Amiel whose last film was 1999s `Entrapment,' which starred Sean Connery and Catherin Zeta-Jones. At first glance, `The Core' appears to be a science fiction/disaster flick about the end of the world. However, after analyzing the film, it's safe to say that this film is about 25% science fiction, and about 75% absurdity. But don't let that stop you from seeing it. Despite its silly story, `The Core' is a likable film that actually had me cracking up more than shivering with fear.

The film opens with various minor catastrophes occurring worldwide, from 32 sudden deaths in a major American city to flocks of birds flying into crowds of people and buildings (an apparent rip-off of Hitchcock's, `The Birds'). Scientists are brought in to examine these occurances and they hypothesize that the core of the earth has stopped spinning. They now need to find a way to get the core rotating once again in order to stop the cataclismic events from taking place. With the help of world's best scientists, they create a ship, properly titled as `Virgil,' designed to travel to the center of the earth, dump off a nuclear payload of about four bombs, and then as Aaron Eckhart's character, Josh says, `then we outrun the biggest shock wave in history.' `The Core' has some great talent. Eckhart (`Erin Brockovich') and Tcheky Karyo (`The Patriot') portray professors brought on to study the devastation of the super storms and strange deaths that are happening. Stanley Tucci (`Road To Perdition') plays a famed scientist with a severe ego problem. Hilary Swank, the Oscar winning actress of `Boys Don't Cry' plays a NASA astronaut sent to maneuver the ship through the earth's interior, along with Bruce Greenwood of `Double Jeopardy.' Richard Jenkins, who has appeared in several Farrelly brother's films including `There's Something About Mary,' and `Me, Myself, and Irene' appears as a general in charge of the mission.

Perhaps the film's most humorous points transpire when DJ Qualls (`The New Guy') enters the film has a hacker recruited to keep the media out of the public's eye by hacking the Internet and rooting out those who know of this secret mission to save the planet. If word of the events did get out, naturally as in any disaster flick, the fear of rioting and social unrest could take place. `The Core' is filled with clichés. It's easy to sit there and point out scenes that have taken place in other films, especially `Deep Impact,' and `Armageddon.' However, I found it to be forgivable. I liked `The Core' and found it to be fun escapism, not to be taken to heart. Disaster films have always been ridiculous, especially the greatest disaster schlock film of all, `Earthquake,' which starred Charlton Heston and George Kennedy. In recent years though, the idea of Earth's destruction from a force that mankind has no hold over has grabbed both the film industry and the public's attention, most notably with `Armageddon.' Quite frankly, I don't see why so many people loved `Armageddon' what with its stupidity, exaggerated direction from Michael Bay (`Pearl Harbor') and its dumbfounded performances from Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis. `Deep Impact' was a far superior film that was a box-office success in its time, but wasn't remembered because of mass appeal of `Armageddon.' Nonetheless, `The Core' is a decent flick that the average person can check his or her brain at the door of the theater with and veg-out to. ***

Hollywood's gone to the outer reaches of our galaxy (not to mention others), it's plumbed the depths of the ocean, mapped dank swamps and arid deserts, but one place it hasn't gone to with any sort of regularity is the inner core itself.

The Core is certainly one of those movies for which one must suspend disbelief. It's a science-fiction movie that emphasizes fiction over all; that is, the physics of the film don't hold up to snuff. If you're an engineer or physicist, you should be smart enough not to watch it - you'll just spend most of your time second-guessing the inane psuedoscience.

It seems the inner core of the Earth has stopped spinning, for some reason, and this has caused the electromagnetic field that surrounds and protects the planet to begin to decompose. This is evidenced by, among other things, pigeons in Tralfagar Square in London suddenly veering at plate-glass windows and sundry people who wish they were extras in a less-violent movie, like Daddy Daycare or maybe Finding Nemo. At any rate, the world's leading scientists, commissioned by the military (it wouldn't be a Save the Planet from Imminent Destruction without our pals in the movie military), figure out that the core's stopped rotating, and that Something Must Be Done to get it going again.

Ah, but what? We've only drilled down about 8 miles, and according to my calculations the distance from the surface to the core is .... a bit further. We must drill down, sayeth the sage scientists, and lo and behold, through the magic of movies, there's this guy in the desert who's been working on a laser rocket thingy that'll help them blast all the way down. This handy little thing is just the cure, so a crew is hastily assembled: Commander Iverson (Bruce Greenwood), Major Beck Childs (Hilary Swank), Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), Dr. Serge Leveque (Tcheky Karyo), Dr. Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), and Dr. Ed Brazzelton.

Like such doomsday movies as Armageddon, what The Core has going for it are likeable characters and a lot of nifty FX. It also has the unknown working for it; we don't know what lies beneath the thin crust of the Earth, because we haven't drilled beyond it. That allows filmmakers a lot of free reign to depict whatever the heck they want in terms of What's Down There.

What The Core has going against it, however, is a predictable plot and some howlingly awful dialog. Now, it's not giving anything away to mention that at least one person doesn't make it back from this mission. It's also not giving anything away to note that there's at least one knockdown, drag-out hissy fit of a scene in which Keyes admonishes Childs for something she didn't do. It's hysterical to watch, although I suspect the emotion the director was attempting to convey was more like empathy, not euphoria. Or ennui, which is unfortunately how some of the movie felt.

The Core is cheesy. No, not the actual inner core - although, come to think of it, maybe it is, since we don't know for sure what it's made of. And wouldn't that be fitting? A cheesy core for a cheesy film made by cheesy people in a cheesy society? Who's up for some Muenster?

This film has a lot of great talent in it but they kinda rushed through it and thus missed out on what these guys can do. Other than that its a fun apocalypse movie that is enjoyable if you just kinda look the other way... every 5 minutes lol

The core of the earth has stopped spinning, and its protective magnetic field is disappearing. The world starts to suffer from unusual disasters. The only people that could stop it is a disparate group of individuals who must travel to the center of the earth and set off some nuclear warheads.

It's a good excuse to blow up all the world's best places. The science is passable as these doomsday scenario goes. It's not the worst sci-fi idea. This has some fun moments. They had fun blowing stuff up. The story moves along nicely. It's fun even with DJ Qualls 'hacking' the earth. The CG is top notch. There isn't anything wrong with that part. It's a big budget treatment of a sci-fi B-movie concept.

I am watching "The Core" after having read several other comments about the movie. The sentiments expressed go from being "Fine Movie" to "Worst Movie ever," the last obviously coming from someone who rated "Starship Troopers" as the "greatest Sci Fi movie ever made." There are parts of this movie that are actually very good. The first thing to give credit for was the cast that they had. It is a very good cast. Let me repeat, a very good cast. Alfrie Woodard has never given a bad performance, and although her role was relatively small, she brought moral gravity to the role that the movie needed. Delroy Lindo showed a range that I have never seen him do. Obviously better recognized as a man in control, he was nigh on perfect as the forgotten but brilliant scientist who still stings over Stanley Tucci's Conrad Zimsky having stole his discoveries from a generation earlier. Tucci, a fine actor, did take it over the top a bit too much. DJ Qualls gives an underrated performance. He is 6'2" but makes us believe he is a 5'7" geek. He gave a touching performance as he tried to slow down the big bad that caused the problem in the first place. Aaron Eckhart, normally a baddie, did a believable performance, with Hillary Swank, a two time Oscar winner bringing her easily recognized skills to the screen.

I originally wanted to blame Director Jon Amiel for the faults of the movie, but when I went back and considered individual roles and scenes, I realized that he did the job he was paid to do. The visual effects were more than adequate, constrained by the need, not for realism, but by the need to show things that would further the story.

So where did it go wrong? First, the problem, I believe, was with the writing. The script was very uneven. Part of it came from what appears to be last minute changes in the story line. Early trailers suggest a very different story -- and rumors from Hollywood at the time indicated this was true.

Too much of the story telling was quick and dirty, trying to just get it done. Had they not been locked in to a predetermined release date, they could have gotten the script right. Second, it seems there was a problem with editing. There were times when the film just went clunk. Was it poor editing in and of itself? Or was it editing that had to serve the problems with the script. Far from a perfect movie, but one with some very good elements. Give credit where credit is due.

I love this flick,not boring for a second,moves along at a fair clip,no long drawn out boring scenes.But boy,is it stupid,oozes out of every frame but not for a second does that get in the way of doing it's job,which is to entertain,which it does in spades. The science is at the same level as 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' with James Mason,no giant mushrooms here,but we do get giant diamonds and a geode the size of New York. The actors are all having a blast,playing it straight for the most part,their fun translates to the audience,but never over the top.The effects are capable,the story ridiculous,but who cares,a more fun disaster movie is not too easy to find,it certainly is a 'guilty pleasure' type of flick,and some days,that's all you want to see.

How can you tell when a director is bad? I mean, assuming the director is given $50 million or so, competent actors, and a halfway-decent script, what would the film look like if he/she REALLY didn't know what he/she was doing? I think that film would look a lot like "The Core."

From the preview stage, this movie was on my "might see it but not pay for it" list, so I just now caught it on cable. Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart will definitely have Oscars someday, and most of the other actors who make it on the ship are of similar caliber. The comic relief generally works ("I'm going to need Xena tapes and lots of Hot Pockets"), and the plot is no more ridiculous than, say, "The Day After Tomorrow" (though it is slightly LESS ridiculous-- at least this movie attempts to offer a cause for the problem, however unlikely).

I remember watching "Entrapment," another John Amiel film, and thinking it was, in a word, awful. The editing was off, the plot lumbered ahead only through the will of Sean Connery's accent and Catherine Zeta-Jones spandex-clad anatomy. Watching "The Core," Amiel has decided his mistake was pacing, and turns up the volume to eleven and full speed ahead, hoping the charisma of his actors covers his butt. In the second half of the film, this works fine. In the first half, it just shows his limitations as a director... poor special effects during the space shuttle landing that could easily have been fixed with model work or different camera angles; birds going crazy and smacking into buildings look exactly like someone tossed a dummy against a building, then the editor cut it as close as possible. Truly, this is a man at the helm who doesn't know what a good film is supposed to look like. I wonder what an Ed Wood movie would have looked like, if someone had given THAT guy $50 million?

Characters die with clockwork predictability, and my only problem with the resolution was the actors were TOO good. They play geniuses, the absolute best in their fields, so when the movie ends I wanted to spend more time with them, see what incredible problems, discoveries, adventures they had next. The movie itself is barely a D+, thanks to the actors, occasionally adequate special effects (which we will call simply "effects"), and a really great score to hold it all together. I'd buy the score (not the pop songs over the credits) before I'd watch the movie again, but it's a thumbs up effort for everyone who isn't Amiel. Worth a dollar if you have two hours to kill.

A lot of people seem to dislike this movie but I think they are the kind of people that go to movies just to knock 'em. These are the kind of people who read books, listen to music, and watch TV shows just to create a mental checklist of all the things that are done wrong in their own brilliant opinions. So if you follow me so far, here's my brief review of The Core.

My reactions to the various big budget disaster movies of recent years have been varied. My expectations were low going into "The Core" because the trailer, while interesting, still made the movie look like major cheese potential. But I must say I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. For what it is, which is pure popcorn escapism fun, it works. The special effects and sets are excellent, the actors are all good, and the story was not nearly as hokey as I thought it would be.

Aaron Eckhart, Hillary Swank and Stanley Tucci are all pretty respectable actors, and they give the movie the substance that it may have otherwise lacked. Yes, the cliché "hacker nerd" and military brass characters are a little old, but they don't ruin the experience. I have no idea how realistic or plausible the story is. But "The Core" is one of those entertaining movies that will take you away for a ride if you can suspend your disbelief. Thumbs up for a good effort.

I don't know much about geology, but what little I do know suggests that the nature of the Earth's core is such as to be impervious to any merely human intervention, and that traveling to it is something human beings probably never will be able to do. Hence, any SF flick about humans doing one to rectify the other is likely to be as fanciful as The Wizard of Oz, so a big "caveat emptor" is attached to this movie. I figured that anyone audacious enough to cook up an eco-fable like this would have checked his science so as to make the movie more believable, but apparently I was wrong according to the legion of IMDb reviewers who have savaged this film.

This film reminded me a bit of the 1966 film "Fantastic Voyage," in which a group of scientists and their craft are shrunk to the size of a microbe and injected into the body of a scientist (or was it a diplomat?) who has been wounded in an assassination attempt, in a race against time to save his life. "The Core" resembles "Fantastic Voyage" in several ways: First, the technological premise that makes possible travel to this inaccessible realm is so far-fetched as to be more magical than scientific. Second, in all but a few places, the inside of the body is naturally quite dark, and so, one would think, is the interior of the Earth; but in both movies, these unseen realms are aglow with light. Third, the sex ratio is similar: Four men, one woman, who of course is played by Raquel Welch. Fourth, none of the characters rises much above stereotype, since the story is driven by situation, not characters. Fifth, come to think of it, Hilary Swank, while not as voluptuous as the young Raquel Welch (who could be?), does slightly resemble her. Sixth, the events of the film are kept secret from the public, and Edmund O'Brien's General Carter is very similar to General Purcell, who is played by that excellent and serviceable character actor Richard Jenkins. (Unfortunately, every time I saw Jenkins, I was distracted by memories of his hilarious performance as Walter Wingfield in "Say It Isn't So.") I will say one thing in this film's defense: As absurd as it may be, and as uninspired in terms of plot, characterization, visual effects and believability, it did keep me watching to find out what would happen next all the way to the end.

This Is a good fun disaster movie don't take seriously just enjoy it as what it is a movie! It's not discovery channel documentary based on facts! So just enjoy it!

I remember the critics really laid into THE CORE on its initial release . Granted the central premise of Planet Earth stopping on its axis is ridiculous but the script structure compensates for the bizarre scientific impossilbilities . Look at the opening scene with people dropping dead in Boston , it does its job of drawing the audience into the story . It doesn't stop there because a few moments later we cut to London and see a remake of THE BIRDS . Not not good enough for you ? Well wait around because they'll hopefully be a disaster around the corner that will appeal to you

It's never explained in any convincing detail how the Earth's core stopping spinning can cause these effects but we're talking about a Hollywood movie not some theory put forward by Stephen Hawking . Unlikely events do happen in Hollywood movies as if you hadn't noticed so when people criticise this movie as being " Dumb " they're perhaps taking life a little too seriously

For what it is - A dumb movie with special effects and an action adventure concept - THE CORE certainly succeeds . We're shown a ballsy heroine played by Hilary Swank who can actually act and unlike say the very similar Armageddon we don't have to put up with macho American flag waving at every opportunity .

If you're looking for an entertaining pop corn movie THE CORE should do the trick

My advice - go out and see "The Core" for a brainless evening if you like disaster films and / or b-grade films. It meets the criteria for both and generally moves along fast enough that you don't stop stop to think how stupid some of the dialogue and ideas are.

"The Core" does the right thing by hiring good actors to deliver terrible dialogue. The special effects are passable and there are plenty of unintentionally funny moments (like a room full of people cheering after the announcement of "We've got central flow!").

A dumb film that is pretty forgettable, but the ride itself delivers everything you'd expect. Just remember to disengage your brain before watching!

Definitely not worthy of paying to see in the theaters, but its a pretty entertaining piece of cheesy popcorn if you don't go into it expecting a serious sci-fi film. What sells it for me is the acting. Stanley Tucci in particular comes off well. Its clear he knows he's in a cheesy movie, but rather than pull a Dustin Hoffman and try and take it seriously, he dives right in and starts chewing scenery in a big way. I half expected him to literally start gnawing on the set. The plot is pretty clever and keeps throwing obstacles in the way of the crew that they have to use their smarts to overcome.

But anyway, if you've got some bucks to spare and like a cheesy flick now and them, you could do worse.

I enjoyed this a lot, its an old fashioned disaster flick, suspenseful with solid special effects, an interesting (if far fetched) science based story and great cast.

Story goes; a scientist/teacher (Aaron Eckhart ) discovers through several natural disasters (Hilary Swank, Bruce Greenwood in space shuttle disaster) a catastrophic problem with the earths core (its stopped spinning) so he and a team of the worlds (mostly American) experts are assembled to embark on a dangerous mission through the earth to the middle of the planet to kick start "the core" using nuclear weapons. What could possibly go wrong?

This movie sets up like The Day After Tomorrow and then heads into Armageddon territory with shades of Chernobyl or K19 thrown in towards the end as one member of the team solo missions into certain death to save the day.

I liked all the characters from this ensemble cast, and found the story exciting especially as the team first enter the earths crust, actually giving me claustrophobia and anxiety. A more than decent escapism during my quarantine.

This is a movie filled with actors you immediately recognize, Hilary Swank, Alfre Woodard, and Stanley Tucci, and then there are the actors you recognize but just don't have names to go with the faces: Aaron Eckhart, Bruce Greenwood, Delroy Lindo, Ray Galletti, Tcheky Karyo, DJ Qualls and Richard Jenkins. You have then a B- cast who should be recognized as an A cast because they are all such good actors that you are almost willing to watch this throwback 1950s really bad "science" fiction movie. Think of a mashup of 1959's Journey to the Center of the Earth with Pat Boone and Gertrude the Duck with It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) with Kenneth Tobey and Harry Lauter (who deserved better films). This film is actually worse than you could ever expect with every cliché line and trope gathered together for an epically bad disaster movie. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting for the Earth's core to just stop and destroy the planet. The "special" effects are so bad you can tell that matchbox cars are falling into San Francisco Bay as the Golden Gate Bridge collapses. I did enjoy seeing Rome destroyed. The only thing missing from this film is Godzilla appearing to save the planet. I suggest you watch the film with foam beer cans to throw at your TV screen.

** out of ****

The Core is the "low-budget" answer to Armageddon, meaning it was made on less than half the cost but desires to be its equal in delivering thrills and big buckets of popcorn fun. Now, whether or not you liked Armageddon is a good determinant of whether or not you should even bother watching The Core in the first place. I myself haven't seen that Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer production in a while, and memory serves that it was an unbelievably preposterous, but enjoyable thrill ride that had a great sense of humor. How does The Core compare?

Well, if I hadn't seen Armageddon, I might have liked this film more, which is not to say that it's a weaker movie, just that the disaster formula plays out in much the same way so there's a sense of deja vu hanging over the proceedings. There are a lot of people out there who hated Armageddon, perhaps for its absurd science or for its quick-cut action sequences, so for those who didn't like the latter, The Core would be more up their alley, though the science here is even sillier.

The premise is the anti-Deep Impact/Armageddon. A group of expert individuals have to go to the center of the Earth to jumpstart the core, which has stopped spinning for some unknown reason. Heading this mission is professor Josh Keys (Aaron Eckhart), who's leading a six-man team, with a woman playing a key role, of course, as the pilot, played by Hilary Swank. Recognizable faces Delroy Lindo, Tcheky Karyo, Stanely Tucci, and Bruce Greenwood round out the rest of this very expendable team.

Already, we realize the plot is fundamentally impossible. The only people who wouldn't recognize this are those still in grade school, so they'll probably get a kick out of the movie while thinking they're getting some kind of education out of this because of all the scientific mumbo-jumbo and technobabble. More discriminatory viewers will scoff at all the sudden new inventions that aid our intrepid group of heroes, particularly the hull Delroy Lindo devises that's actually strengthened by heat. For me, scientific flaws are acceptable so long as it's not so blatantly obvious, but this movie's stretching my suspension of disbelief.

But those who don't care for any scientific inaccuracies will wonder, is the action any good? The answer's a mixed bag. Almost all the action is entirely CGI-related, so the question of whether or not you find it exciting to see an "earthcraft" (named Virgil) get banged around quite a few times is crucial to your enjoyment. The action aboveground is all given away in the trailers, and none of it's particularly exciting, thanks to the weak special effects. The space shuttle crash, the destruction of the Roman Colosseum and the Golden Gate bridge are not examples of CGI-work at its best, to put it kindly. A 60 million dollar budget isn't quite enough to pull a movie of this sort off, and it sometimes shows.

Surprisingly enough, the scenes set below ground do somewhat make up for the slack. A crisis is introduced every five to ten minutes to keep the characters working, so what we get is a briskly paced and often enjoyable second half. The effects work is still spotty, but I found the characters relatively engaging, the situations fairly compelling, and the Mcgyverish-solutions amusing. Still marring this outing on a consistent basis, however, are the film's predictability, the occasionally really bad dialogue, the lack of solid intentional humor, and the stilted finale. The Core is not an unenjoyable timewaster, but it's not exactly a great night at the movies, either.