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..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Kim
Voynar
..Michael
Wilmington
Journey
to the Center of the Earth 3-D
Directed by Eric Brevig
Fort Ti, Sangaree, Miss Sadie Thompson.
The less than auspicious trio of movies is an apt representation of what killed stereoscopic cinema following the novelty success of Bwana Devil in 1953 and the rare accomplishment of this 3-D movie craze on view in House of Wax. Some 50 films were rushed into service or adapted from pre-existing genre schedules and most were dramatically deficient. The fire went out less than two years later as the movie gods looked down and decreed not even 10 were worthy, artistically or commercially.
As that old chestnut warns: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. More than a half century on there was reason to believe that 3-D might enliven the movie going experience. Animated features have effectively embraced its dimensionality and low-cost concert films have ably mined the resource to say nothing of the Imax experience.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is the first live action feature length film to weigh in to the sweepstakes. If it is any indication of what can be expected in future endeavors then 3-D will once again record an ignominious chapter. Other than some capable visual effects it is an inane, singularly uncompelling action yarn aimed at the family audience.
A rather loosey goosey adaptation of the Jules Verne novel, it cites the source and for no discernable reason posits that somehow the French novelist's fantastical realm of inner earth was more science than fiction. Set in present time its protagonist is seismologist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) whose precariously funded study is about to be grandfathered when he observes unusual fluctuations at several international sounding posts.
The activity appears to mirror volatility that occurred at the time of his brother's disappearance on a scientific quest headed for the earth's core. Conveniently his 13-year-old nephew arrives for a visit seconds later armed with a box of his father's papers that include a personally annotated copy of the aforementioned novel. Given the confluence of incidents, what choice is possible other than to pack up the kid and head for Iceland to assess the data first hand?
The rest is essentially
pro forma. The skeptical daughter of another researcher will serve as
local guide and the trio will descend into thrilling encounters beneath
the crust. An underground railway will send them hurtling, tides will
rise, magma will flow and even a T-Rex will pursue them across the great
arid tracts of green screen deserts.
Director Eric Brevig has a deft familiarity with the technical
toolbox at his disposal. The Reel D technology is a marked improvement
from 50s' formats; creating effects that knit well, retain focus and definition
and rarely skitter on the screen. But he lacks the chops requisite to
mesh the visual bravura with the narrative momentum. The raison d'etre
amounts to a trio in trouble navigating a series of threatening perils
in much the same way a video game takes one through increasingly difficult
levels of challenge. And when there's a lull between, he injects a stereo
diversion for those who have temporarily forgotten why they paid a premium
admission.
Either the credited screenwriters were under the delusion they were adapting a Dick and Jane primer or the director decided to dumb up the script. Both cases translate into that sinking feeling when dialogue is spoken. There may have been some thought given to keeping the cast members down and viewing the effects as additional characters. It's the sort of notion that makes sense only in development meetings. The absence of a human threat in this instance is crippling and just one of the factors that made the equally liberal adaptation of Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1959 superior. It didn't have 3-D effects but the level of engagement was such that my visual memories of it are keener than those of a 2008 film still wet from the lab.
