Freak disasters indicate that the Earth’s core has ceased rotating, which will cause the destruction of the world within a year. Geologist Joshua Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) is brought in to work with Dr. Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo), and government scientist Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), to find a solution. The answer is to go to the core in an experimental drilling craft, created by Dr. Ed Brazzleton (Delroy Lindo), and piloted by astronauts (Hilary Swank and Bruce Greenwood). Once there, they must set off a nuclear explosion and escape back to the surface. Of course, it’s not going to be that easy.
I wanted to hate this movie. Hey, I call myself a film critic and how can a film critic possibly like a movie about scientists traveling to the center of the Earth to start it rotating again? But it’s fun. Mindless and clichéd, but fun. It doesn’t try to be more than it is. Other disaster flicks, like Armageddon, fail because they feign importance, as if they are serious dramas with meaningful romances. Pretension is not the way to go.
The Core is a 1960s style science fiction film with some 1990s disaster footage. Think Fantastic Voyage meets Independence Day, with the emphasis on the former. After some mysterious events (deaths of people with pacemakers, birds flying into statues, space shuttle crash-landing), the film settles down to a group of standard, old-school characters traveling to the center of the Earth in a one-of-a-kind super-craft, filled with nuclear bombs. The techno-babble covers all the bases so no huge questions are left unanswered, but is kept vague enough so you can’t complain it doesn’t make sense. Hey, could big explosions cause the core to spin? Maybe. Maybe not. They just throw it out there and make sure there’s no figures to check.
All the actors are on target for their simple characters. I believe Ms Swank is attempting to demonstrate that she can play any kind of part (her stereotypical heroic astronaut may be as far from her role of Brandon in Boys Don’t Cry as it is possible to get). Eckhart is the guy next door. Lindo plays up the eccentric inventor and Tucci hits arrogant ass perfectly. I’ve seen the characters many times before and these are nice renditions. Nothing special. Nothing wrong.
There’s a light air to the proceedings that occasionally drifts into jokes:
General: What would it take to get the ship ready in three months?
Dr. Brazzelton: (laughing) I…Fifty billion dollars.
General: (straight faced) Will you take a check?
But generally it keeps away from direct comedy.
The Core is a light-as-a-feather adventure that doesn’t need to be searched out, but will do nicely for a Saturday afternoon.