I’m assuming it looks better in 3-D — Journey to the Center of the Earth’s gimmick can’t save it
In 3-D!
Suspension of disbelief is a requisite to the enjoyment of any science fiction. Verisimilitude suffices for reason plausibility for possibility. The parameters for this new reality are set out early and it’s the responsibility of the storyteller to ensure that they remain within those lines. Part of the reason for the genre’s stigmatization as pulp is because so few are able to create original interesting rules for their universes and even fewer are capable of playing by them over the course of an entire story. As an avid scientific scholar and one of science fiction’s forefathers this is an area where Jules Verne author of Journey to the Center of the Earth excelled. Sadly this is exactly where Warner Bros.’ new film of the same name fails.
Though Dr. Trevor Anderson’s (Brendan Fraser) frequent “scientific” interjections are little more than Bill Nye-calibre sound bites used to loosely justify the action they’re unnecessary. Their feeble reasoning too often draws attention to some physically impossible plot beat and illustrate that the writers don’t understand what all the scientific jargon means. The shoddy visual effects create even more problems and represent some of the worst CGI and live action integration since 1992. Though the sequences set around physical special effects are passable enough Fraser and company’s hilariously over-the-top delivery only compounds the problem. All that Journey to the Center of the Earth really succeeds at is finding every possible way to make an audience positive they’re being lied to.
Verne’s plot fares no better than his psuedo-science in this adaptation. The story is transported out of the 1830s and into the present day where some people believe that Verne’s writing was truth rather than fiction (a point of exposition that borrows a little more from TV’s Alias than chance would allow). Though the order of events is still essentially the same all of Verne’s flawed arrogant characters have been expectedly replaced by family-friendly archetypes who remain comfortably static. What’s worse is that the typical pitfalls of 19th century fiction haven’t even been addressed. Coincidence and contrivance are still heavily favoured over decision and consequence as plot devices.
For all of its flaws however Journey to the Center of the Earth still holds some appeal thanks to the novelty of its “RealD Cinema” (fancy marketing words for the latest generation of 3-D projection technology). Certain scenes may elicit a Lumière bros. train-coming-toward-the-platform kind of reaction but then again anyone over the age of 10 is probably going to expect a story more than a notch above the ones they’ve seen while waiting in line for a film-themed roller–coaster.
Note: Only available in 3-D at some locations — check listings.
