I have no idea when it was first said, but most kids in America have heard someone ask them, whenever spotted shoveling dirt, sand or some other substance found on terra firma, if they're digging a hole to China (which begs the question of whether Chinese kids are asked the reverse while doing the same).
The trouble of doing so is that one would have to pass through that pesky mantle and then the inner core at the center of Earth where temperatures are estimated to be in the range of a slightly toasty 12,000° Fahrenheit. Then there's the fact that a straight line from most of the U.S. through the center would land somewhere west of Australia, meaning the Indian Ocean would drain through the resultant hole and flood America.
Of course, the water (and any such human traveler) would be vaporized at such temps (after being subjected to all sorts of other harmful physical experiences). Yet, that's never quelled children's interest in such matters, which is why Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" still fascinates them nearly a century and a half after its first publication.
Surprisingly, it's only been made into a theatrical movie a few times (and none recently), so I guess it's appropriate that its time has come once again. The twist this time on Verne's fictional travelogue, however, is that it's been given something of the "Da Vinci Code" touch. As penned by Michael Weiss and Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin, the plot suggests that Verne's 1864 sci-fi novel was in fact a diary of sorts, with cryptic passages that have created a legion of Vernian followers who believe the author actually made the trip (sadly, there's no mention of whether the author also circled the world in 80 days or made that 20,000 league trip beneath the sea).
In any event, the story -- certainly not as complex and clearly more juvenile than Dan Brown's work -- has geologist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) and his nephew (Josh Hutcherson) hooking up with a Icelandic mountain guide (Anita Briem) to check into the boy's long-missing missing father's work. Before you can say "look out for that hole," the three end up trapped in a cave, fall many, many miles, and end up in a complete ecosystem at the center of the world.
From then on out, they race against time to get back up top, all while encountering all sorts of nasty critters, plants and rising temps carefully noted a century ago by Verne's field journal turned novel. Accordingly, and certainly not surprisingly, the film then turns into a cinematic version of a theme park ride, including a runaway mine train part, the storm at sea segment, and the obligatory chased by a T-Rex experience.
When seen in digital 3-D (the film is being touted as the first, live-action pic shot entirely in that format, notwithstanding "U2 3D," although the latter is a concert flick), it's actually decently entertaining in a turn-off-your-mind way. It's not as intense as similar moments in, say, "Jurassic Park" (and thus younger kids can likely watch it), but it's still fun in the same way the inevitable ride will likely be.
First-time director Eric Brevig clearly knows his way around the technical elements (which isn't a shock considering he worked for decades as the visual effects supervisor for films such as "Pearl Harbor," "Men in Black" and "Total Recall" to name a few), but they surprisingly never quite look state of the art. They do, however, clearly overshadow the human moments that sometimes feel a bit too shoe-horned into the adventurous proceedings (that could have used a more substantial script).
Then again, that's really all the film has been designed to be -- mindless summer escapism in the form of a cinematic thrill ride where plot, dialogue, acting and direction are put in the back row where they're whipped around at every dip and turn. With a sequel suggested at the end, the theme park's going to start filling up with similar attractions if this one proves to be a hit. "Journey to the Center of the Earth" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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