Rated PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments.
Directed by Eric Brevig (First Feature Film)
Starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem
Most 3-D movies are so cheesy they are not worth your time, let alone wearing those ridiculous glasses for two hours. But Journey to the Center of the Earth was so good I’d wear Elton John type glasses to watch it again.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is about a visionary scientist, Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and their local mountain guide, Hannah (Anita Briem), who are unexpectedly trapped in a cave during a scientific expedition in Iceland. Realizing their only escape is to go deeper and deeper, they travel through, you guessed it, the center of the Earth and experience never-before-seen worlds and a few unimaginable creatures: including man-eating plants, giant flying piranha, glow birds and terrifying dinosaurs. The adventurers soon discover that as volcanic activity increases around them, they must find a way back to the Earth's surface before it is too late.
Brendan Fraiser has a pretty impressive resume (sure he has had a few duds) and with two big-budget blockbusters releasing this summer (the fourth Mummy film to release in August), he is becoming a very real Hollywood force. The rest of the very small cast is pretty impressive as well and together they are likeable and very believable.
I loved the story. When I heard all the press about this film and the fact it was shot in the new Digital 3-D format, I was not expecting much of a story. Let’s be honest when the buzz about a movie is about something other than the actual movie, story or actors, it is usually not a good sign. But the story is very entertaining. There is plenty of action, laughs and a few heartwarming moments as well.
Finally and certainly not least, the 3-D is UNBELIEVABLE!! The last 3-D movie I watched was Spy Kids 3 and that is typical 3-D cheese. You know a few “O.K. lets put your glasses on now” and we’ll throw something at you to make you jump scenes. But in Journey to the Center of the Earth, the entire movie is in 3-D and it was very cool. In fact I left wishing every movie was made like that.
If you haven’t yet…go check out Journey to the Center of the Earth; it is a really good family friendly movie.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Yes. Journey to the Center of the Earth is very family friendly. While some scenes may be on the scary or intense side, my 10 & 7 year olds loved it (and yes they kept trying to catch whatever 3 D items were flying off the screen).
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
