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Journey To The Center Of The Earth
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: James Teitelbaum (1st July 2008). |
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The Film
 This is a Canadian television production of "Journey to the Center of the Earth", and is not to be confused with the 1959 classic, nor with the big-budget IMAX remake coming this summer (or any of the other dozen or so productions of the story that have popped up over the years). In this attempt at the Jules Verne fantasy classic, Rick Schroeder plays Jonathan Brock, a scientist who engages in bare-knuckle fights for fun and cash. A Mrs. Dennison (Victoria Pratt) hires him to find her husband Edward, who disappeared into a Russian mine in Alaska four years earlier. With his nephew Abel (Steven Grayhm) along to chronicle the trip, the trio takes off for Alaska, where they meet a Russian tough guy named Sergei (Mike Dopud) who joins their expedition (his brother disappeared with Mrs. Dennison's husband). As soon as they party leaves their camp, Brock becomes a bit of a blathering wimp, and Sergei takes the tough guy role, as Jonathan's life as a brawler is forgotten. It takes more than a third of the movie's running time to get to the mine. Along the way, there is a long and gratuitous foot chase, an attack by a bear that we never see, and a bit of smoke and mirrors (literally) used to find the secret mine shaft entrance. The mine - of course - leads deep into the Earth, and while exploring the fantastic and wholly unlikely landscapes within the crack (which somehow remains sunlit) adventure ensues. Along the way, Mrs. Dennison conveniently forgets that she is supposed to be in love with her husband (the impetus for the trip) and falls for Brock. In fact, the prim and no-nonsense woman is a bit cold to everyone except Jonathan, whom she flirts with from the beginning. Naturally, a justification occurs for romance to bloom, and to be morally all right, between the two characters. The romance is not really believable, but this is the least of the problems present in "Journey to the Center of the Earth". More important than the unlikely romance is the issue of the performances, which are universally wooden and amateurish. Dopud isn't offensively bad, but Schroeder, Pratt, and Grahym all are. Elyse Levesque, who has a small role as Abel's fiancee, is just as hopeless as her peers, stiff and unconvincing. Perhaps if the cast were given better dialogue they could have been a tad more natural, but they were not so lucky in that department either. This wouldn't be so bad if there were at least some cool dinosaurs or other wondrous fantasy geek eye candy to stare at, but we don't even really get any of that until more than fifty minutes into the eighty-nine minute running time. The plesiosaur and archaeopteryx that our heroes encounter at the same time are almost a glimmer of hope for some fun in this limp effort, but the archaeopteryx that attacks just sort of vanishes when the plesiosaur comes along, and that monster also just sort of gives up and goes away when it gets bored (or after the slender effects budget ran out). An even scarier Peter Fonda finally shows up at that point, hanging out among a tribe of hipster natives who wear van dyke beards and pigtails. Their village seems to be made of leftover Ewok sets from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" (1983). In the end, this is an attempt to capitalize on the big-screen version of the story coming this summer. Skip it.
Video
The aspect ratio is the original 1.78:1, enhanced for widescreen televisions. The film is a period piece, taking place in the late 19th century, the same time period as the source novel. We know this because of the largely monochromatic palette. Because, you know, before the cheerful and colorful 1950's, the entire world was grey and brown (or so we are told in almost every period film ever made). In this case, the exteriors have a weird and distracting green and rose cast to them, while all of the interiors are grey and brown. Exaggerated color timing aside, the print is clean and new, and the transfer looks fine. Running time is 1:29:03, divided into eight chapters.
Audio
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. English is the only language, and there are no subtitles. The audio mix is rather competent, with a solid soundscape of ambient effects, a musical score pushed right up in your face, and clear dialogue.
Extras
Genius has provided a small and fairly standard pair of extras on the disc that include 2 featurettes and a pair of bonus trailers, below is a closer look: "The Journey of a Lifetime: A Sit Down Interview with Peter Fonda" featurette runs for 7 minutes 49 seconds; Fonda discusses his feelings about working on the film, working onJules Verne material, and working with an injured Rick Schroeder. "Behind the Scenes with Stars Rick Schroeder and Victoria Pratt" featurette which runs for 13 minutes 49 seconds; Schroeder and Pratt discus their feelings about being in the film as behind the scenes footage is shown. Two bonus trailers begin the DVD, but are not accessible from the main menu screen: - "Tin Man" which runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds. - "Terry Pratchett's Hogfather" which runs for 4 minutes 16 seconds.
Overall
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