I am one of the biggest supporters of digital 3D, but I just can’t get behind Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. It appears to be the most exploitive of the technology as little more than a gimmick and attraction. Every bit of computer generated imagery looks tailor made to look neat in three-dimensions. And then the story was probably constructed around those shots. Hell, even that non-CGI shot of Brendan Fraser spitting into the sink seems to exist only so that the spit will appear to fly at you. This isn’t a movie; it’s an amusement park-appropriate spectacle — like Captain EO.

Directed by Oscar-winning ILM effects master Eric Brevig (Total Recall) and based on the classic Jules Verne story, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D is obviously about a journey to the center of the earth, in 3D. It also apparently features dinosaurs, phosphorescent hummingbirds, giant man-eating fly-trap-type plants and a really, really long fall that reminds me of Fraser’s role in the underrated Joe Dante comedy Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Those things alone at least make the movie sound better than The Core. Of course, that isn’t saying much.

The thing is, with so much green-screen and computer imagery, New Line might as well have just made this an animated film. It’s not as if this is actually the first live-action digital 3D movie, despite the trailer’s claim. No, it was beaten to that punch by both U2 3D and the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert film by as much as four months. Maybe it is at least the first live-action digital 3D narrative movie, but considering the narrative may actually have taken a back seat to the visuals, that might not be a worthy claim, either.

As far as I know, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D hits all kinds of screens (not just 3D-equipped screens, which makes for an awkward title) on July 11.