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. …Read more