Customer Reviews

Journey to the Center of the Earth 2D(2008)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

Trevor: Hey, look at all the shist.

Sean: What?

Trevor: It's a metamorphic rock. Green shist, white shist, micro-guarded shist-

Sean: Oh. Shist.

This adaptation of the Jules Verne classic novel features Trevor, a goofy volcanologist (Brendan Fraser), his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and Hannah, a canny Icelandic tour guide (Anita Briem).

While on a hastily arranged expedition to Iceland to retrieve data from a previously dormant volcanic sensor gadget, the trio emulates Alice by falling down a hole. Curiouser and curiouser, they end up not in Wonderland, but in a lost world, where long-extinct phosphorescent birds flutter by and the flying fish have a serious case of overbite.

Using the storyline of a missing brother and misunderstood Vernian volcanologists, the little group wanders around the treacherous terrain, overcoming insurmountable odds and horrible hardship (Eat your Trilobite, Sean) before reaching the grandly preposterous finale.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1. Three down the shist hole

2. Things start heating up

3. Underground ocean crossing brings separation anxiety

4. Tyrannosaurus wrecks

5. Geyser erupts with "flare"

6. Strong hint of "to be continued"

A little Goonies, a little Indiana Jones and a lot of tongue-in-cheek adventure, this movie is great as far as light entertainment goes, and can be viewed by the whole family.

[Warning: Beware of lame lines and ridiculous situations.]

Amanda Richards, September 29, 2008

Received, the movie today, two sided DVD had the 3D side facing up! The 3D "glasses" scratched the disc. Loves the movie though.

Don't try to play this on an old fashioned CRT TV set - it won't work and will give you a headache.

BUT..

Put this DVD in your COMPUTER's DVD Player and get ready to be blown away. I upgraded monitors and both worked perfectly. My LCD HDTV would have worked better and be bigger, but I never got the colors to match up as perfectly as they did on my Computer's WS LCD (Media Center 2005). You get 4 pair of Red-Blue glasses, which, although, sometimes one would wish that the Set Directors would have chosen better set and costume colors for this Anaglyph version of the 3-D Polarized version that was shown in Theatres, the effect is surprisingly viewable for those who don't mind getting a headache from focusing on things as the scene changes.

This should be a wake up call to all those 3-D movies that were released in Theatre's in the 50s. "Creature from the Black Lagoon" would be stunning. MORE 3-D, MORE 3-D~!

I love this movie. It is good clean solid family fun. Here are some 3D viewing tips. I watched this on my computer and the 3D was great. On an HDTV turn up the contrast and view in a darkened room (like at the show). Also note for some people slightly bending the glasses at the nose rest curves the lenses closer to your eyes and prevents reflection from outside sources. I am a 3D fan and this is one of the best 3D experiences you can have at home.

I am rating this DVD strictly on its 3d merits (or lack thereof). I just received this movie from Amazon and I ordered it primarily because of the 3D process. Last night I opened up the glasses and put them on and, in anticipation, skimmed through a number of scenes in the 3d version and was so disappointed that I didn't even watch the movie. The 3d effects are so bad they are unwatchable. I thought I had a defective disc, they are so bad. Everything is red and blue! And that's with the glasses on! After hearing so much about how improved the new 3D process is, I expected to be impressed but not only was I not impressed, it was downright awful! It wasn't as good as some tapes we had from the 80s with 3D glasses such as CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE! They were at least watchable. My wife took her 3D glasses off and admitted it looked better without them. I scanned the 2D version and it looks terrific so I will watch that version soon but please, if you are thinking of buying this DVD for its 3D effects, DON'T! It is amazingly inadequate!

Please note that I watched this on my LCD TV on the HBO channel so I can't speak to the quality of the 3D, but after reading several of the reviewers here who know something about it, it looks like I didn't miss anything since they say the polarized 3D method that was used wasn't that good.

But I thought the movie itself was great for the spectacular special effects. Some are eerily beautiful, like the phosphorescent pools and the luminescent birds. The CGI animation, such as in the chase with the tyranosaurus, is also outstanding. The movie only loosely sticks to the original book, but then most people don't know the original book anyway. (I don't either, I only read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which is the more popular of the two books).

By the way, a little trivia here, Verne originally got started writing westerns, only set in South America, oddly enough, but later turned to writing sci-fi, which is what he's best known for.

The acting is also fine and Brendan Fraser projects a sort of goofy benevolence and exasperatedness which gives him an engaging on-screen presence--actually very similar to Cary Grant in many of his movies. He'll probably never be considered a truly great actor like Grant because of the movies he's been in, but he brings something to his roles that perhaps no one else but Grant did.

So overall a fun CGI and special effects filled romp that, while nothing profound, is still worth watching for the stunning visuals and also suitable for the whole family.

We have seen Brendan Fraser movies at only maintained the title and not the meat of the true story, such as "The Mummy", who does not look a thing like Peter Cushing (1959). Now we are presented with "Journey to the Center of the Earth." However, this movie does give us a good synopsis of the story. Moreover, it is very much fun to watch.

Prof. Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) has lost a brother. Professor Anderson's nephew Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) has lost a father. Well circumstances force them to spend some time together. They realize that they might be able to find the lost Max Anderson and make a trip to Iceland in pursuit. They are bigger and across the tasty mountain guide Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem), who has recently lost her father. Both Hannah's father, and Trevor's brother had one thing in common; they were Vernians. So all three each bringing their own unique talents, set off to find the lost Max Anderson.

I first watched the 2D version of this movie in Blu-ray high definition. Some of the scenes were quite beautiful, such as the diamonds that had the lights behind them, so they would glisten in the cave. The movie did look a little bit like it was cranked out at the last minute with many things not thought out. However, it was still fun for the time that it lasted.

Now it was time to watch the 3-D version. I put on my trusty red and green glasses that came with the DVD. I must say I am not sure why they switched from red and blue, to red and green. However, it might have something to do with the fact that televisions are made up of three colors of light red, green, and blue. The military also change their lighting from red at night light to green night light for some reason. Therefore, we are not aware of something afoot. In any event, it took about 15 seconds to get used to the new color environment. In addition, I must say that some of the scenes are spectacular. The trilobite at first may be halved almost at back of the seat. Of course, with the exception of the color change the technology has not changes since the origins of 3D. Other scenes instead of extending out into the viewer's space recessed back and looked like the old stereoscopic slides. Occasionally there looked like a pane of glass with a reflection of what was behind it. I am not sure if this was sloppy manufacturing or beyond the technology even of today. No matter the problem, it is well worth the viewing and I hope this will catch on as an industry option.

This comes with a digital download. I have not tried it yet. I have watched the picture in picture voice over which added to the second viewing.

"A Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne

3D GLASSES - Journey to the Center of the Earth DVD Extra 3D Glasses (3 Pairs)

The acting is very good in this fun, light trek to the underworld. I wasn't expecting a major epic and so I could sit back and really enjoy it. The story line is creative and the extra features on the DVD are enjoyable. It's not a perfect film; it's simply fun.

You need to go into this movie with the right expectations. It's not a "great" or an important movie. It's just a solid piece of fun, escapist, family entertainment. If that's what you want, you won't be disappointed.

I saw this with my 11 year old granddaughter. There were a couple of moments it seemed to drag, but overall it was incredibly engaging. It was cute, a little scary at times, and kept you on your toes. When it was over we both looked at each other and said "already?!". This was the absolute best family movie I have seen in years and years and everyone except very small children should see it.

Be aware that it is incredibly unbelievable, but remember it's not trying to be. It's FUN! There will be some dialogue that's so silly it's funny. The characters are very watchable and likeable and you care what happens to them.

So - put the youngest ones (under 4) to bed, because the sea sequence will scare them out of their gourd. Grab everyone else, load up on snacks, and settle in!

we were watching on a 1080 p lcd tv, I don't know if that had any impact, but the 3d effects worked very well. Yes there is color distortion, but lots of rocks and dinosaurs and yoyos flying in our living room made the adventure worth the time it took to watch the movie. I don't know if we will watch this in 3d all of the time, but we don't need to. The 3d copy has a 2d version on the other side of the disc.

My kids are indiana jones fanatics and loved this movie too. Yes it is sophmoric and shallow but it is a good ride at the same time.

I'll give this 5 stars simply because it is exactly what we expected when we purchased it. Not perfect, but good fun.