Deep Core - Die Erde brennt

I'm not going to say much more that what has been mentioned in other posts about this movie. It has a really brilliant intro sequence using loads of slow motion and atmospheric music. This really drew my attention to it, but by the first 30 minutes or so, I realised that it was just B movie fare. And I could'nt figure out the plot...If there was one.

At least the actors aren't taking it seriously.

Deep Core.. what can you say? Mediocre acting with poor CGI and no plot? Yes. Wil Wheaton? Yes. Nobody else you've ever heard of? Righty-o good buddy. But besides that... well... there really isn't much.. The box looked sort of cool. The opening credits were alright for a second, until they started intercutting them with scenes.... I didn't like this movie, but I didn't hate it. I may be one of the few who likes Wil Wheaton, but he gives this movie all the personality it has.

C+

I have a DVD binder called "Inside The Earth," which contains about a dozen films with the same basic plot: scientists must use "futuristic" drilling machine thingy to drive into the center of the Earth to save the planet by either a) realigning tectonic plates b) setting off nuclear bombs c) allowing volcanoes to explode, thus relieving pressure, etc. or some such babble that makes no sense at all. And I've never even taken a geology course. Or, the other plot option is that they are merely exploring the center of the earth find lost civilizations, monsters, etc.

Quickly, here's a list of all the films, and a brief comparison to this one:

The Core: The Gold Standard. Much higher budget than this one, and a fun B-movie that doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as this one.

Journey To The Center of the Earth: I liked this, even though it had Pat Boone in it. A good old fashioned fantasy film from back in the day.

Mesa of Lost Women: See my review here on the IMDb. One of the worst movies ever made.

The Phantom Empire: Fred Olen Ray directed mish-mash of a ripoff of Indiana Jones, a 1950's alien invasion movie, and a 1930's serial. A lovable jumble of insanity. They spend most of the movie running around in the cave in Bronson Canyon, a legendary B-movie location in Los Angeles. Super fun for B-movie fans. Others might get annoyed.

Unknown World: Another machine-thingy must drill into the Earth to save civilization. Actually pretty well done for a no-budget film from 1952. Black and white of course.

Beast From Haunted Cave: Okay, they didn't go down into the Earth that far, only into a cave. But they find a cool monster in there. Enjoyable Roger Corman produced schlockery.

The Incredible Petrified World - Also 1950's black and white. They find a secret underground world (here comes the twist) under the ocean floor! They descend in a diving bell. Zero budget here. Incredibly boring. Only saving grace is John Carradine, but he can only do so much. Rating real low. Skip it.

Village of the Giants - I think there's a cave in this one? Is that why I stuck it in here?

Sound of Horror - Haven't watched this one yet, but I believe it's about people dying in a cave in Greece.

At The Earth's Core - Classic 1970's schlock! Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs. Classic Saturday afternoon fun fare. Worth watching.

The Lost Continent - People enter the Earth and find lost world of dinosaurs..."so bad it's good." Some hilarious moments. Another black and white low budget non-epic from the 1950's.

I need to pick up "The Cave" and "The Descent," two recent films with people dying undernearth the earth.

DEEP CORE stacks up pretty well against some of these. There is a ton of hilariously bad dialog, and the interior of the Drilling Thingy is really bad and low rent.

I'll give it a four for good old yocks. If DEEP CORE had taken itself a little less seriously, it probably would have rated a 6 or 7 for entertainment value. The Core is much funnier. Stanley Tucci's performance alone makes it worth your time.

Alright then, we've got Craig Sheffer playing the creator of a mobile drilling machine that causes a major worldwide countdown to disaster. Of course, he walked off the job a year or so earlier fearing that his creation might be used as a weapon. He was right. It's the potential for that disaster thing I just mentioned which brings our would-be hero back to save the day. If this sounds remotely like so many other films out there, it probably is.

This is B movie territory, folks, but it's a FUN ride! Sheffer gets to dig down 120 miles into the Earth and place 5 nuclear bombs that will create a chain effect that stops the planet from tearing itself apart...while also saving valuable budget money by not showing too many disasters on the surface (always visible because the camera shakes before we get some cheesy CGI effects).

Along for the ride is James Russo, Wil Wheaton (giving a better performance than in "Python") and Terry Farrell (Dax from "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"). What the film isn't able to entertain you with visually because of what I'm assuming is a modest budget, it more than makes up for in dialogue and acting. There are a few techno-babble bits here and there, but these guys (and gal) are enjoying themselves and provide some welcome laughter. Forget the other Government stiffs. They kind of pad the film a bit and aren't nearly as fun to watch.

It's especially nice to see Sheffer in a more heroic role after "Hellraiser: Inferno" and Wheaton still has a smile that will make you melt. If you can overlook some really fake CGI effects and just take the movie for what it's supposed to be, entertainment, then you could do a lot worse than give "Deep Core" a try.

Special effects was quite cheesy, as you can see a lot of the shots were poor CGG (computer generated graphics). Also the story line was dorky and boring, and quite implausible. The lady character was good-looking. huh.

The vehicle looked like it was from Battlestar Galatica.

Not much more to say, not worth the money to pay to see, but if it's free, I guess it's okay.

That's about it.. don't have much more to say.

The "Wil" character from Star Trek didn't add much to the story line.

The Chinese connection was lame.