Deep Core

I just want to add my voice to the critics and say, yes this movie is REALLY bad.

It has no suspense to speak of except where the characters start pretending to be serious. No link to reality, what in the world qualifies some oil fire fighters to run cutting edge equipment other than they're the inventor's drinking buddies. THESE guys are going to set off nukes to save the world? No wonder it's about to end.

As for casting, I think the only criteria was who was unemployed when it came time to shoot. Personally though I have to say I did like the Wil Wheaton Molten Shower scene.

Brian Goodman (Craig Sheffer) is a scientist specialized in drilling operations. He aborts a dangerous perforation, leaded by Alan Morrisey (Harry Van Gorkun) and Darryl Simmons (James Russo) and destroys the whole project and facilities. A few years later, he is working with his friends Sam Dalton (Bruce McGill) and Rodney Bedecker (Wil Wheaton, from Star Trek), when he detects an abnormal movement of the tectonic plates, provoked by Alan's new enterprise. Brian meets Alan, and together with Allison Saunders (Terry Farrel), a highly graduated scientist from MIT, try to stop the movement of underground layers of Earth. This flick is awful: very predictable and full of clichés. The characters are badly developed, the story is horrible and it does not work. The best part is the ironical dialog of a married couple, asking for information in a road bar. The Brazilian distributors called it `Catastrophe', maybe a hint regarding the terrible quality of this film. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): `Catástrofe' (`Catastrophe')

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.

I guess this is a good movie to watch in the cinema, though only if you have someone to talk to (or more). Take an early show and bring popcorn. The best part of the movie is the shot after the movies is over, where this guy sings "I guess you're not here about the noise" - so make sure you stay untill the very end.

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.