FAQ

When the Earth's molten core loses its spin, the result of which will mean disaster to the planet, six scientists—geophysicist Professor Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), weapons expert Dr Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo), researcher Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), NASA astronauts Commander Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Hilary Swank), and rogue scientist Ed "Braz" Brazzelton (Delroy Lindo), who has designed a vessel, affectionately named Virgil, that can withstand intense heat and pressure—travel to the center of the Earth through the Mariana Trench and attempt to get the core spinning again by setting off a series of nuclear explosions.

The Core is based on a screenplay written by screenwriters Cooper Layne and John Rogers.

Most likely no. The deepest any human has gone is seven miles (not even past the crust), and it would take a monumental, if not impossible, effort to get any further. Keep in mind, however, that this is a science fiction movie and that anything can happen. This movie could take place several years in the future, so they may have created the materials needed for the ship to stay intact in the hot temperatures in the Earth's core.

Project DESTINI (Deep Earth Seismic Trigger Initiative) was an attempt to propagate earthquakes through the Earth's core as a weapon. Designed by Zimsky, DESTINI's first activation unintentionally slowed the Earth's outer core rotation instead.

The bombs begin to detonate as planned, successfully restarting the core's rotation. Inside the stalled Virgil, Josh realizes that the unobtainium shell can be used as a solar panel, converting the core heat into energy and giving them enough thrust to escape. Virgil squeezes between two tectonic plates and breaks through the Earth's crust 800 feet under the Pacific Ocean somewhere near Hawaii. Now lacking the core heat to power the ship, it stops, leaving Josh and Beck without power or communications. In an attempt to attract attention, Josh activates a weak sonar beacon. On the surface, the military picks up sonar signals, which Rat (DJ Qualls) recognizes as whale song and realizes that the whales are being attracted to Virgil. Consequently, the military rallies around the whales and locates the ship. Inside Virgil, Josh and Beck are huddled together discussing how the world will never know what Serge, Zimsky, Iverson, and Braz did and why they died. "Unless it all got out somehow," Josh replies. In the final scene, a week later, Rat logs onto the internet at a Cyber Cafe, revealing to the world the Destini project and the names of the unsung heroes who saved the world.

Not very realistic at all. More detailed information about the physics can be gathered from a given review of the movie (made by the Intuitor).

After he's done tinkering with Josh's phone, Rat tells Josh he won't be charged for long-distance on the phone for as long as he has it. Presumably, Rat being a technology genius, he was able to use the whistling tone he created with the gum wrapper, in addition to keying in several commands, to reprogram the phone.