Journey to the Center of the Earth

Brendan Fraser again is an amiable action hero with a young nephew (Josh Hutcherson) in tow for a buddies adventure that includes a pretty (but boring) female guide as Fraser's eventual love interest. Let's fact it--nothing original about the story but it does feature some neat special effects (courtesy of CGI), not all of which are totally convincing, but hey, this is a kiddie romp if ever there was one.

Josh Hutcherson is especially good as the adventurous nephew who trades quips with his fun-loving, equally adventurous uncle who is able to strong arm himself out of every incredible predicament.

The scientific angle of the film is just plain silly but the film is fast moving enough to help us ignore all the lack of credibility angles. The roller-coaster ride in the mine is probably the high point of 3D effects if you can see it in that dimension but it's equally thrilling on a big flat screen TV.

The only real asset the film has, aside from a script that is full of some good byplay between Fraser and Hutcherson, is the fact that the center of the film is Brendan Fraser who has lost none of his appeal as an action hero. He keeps the entertainment factor alive throughout.

Fans of Jules Verne will no doubt forgive a lot of the goings on and view this as light entertainment aimed at kiddies more than grown-ups.