Journey to the Center of the Earth2008

A movie I loved as a kid. I’m pretty sure I saw this in theatres. I’ve wanted to watch it a lot over the years, but it’s never streaming anywhere. It doesn’t quite hold up as much, not being as funny or as interesting as I remember. I love Brendan Fraser, but you can tell so much of this movie was filmed on green screen, as all the performances feel somehow wooden and hammy.  I also think the premise of the original book being real in the universe of this film limits what this movie can be. It just feels like another facet of the self-awareness that 99% of movies seem to have to have. Visually, I think this movie was just a little too ahead of its time before green screen sets really got mastered. If this came out like 5 years later, it probably would have been a lot better.  It’s also more in line with the cornier Fraser films that I just don’t really prefer. It feels like we are just a few steps away from Furry Vengeance (another Fraser film I saw in theatres). I guess perhaps to most people, they think of him as George of the Jungle or Dudley Doright, these stupid, silly characters whose only purpose is to be gawked or laughed at. But for me, he is Rick O’Connell, and he was my idol. The Mummy was my favorite movie of all time for the longest time, and it’s still way, way up there. He is so perfect in that role that it seems so weird to me that he has hardly any others like it. More often than not, he plays these incredibly goofy characters, and to me, I feel he is better at telling jokes than he is at being a joke. But that’s probably just me.  I just love Brendan Fraser so much. And I am glad to see him getting more serious and esteemed roles. I will always show up for him.  Anyways, this movie is decent and watchable. It doesn’t really do much and definitely leaves me wanting. I’m glad I watched it, and it’ll probably be another decade till I see it again.