The Core

Almost exactly the same movie as Armageddon--and almost as insufferably stupid--The Core features a handful of good-looking scientists and astronauts who, instead of setting off a nuke in space to save the world from an asteroid, plan to set off a nuke in the center of the Earth, thus restarting the dying molten core and saving the world from electromagnetic catastrophe. The exact same shopworn characters die heroically in the exact same order. The simplest laws of physics and even plain-as-day physical facts are utterly ignored (the nuke-the-core plan is based on two-dimensional thinking even though the Earth is--duh!--a sphere). But even without such scientific blunders, this popcorn flick is beyond feeble. So little common sense went into writing and directing that an entire subplot is built around a teenage computer geek (DJ Qualls) hired to hijack the Internet and prevent anyone anywhere from noticing that the planet is crumbling around them. Never mind that thunderstorms are destroying Rome and microwave radiation melts the Golden Gate Bridge. If it ain't on the web, it must not be happening. This disaster movie is disastrously dumb. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Jon Amiel, the 11-minute making-of featurette “To The Core and Back,” the five-segment section “Deconstruction of Visual Effects” (about 3-4 min. each), and 10 deleted/extended scenes (14 min.) with optional commentary by Amiel. Bottom line: sometimes, to quote Huey Lewis, bad is bad--regardless of extras.] (R. Blackwelder)