DVD Review - The Core

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 9/10/03

The Core
2003 (2003) - Paramount

review by Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits

Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Program Rating: B-

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B+/A-/C+

Specs and Features
135 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 enhanced, single-sided, RSDL dual-layered (layer switch at 73:34, at the start of chapter 11), keep case packaging, audio commentary with director John Amiel, 10 deleted/extended scenes with optional director's commentary (letterboxed 4x3, DD 2.0), To the Core and Back: The Making of the Core featurette (4x3, DD 2.0, 11 mins), 5 visual effects featurettes (including Previsualization, Trafalger Square, Rome, The Golden Gate Bridge and The Geode - 4x3, DD 2.0), 3 preview trailers (for Timeline, Laura Croft - Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life & The Indiana Jones DVD Collection), animated film-themed menu screens with sound effects and music, languages: English (DD 5.1 & 2.0) and French (DD 2.0), subtitles: English, Closed Captioned

You know what? I didn't hate The Core. In fact, I quite enjoyed it for what it was. Yeah, I know... I wouldn't have expected that either, but there it is.

The basic premise of The Core is simple. The Earth's molten iron core stops spinning one day, for some mysterious and unknown reason. As a result, the planet's magnetic field starts to dissipate, resulting in a whole host of strange environmental effects - birds migrate in the wrong way, the space shuttle crashes in L.A. rather than landing at Edwards AFB because its GPS guidance system gets thrown off, people with pacemakers keel over dead, etc. When young geophysicist Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart, better known as the boyfriend in Erin Brockovich) notices these changes, he quickly realizes that they spell certain doom for the Human race unless something can be done. The Pentagon has taken notice too - they call Keyes in to report on these strange effects to top military brass. Lo and behold, something CAN done - the technology has been developed to "fly" deep into the Earth's crust in a craft that employs lasers to tunnel through solid rock. So Keyes joins up with a young astronaut pilot, Major Rebecca Childs (Hilary Swank), and a ragtag team of scientific experts to journey to the center of the Earth... literally. The plan: to explode nuclear bombs near the planet's core to (hopefully) get it spinning again. Of course, as you can probably guess by now, it's not going to be that easy.

What makes this film work, I think, is the degree to which you're required to suspend your disbelief. Whereas, in a film like Armageddon, it's entirely possible that a massive asteroid could strike the Earth (in fact, we have relatively close calls every few months), it seems almost completely impossible that the Earth's core would just stop spinning suddenly. Sure, The Core explains why this happens (sort of), but the explanation also strains credibility. In addition, some of the environmental problems that result from this are more than a bit hokey. Yes, without our magnetic field, Earth would get cooked by microwave radiation from the Sun... but it certainly wouldn't blast down like a laser beam and melt the Golden Gate bridge. Sure, electrical storms would pick up... but I just don't see lightning intense enough to destroy the Roman Colosseum. Those are cinematic embellishments. And the idea of a ship that can "swim" or "fly" through the Earth's crust while safely carrying a Human crew is beyond the fringes of believable science. In fact, the basic premise of The Core is so far flung that the whole film basically falls into one big plot hole. Because of that, you're forced almost from the start to just toss any kind of disbelief you may have out the window.

Once you do that, you begin to realize how well-crafted an homage to classic, 1970s disaster films this really is. The script and dialogue are tight - believe it or not, the story holds together once you're into it. The casting is imaginative, with great character actors giving surprisingly credible performances. This is a story that is far more about the character's reactions to situations and events than it is about the situations and events themselves. The special effects are of high-quality and are believable enough within the context of the film itself. And the direction, by noted theater veteran John Amiel, is a cut above what you normally see in... well, a B-grade, special effects disaster flick. Surprise.

The anamorphic widescreen video presented on this DVD is generally very good. Edge enhancement and compression artifacting are occasionally noticeable to the trained eye, and the print used for this transfer exhibits light grain. But none of that is ever distracting. Contrast is excellent at all times, and the color is exceptionally rich and vibrant - a good thing when you're flying through lava, you know?

On the audio front, this is an excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix. Through the entire film, you're surrounded by great atmospheric effects. The front soundstage is nicely wide, your subwoofer kicks in often to flesh out the low end, and the surrounds are almost always busy with subtle and not so subtle audio cues. The overall effect is quite natural and immersive (at least as natural as a film about flying to the center of the Earth can get). This is a fun surround mix.

The extras are okay, but leave a lot to be desired in terms of presentation. You get a decent audio commentary with the director - his running dialogue makes it easy to believe that this guy knows his stuff, and that be brought a little more to this project that would have, say... the average music video director. You also get 10 deleted scenes, with optional commentary, but there's no listing of individual scenes. You have to watch them in "play all" mode. They're also in letterboxed widescreen only - no anamorphic enhancement here - which is a disappointment. In fact, all of the extras are 4x3, which is a trend I'd like to see Paramount change direction on one of these days. There's also an EPK-ish production featurette, as well as 5 more visual effects featurettes. They're worth watching once, but that's about all (and it'll take you less than half an hour to do so). Finally, there are preview trailers for other upcoming Paramount DVDs... but no trailer for The Core. It's a pretty mixed bag overall.

Extras aside, if you're willing to give this film a chance, and by that I mean tossing any pre-conceived notions of logic and plausibility out the window, The Core actually works. It's not gonna win any awards, but it's a fun little disaster flick, with good action and tight performances. Switch your brain off, whip up a bowl of popcorn and give the disc a spin. You just might enjoy it. I know... I'm just as surprised about it as you are.

Bill Hunt
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com