The Core

The Core is high-tech Hollywood hokum at its finest; smarter than Armageddon and equally extreme. It's scientifically ridiculous, naturally, but this variant of Fantastic Voyage at least tries to be credible as it plunges deep into the Earth's inner core, where a formulaic team of experts pilot an earth-boring ship to jump-start the planet's spinning molten interior, now stalled by a military secret that could seal the fate of all humankind. It's a geophysicist's daydream, which only a fine ensemble cast could rescue from absurdity, and director Jon Amiel (Entrapment, Copycat) draws excellent work (and plenty of humorous interplay) from Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Stanley Tucci, Delroy Lindo and a host of memorable supporting players, especially DJ Qualls as the world's greatest cyber-nerd. With enough digital FX disasters to satisfy anyone's apocalyptic fantasies, this is a popcorn thriller with all the bells and whistles that its genre demands. Sit back, pump up the volume and enjoy the dazzling ride. --Jeff Shannon