by Karyn Beach

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a pleasant surprise. It’s a solidly entertaining family adventure film that the kids (and the kids at heart) should thoroughly enjoy. But if you want to make the most out of the experience pay the extra money to see it at an IMAX theater so you can truly appreciate the 3-D effects.

Sorry kids but you can’t watch this Journey to the Center of the Earth and pass a test on the book. This is more of a sequel to that classic science fiction novel than an adaptation of it. In this version, scientist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) is about to lose his funding. In honor of his brother, who disappeared on an expedition ten years earlier, he vows to find a way to save it. Of course, he’s forgotten that his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) is coming for a visit. Together they uncover a geological occurrence that he has to investigate and the pair are off to Iceland. While there, they meet up with Hannah, a gorgeous mountain guide (Anita Briem) who agrees to take them to the geological site. But before Trevor can complete his mission, the trio get trapped in a cave. Looking for a way out, they keep going further and further down until finally, they reach the center of the earth.

This movie was a lot of fun and action packed. To get the most out of it, you really need to see it in 3-D. If you see it at a traditional theater, you’ll miss some of the effects and without it, some of the shot choices will look strange.

Visually, the movie is strong. Some of the views from the center of the earth are absolutely stunning. The special effects are state of the art.: glowing birds, carnivorous plants and dinosaurs all come realistically to life. The action moves along pretty briskly after the action gets started although the set-up seemed to drag a bit at the beginning for me.

Kids and pre-teens will probably really love this movie, especially in 3-D. If you plan on seeing it, I’d see it now, in a theater and not wait for cable or the DVD, the effects will lose a lot of their effectiveness once they are reduced to just 2 dimensions.