The Core (2003)
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A team of scientists must journey to the center of the Earth to restart its core after it stops rotating.
The story
After 32 mysterious deaths in Boston caused by electrical interference to pacemakers, a government investigation led by Dr. Josh Keyes and Dr. Serge Leveque determines that the Earth's inner core has stopped rotating. To prevent exposure to devastating solar radiation, the U.S. government plans to detonate nuclear weapons within the Earth's outer core to restart the rotation. A specialized vessel named Virgil is constructed to deliver the bombs. A team including scientists, pilots, and a hacker is assembled to pilot the vessel through the Earth's crust and mantle to deliver the payload and save the planet from catastrophe.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the discovery that the Earth's core has stopped rotating, a team is sent into the Earth's mantle via the vessel Virgil. During the descent, the team faces various hazards, including a damaged drilling array and a field of diamond formations. Several team members, including Serge and Braz, sacrifice themselves to ensure the mission continues. Upon reaching the outer core, the team discovers their nuclear payload is insufficient. They face a dilemma when a tectonic weapon, DESTINI, is proposed as an alternative, which the team argues would destabilize the core. After a series of events, the team uses a combination of tactics to detonate their bombs, successfully restarting the core's rotation. The survivors, Josh and Rebecca, escape the core and are eventually located by the Navy. The mission's details are later shared with the public by Rat.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 135
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jon Amiel
- Writers
- Cooper Layne · writer; John Rogers · writer
- Cast and characters
- Aaron Eckhart · Dr. Joshua "Josh" Keyes; Hilary Swank · Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs; Delroy Lindo · Dr. Edward "Braz" Brazzelton; Stanley Tucci · Dr. Conrad Zimsky; D. J. Qualls · Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch; Richard Jenkins · Lieutenant General Thomas Purcell; Tcheky Karyo · Dr. Serge Leveque; Bruce Greenwood · Commander Robert "Bob" Iverson
- Genres
- science fiction; disaster
- Themes
- sacrifice; environmental catastrophe; scientific ethics
- Tone and mood
- tense; action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- nuclear technology; geophysics; underground exploration
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was noted for its lack of scientific realism.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 5.3 · scale: 10 · review count: 160; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was one of several Journey to the Center of the Earth inspired projects in development at the time.; The film was originally going to be released on November 1, 2002.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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