It’s a shame that the vivid imagination of Jules Verne has been diluted into this lackluster, made-for-TV production.
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I read a lot of Jules Verne novels while in elementary school. My book reports mainly consisted of Verne´s works and C.S. Lewis´s Narnia series. My fascination with Verne began with the film version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason. I checked the book out of the library shortly after and followed that up with Around the World in Eighty Days, The Mysterious Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and so on. Verne´s writings have inspired numerous cinematic adaptations including the previously mentioned "20,000 Leagues" and the classic silent film, "A Trip to the Moon," directed by George Méliès.
This particular version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a made-for-TV effort that follows the more well-known adaptation from 1959 which also starred James Mason. It´s quite obvious that its release is timed to coincide with the new digital 3D film starring Brendan Fraser.
I give the filmmakers credit for not attempting to modernize their production. This journey to the center of the Earth takes place in the 1870´s. Former "Silver Spoons" star, Ricky Schroder plays the lead role of anthropologist, Jonathan Brock, who is more likely to be found boxing on campus than teaching in the classroom. Brock is approached by wealthy heiress, Martha Dennison (Victoria Pratt), to mount an expedition in search of her husband, Edward (Peter Fonda), who went missing four years ago supposedly while seeking a passage to the center of the world. Upon hearing this, Brock´s nephew, Axel (Steven Grayhm), leaves behind his fiancée to tag along for the adventure. He keeps a journal of every step they make and acts as our narrator.
Martha and the Brock boys begin their quest at a gold mining camp where Edward was last scene. There, they meet Sergei (Mike Dopud), a Russian immigrant whose brother, Mikhail, accompanied Edward and went missing as well. Sergei acts as their guide as they find the passage to the center of the world through a deep cave. They find the mysterious innerworld to be a perilous place full of giant birds and dinosaurs thought to be long extinct. They find Edward has gone all Colonel Kurtz on them, setting himself up as a god to the primitive people of the land.
It´s a shame that the vivid imagination of Jules Verne has been diluted into this lackluster, made-for-TV production. The special effects are unsurprisingly laughable and the center of the Earth doesn´t look any different from the surface world.
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