Lighthearted romp for kids and teenagers based upon the Jules Verne book. An anthropologist named Jonathan Breck (Rick Schroder) and his niece (Steven Grayhm) undergo a hazardous voyage hired by Martha Dennison (Victoria Pratt) to find clues of her husband Edward (Peter Fonda) who disappeared five years earlier during an expedition to the center of the earth in Alaska (at the original novel is Iceland) recently bought to Russia. The trio along with a Russkie scout descend into deep caverns and discover a way leading to the planet's center. They have to deal with numerous risks, dangers, endure torrential floods, prehistoric animals and discover a forest with a lost tribe but not the lost city of Atlantis as happens in the classic novel.
This inferior adaptation is a special version of the Jules Verne adventure yarn . There're rip-roaring action, spirit of adventure, derring-do, thrills, but results to be quite boring. It's a brief fun with average special effects , passable set decoration , functional art direction and minimum use of computer generator. Acceptable cinematography, being filmed in Columbia British , Canada and atmospheric soundtrack . Highlights of the voyage includes a roller-coaster trip, a terrifying odyssey in sailing, with appearance of prehistoric reptile such as Plesiosaurius , Pterodactilus, and many others events. The film is produced in low budget by the usual Robert Halmi Sr. and Jr. who had formerly produced another version directed by George Miller , plus financed Jules Verne's 20.000 leagues under the sea(1997) directed by Michael Anderson. The motion picture is middling directed by T. J. Scott.
Other versions about this known story are the following : Classic adaptation (1959) by Henry Levin with James Mason as Lindenbrook, Pat Boone,Diane Baker and Arlene Dahl; Spanish version (1976)by Juan Piquer with Kenneth Moore , Jack Taylor, and TV adaptation by George Miller with Treat Williams, Jeremy London and Bryan Brown and another inferior television picture (2008)by David Jones with Greg Evigan and Dedee Pfeiffer. And of course, recent and successful take on filmed in 3D, produced and starred by Brendan Fraser with Anita Briem and Josh Hutcherson. Rating : Below average.
