Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

This movie is The Lost World (any version) meets The Core. Let’s just be clear: For a year that for some reason saw the release of three titles called Journey to the Center of the Earth, this one with Greg and Vanessa Evigan should be the last one you see, and then only under duress. (I selected it from redbox by accident as my free Monday rental because of a long line.) Run to the one with Brendan Fraser or even jog to the one with Rick Schroeder but should you see this one, flee! It didn’t exactly reek but it was distinctly underwhelming. Throw six nubile female “soldiers” through a teleporter only to face a T-Rex -- and get a snoozefest? Done and done. At least the gals were trained to somewhat believably hold their weapons and act like a squad as they tried to figure out how to survive their mission gone awry. However, too often they seemed like girls on a shopping expedition gone sour more than trained soldiers on what could have been a death march for all. While the rescue mission was implausible, I enjoyed the lead scientist (Dedee Pfeiffer) and her quirkiness (esp. her oral fixation). That said, Greg Evigan’s constant one-note smirk was just too cheesy for words. The rescue half of the movie was straight out of The Core -- though less overblown. It wasn’t a painful movie to watch but there are so many better ones. You have been warned. 2.5 stars.