The Core

For the concept in economics and game theory, see Core (economics). For the shopping centres called "The Core", see The Core Shopping Centre.

The Core
Promotional poster for The Core
Directed by	Jon Amiel
Produced by	Sean Bailey David Foster Cooper Layne
Written by	Cooper Layne John Rogers
Starring	Aaron Eckhart Delroy Lindo Hilary Swank Tchéky Karyo DJ Qualls Bruce Greenwood Stanley Tucci
Music by	Christopher Young
Cinematography	John Lindley
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	March 28, 2003
Running time	135 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60,000,000
Box office	$73,498,611

The Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core. The film was directed by Jon Amiel, and starred Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Tchéky Karyo, Hilary Swank, DJ Qualls and Bruce Greenwood.

Plot

After a series of disturbances caused by instability in the Earth's electromagnetic field, leading geology expert Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) and fellow scientists Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo) and Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci) learn that the Earth's molten core has ceased its rotation. Within a year, the Earth's electromagnetic field will collapse, irradiating the planet. The three develop a top-secret plan with the United States government to bore into the Earth's core and plant a series of nuclear charges at precise points to restart the core's motion and restore the field. They design a multi-compartment vessel called the Virgil with the help of Ed "Braz" Brazzelton (Delroy Lindo), who has developed both a laser capable of quickly boring through rock and a material known as "unobtainium" suitable for the vessel's hull. Keyes also enlists the help of a young computer hacker, Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch (DJ Qualls), to keep any word of the potential global disaster off the Internet for fear of causing a worldwide panic.

The vessel is piloted by the space shuttle Endeavour's Commander Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Hilary Swank). When the team accidentally drills through a geode-like structure, it drops a considerable distance to the bottom. When molten lava begins pouring into the hollow from the hole they created, Iverson has to exit the craft to restart the ship's laser before the lava reaches the ship and makes repairs impossible. After completing the necessary repairs, Iverson is killed when a falling crystal shard hits the top of his helmet and pierces his skull. As Virgil continues its travels, it clips the edge of a huge diamond, breaching the hull of the last compartment. Serge sacrifices himself to save the nuclear launch codes before the compartment is jettisoned and crushed. Virgil eventually reaches the molten core. The new data they gather there reveals a serious flaw in their plan. The outer layer of the core is less dense than anticipated, and the planned explosion cannot generate the power necessary. After some quick calculations, they decide that by splitting their nuclear weapons into the remaining compartments and jettisoning each at specific distances, they can create a "ripple effect", where the power of each bomb will combine with the power of the next, generating the needed energy wave. However, because Virgil was not designed to jettison undamaged compartments, the plan requires someone to deactivate a safety switch in Virgil that is located in an area exposed to the extreme temperatures of the core. Brazzelton volunteers and successfully deactivates the switch, dying shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile on the surface, the public becomes aware of problems after lightning super storms appear in cities all over the world. Finch is unable to stop worldwide panic but instead learns of the top-secret project "DESTINI" (Deep Earth Seismic Trigger INItiative), which is to be deployed if the Virgil fails. Finch relays his information to Keyes, who discovers that Zimsky was one of DESTINI's lead scientists. DESTINI, according to Zimsky, was designed as a weapon to propagate earthquakes through the Earth's core, but it unintentionally stopped the core's rotation instead. Zimsky reveals the government will use it again in an effort to restart the core. Keyes is convinced using it again would have disastrous results, so he has Finch stall DESTINI while hastening efforts to complete the detonations. Keyes and Zimsky realize they have miscalculated the yield necessary, but Zimsky becomes trapped in a compartment. As the compartment detaches, Zimsky reveals that they need to use the main compartment's nuclear fuel rod to achieve sufficient yield, which will save the planet but leave Keyes and Childs without power to escape the blast.

Because of the unique properties of the unobtanium shell of the ship, Keyes and Childs are able to use the planet's heat to power the command section of the ship, escaping as the nuclear charges successfully restart the core. They break through the crust underwater, leaving them without power. They believe themselves lost, until Finch finds them by tracking whale songs from a nearby pod circling the vessel. Sometime after the recovery, Finch is shown logging on to a computer at an internet cafe and releasing all the information about Project DESTINI and Virgil's mission to the Internet, which reveals the truth to all and ensures that Iverson, Leveque, Brazzelton and Zimsky are not forgotten, but rather lauded as the heroes they are.

Cast

• Aaron Eckhart as Dr. Joshua "Josh" Keyes, a scientist who designs the navigation system for Virgil and is assigned as head of the project.
• Hilary Swank as Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs, USAF, an astronaut who distinguished herself during an emergency crash landing of the Space Shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, California.
• Delroy Lindo as Dr. Edward "Braz" Brazzelton, the designer of Virgil and the ultrasonic laser.
• Stanley Tucci as Dr. Conrad Zimsky, Earth specialist and designer of Project D.E.S.T.I.N.I..
• Tchéky Karyo as Dr. Serge Leveque, nuclear weapons specialist.
• Bruce Greenwood as Commander Robert "Bob" Iverson, USN, Major Childs' commander and mentor.
• DJ Qualls as Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch, a computer hacker who is widely regarded as the best in the world, crippled the FBI's database, recruited to control the flow of information on the Internet to prevent public panic.
• Alfre Woodard as Flight Commander Dr. Talma "Stick" Stickley, the mission commander for NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour and Virgil.
• Richard Jenkins as Lieutenant General Thomas Purcell, a lieutenant general in the United States army and leader of the operation.

Critical reaction

The film received 42% positive reviews out of 159 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10 at the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes; the site's consensus states "A B-movie with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, The Core is so unintentionally (intentionally?) bad that it's a hoot." Several reviews cited the numerous scientific inaccuracies in the film. The film was a box office bomb, making less than half of its production budget back during its time in US theaters.

Elvis Mitchell, of the New York Times, said, "The brazen silliness of The Core is becalming and inauthentic, like taking a bath in nondairy coffee creamer. The Earth core's inability to turn is mirrored in the cast's inability to give the picture any spin."^[1] Kenneth Turan, of the LA Times, was a little more forgiving, saying, "If The Core finally has to be classified as a mess, it is an enjoyable one if you're in a throwback mood. After all, a film that comes up with a rare metal called Unobtainium can't be dismissed out of hand."^[2]

On March 30, 2009 it was reported that Dustin Hoffman was leading a campaign to get more real science into science-fiction movies. Hoffman is on the advisory board of the Science & Entertainment Exchange, an initiative of the United States National Academy of Sciences (National Academy of Sciences), intended to foster collaborations between scientists and entertainment industry professionals in order to minimize inaccurate representations of science and technology such as those found in The Core.

In a poll of hundreds of scientists about bad science fiction films, The Core was voted the worst.^{[3][dead link]}

On February 21, 2010, The Guardian ran an article about American professor Sidney ­Perkowitz's proposals to curb bad science in science fiction movies. In the article, Perkowitz is said to have hated The Core. "If you violate [the coherent rules of science] you are in trouble. The chances are that the public will pick it up and that is what matters to Hollywood. The Core did not make money because people understood the science was so out to lunch," he added.^[4]

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Christopher Young. Although no album was issued at the time of the film's release, Intrada released a two-disc album on October 31, 2011.^{[citation needed]}

CD 1:

1. The Core 3:00
2. Resurrection In Descent 6:04
3. In Drucke Ick Moet Sterven 5:14
4. Origami Lava 7:10
5. A Terror Toccata 3:04
6. Tactile Shifts 5:56
7. Project Destiny 5:39
8. Moved To The Core 2:08
9. Virgil T. 3:37
10. Mantle Passage 4:35
11. Cor Cordium 4:52

CD 2:

1. Liberte 3:23
2. Diamonds Are Forever 3:17
3. Saknusemm 7:16
4. Intered Servants 4:24
5. Mundus Subterraneous 4:25
6. No Left Turns 5:07
7. Unobtanium 6:26
8. Clouds Imagined 4:44
9. Stellar Phrenology 4:12
10. The Terranaut March 5:42

References

1. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (2003-03-28). "Movie Review - 'The Core' - Trying to Jump-Start the Earth's Heart". NYTimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/movies/28CORE.html?pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2010-03-02. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "'The Core' - MOVIE REVIEW - Los Angeles Times". calendarlive.com. 2003-03-28. http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-turan28mar28,0,6228279.story. Retrieved 2010-03-02. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Actor Dustin Hoffman lobbies for more reality in science-fiction movies, News.com.au
4. ^ Ian Sample (2010-02-21). "Drive to make Hollywood obey the laws of science | Film". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/21/hollywood-films-obey-laws-science. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 

External links

• The Core at AllRovi
• The Core at Box Office Mojo
• The Core at the Internet Movie Database
• The Core at Metacritic
• Review of The physics of The Core at Bad Astronomy
• Review of the Core at Intuitor.com