Deep Core (2000) Reviews

• Deep Core? The Core?

  ozbear2005-07-05

  Difficult to tell actually who is copying whom since apparently Deep Core is dated 2000 and The Core is dated 2003. At any rate, the similarities (but not the budgets) are compelling: 1)Laser-operated drilling gizmo for going through the Earth 2) Lots of magma around 3) People get snuffed by magma 4) Earth put in peril by misuse of something related to drilling/earthquakes 5) Nukes needed to restore balance 6) Five nukes required 7) Detachable unit(s), at least one required for success. Draw your own conclusions. I must admit that Wil Wheaton did a credible job. I didn't mind him getting snuffed though. Oz

• Yep, it's really that bad.

  Sollus2004-04-17

  I just want to add my voice to the critics and say, yes this movie is REALLY bad. It has no suspense to speak of except where the characters start pretending to be serious. No link to reality, what in the world qualifies some oil fire fighters to run cutting edge equipment other than they're the inventor's drinking buddies. THESE guys are going to set off nukes to save the world? No wonder it's about to end. As for casting, I think the only criteria was who was unemployed when it came time to shoot. Personally though I have to say I did like the Wil Wheaton Molten Shower scene.

• Awful: Predictable and Full of Clichés

  claudio_carvalho2004-01-30

  Brian Goodman (Craig Sheffer) is a scientist specialized in drilling operations. He aborts a dangerous perforation, leaded by Alan Morrisey (Harry Van Gorkun) and Darryl Simmons (James Russo) and destroys the whole project and facilities. A few years later, he is working with his friends Sam Dalton (Bruce McGill) and Rodney Bedecker (Wil Wheaton, from Star Trek), when he detects an abnormal movement of the tectonic plates, provoked by Alan's new enterprise. Brian meets Alan, and together with Allison Saunders (Terry Farrel), a highly graduated scientist from MIT, try to stop the movement of underground layers of Earth. This flick is awful: very predictable and full of clichés. The characters are badly developed, the story is horrible and it does not work. The best part is the ironical dialog of a married couple, asking for information in a road bar. The Brazilian distributors called it `Catastrophe', maybe a hint regarding the terrible quality of this film. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): `Catástrofe' (`Catastrophe')

• Bad to the core, and not deep at all

  CatTales2002-05-26

  The same flaming digital f/x repeated over and over during the credits hints that there's something wrong with this film. However, if you ignore that warning and continue to watch, all sort of evils will escape from this Pandora's box: a machine that allegedly blows up but only showers sparks like a sparkler; hand-held camera shots with that home-movie look; a cliche villain/capitalist; the cliche battle between the scientist sexes; a brief earthquake scene of a city (looks like a postcard) wherein one tall building starts to crumble like a jigsaw puzzle; an odd puffy-faced (like he just had his wisdom teeth removed) twenty-something Whil Wheaton making a joke about his ex-wife...This is no modern "Crack in the world," no hidden diamond in the rough but a depressing clunker. On the positive side, it makes you appreciate aspects and techniques of good movies you took for granted or weren't aware of.

• Some Fun Entertainment With Average CGI

  Kage-32001-06-26

  Alright then, we've got Craig Sheffer playing the creator of a mobile drilling machine that causes a major worldwide countdown to disaster. Of course, he walked off the job a year or so earlier fearing that his creation might be used as a weapon. He was right. It's the potential for that disaster thing I just mentioned which brings our would-be hero back to save the day. If this sounds remotely like so many other films out there, it probably is. This is B movie territory, folks, but it's a FUN ride! Sheffer gets to dig down 120 miles into the Earth and place 5 nuclear bombs that will create a chain effect that stops the planet from tearing itself apart...while also saving valuable budget money by not showing too many disasters on the surface (always visible because the camera shakes before we get some cheesy CGI effects). Along for the ride is James Russo, Wil Wheaton (giving a better performance than in "Python") and Terry Farrell (Dax from "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"). What the film isn't able to entertain you with visually because of what I'm assuming is a modest budget, it more than makes up for in dialogue and acting. There are a few techno-babble bits here and there, but these guys (and gal) are enjoying themselves and provide some welcome laughter. Forget the other Government stiffs. They kind of pad the film a bit and aren't nearly as fun to watch. It's especially nice to see Sheffer in a more heroic role after "Hellraiser: Inferno" and Wheaton still has a smile that will make you melt. If you can overlook some really fake CGI effects and just take the movie for what it's supposed to be, entertainment, then you could do a lot worse than give "Deep Core" a try.