You'd think a serious film dealing with the potential end of the world wouldn't bring on fits of uncontrollable laughter. Yet that's exactly what The Core evokes, albeit unintentionally. With a plot as predictable as the tides, as clichéd as a poem comparing a rose with love, and as inspiring as a ten-year-old public service announcement, The Core, directed by John Amiel, is little more than a handful of disposable heroes in a can attempting to save the planet.

The earth's core has come to a halt. In a few months the electromagnetic spectrum that guards the planet from deadly sun rays will disintegrate and we'll all be cooked inside a massive microwave. So goes the dilemma in The Core, the latest disaster flick to take mankind to the brink of destruction a la Armageddon and Deep Impact. A team of misfit scientists set a course for Earth's core to give it a nuclear kick start.

Because the plot revolves around some very scientific theories and terminology, much of the film is spent in explanation mode. It could be just a bunch of hooey, but the story makes sense -- and that's not an easy task when a bunch of scientists are brought together. However, because  many set-ups are vital to the movie's plausibility, the follow-through action is often sacrificed. With so much exposition, the end of the world isn't as exciting or scary as I thought it might be.

Action that does come into play takes place in models designed to represent large sets, but they still look like models. Back in the Seventies this was acceptable. Today, anything reminding you that you're looking at a special effect no longer cuts it. Computer effects also play a large part of the spectacle but they're far from spectacular. Like the models, many of the computer graphics resemble something out of a video game. 

I don't usually pay much attention to a film's musical score, but there's something about The Core's background music that screams straight-to-video B-action flick. With a budget rumored close to $100 million, you'd think filmmakers could scrape together a few extra bucks for something to set the mood with a little more inspiration.

Even with all these problems, The Core offers occasional moments of genuine tension. One involves a storm of confused birds falling from the sky to the terror of the crowds below. Sure, even this scene is somewhat overdone, but at least it exhibits some vital personality, a quality missing in much of the rest of the film.

History shows that man has always been paranoid about his own destruction -- a fear unlikely to change anytime soon. As long as there's interest in this theme, Hollywood will be there exploiting it in all its computer-generated glory. Even if the results continue to stink.

(Review also posted at www.ryancracknell.com/movies.)

Released by Paramount Pictures and rated "PG-13" for sci-fi life/death situations and brief strong language.